Do Smart Bulbs Save Money? – Is the Smart Bulb Energy Consumption going to Cost a Fortune?
The world is highly focused on saving energy and resources in the present world. And as human beings, we are entitled to take part in that in little ways we can, for the betterment of our own children’s future. Also, house automation is taking up huge attention. So why not combine the two and does a favor to your house and humanity at the same time. This is where smart bulbs come into the equation. It can save energy and your money. Before seeing how smart bulbs save money, let us first learn a little about how does a smart bulb work.
How does a smart bulb work?
A smart bulb can work wirelessly, meaning that you can use your smartphone to control turning the bulbs on and off, even when you are away from your home. The bulbs use communication standards Bluetooth, Wi-Fi- Z-Wave, or ZigBee to work, and the bulbs are connected to each other like a grid, projecting signals to the nearest bulbs. You can also connect the smart bulbs to your smart assistants like Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant.
Smarts bulbs are LED bulbs that are different from your regular LED bulbs. Some of the smart bulb types are designed to change color, temperature, dimness, and brightness to your preference. Smart Bulbs is a great first choice to start automating your house. Needless to say that they have a lot of advantages which we will discuss later in this article.
How do smart light bulbs save energy?
You might have different opinions about whether smart bulbs save energy or not. You might have your own doubts because the smarts bulbs should always be connected to a network, causing it to use a continuous stream of electricity. They are vampire appliances, after all.
But Smart Bulbs do save energy. They are LED bulbs, and LED bulbs are known for saving energy. They are highly efficient and use a little energy to be eliminated and to be kept that way. Also, they do not generate heat like regular light bulbs, hence reducing the energy they use. Further, you can use the dim option for the smart bulbs. It uses less energy and produces even lesser heat than usual.
How do smart bulbs save money and energy?
If you have already bought smart bulbs or researched about them, then you know that they are expensive than regular bulbs, even regular LED bulbs. Therefore, you might be thinking about how smart bulbs save money. The fact that they are always on the standby power mode or phantom load might have gotten you spooked about seeing a spike in your electricity bill, right?
But as we have mentioned before, smart bulbs are LED bulbs, and they save energy and ultimately it saves money. They use 75% less energy than regular bulbs. So in the long term, you can save both money and energy using a smart bulb. You will even start seeing the results on your electricity bill around a year after you start using smart bulbs.
How Philips hue bulbs can actually save money?
In the world of smart bulbs, Philips has gained huge recognition and respect due to the variety of smart bulbs they offer to the market. They uphold their reputation by continuously producing long-lasting quality products. Therefore, when changing to smart bulbs, Philips is the choice of many people.
Philips Hue bulbs do not use electricity as much as traditional incandescent bulbs. Even though the bulbs have to be on standby mode (switch is on) it cost so little electrical power for that. To estimate, one Philips hue smart bulb will only cost you 2 cents for a month. The bulbs will last for 15 – 20 years. Philips smart bulbs have a life of 15000 hours. One bulb can save you 70 dollars in its lifetime. Philips hue smart bulbs do not heat as much as traditional bulbs. In fact, they save 90% energy from less heating than the normal bulbs.
Further, you will not have to replace any pre-installed appliances or switches to shift into smart bulbs. You can use the switches you have already installed in the house, and you can use them to turn on and off the bulbs as well. However, it should not be often done because the smart bulbs are not build to handle that. Also If some case you can reset the philips hue bulb and set up it again.
Are Smart Bulbs worth it?
If you are looking for a pretty short answer, then Yes, they are definitely worth it.
Efficiency is a much-needed quality nowadays that we seek in every appliance we buy. When it comes to efficiency and convenience, smart bulbs beat every other regular bulb in the market.
Despite the obvious fact that smart bulbs save energy and money, we have discussed earlier in this article; a smart bulb provides many advantages to a house. It is possible to connect them to your smartphone through Wi-Fi or any other network of your choice. Even when you are away from your home, you will never have to bother if you have forgotten to turn off the lights. You can just switch off them via your phone.
You can schedule them to be turned on and off, or manually do that, when you are away from home, to convey that there is someone at home, always. It is a huge security advantage smart bulbs can give you.
Also, you will not have to go in the dark searching for the light switch. You can just turn the lights on where you want. You can group bulbs together, making it easier to turn on and off lights in certain areas.
Smart bulbs support your smart voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, or google assistant. You can simply command them to manage the lights as you like. Dimming options, different color options cannot be forgotten when we are talking about the advantages of smart bulbs.
All these advantages prove that smart bulbs can make your life comfortable and efficient. So smart bulbs are worth your money. And by shifting to smart bulbs, you will also be contributing to the cause of saving the resources and energy of the earth.
How much power do smart bulbs use when off?
Smart bulbs are vampire (phantom) appliances. They should be kept on standby mode. Researchers have conducted experiments to answer the question, “How much power do smart bulbs use when off?”.
According to these researches, different types of smart bulbs draw between 0.2 to 0.5 watts in standby mode. This equals 0.0002 and 0.0005 kWh (Kilowatt-hours) So if we take a 0.2-watt standby mode smart bulb would take 5000 hours to reach to 1kWh. This is about 208 days. In the United States currently, it costs $0.12 per kWh. It means that your electricity bill will increase by $0.12 from one smart bulb in 208 days.
If we calculate the monthly cost for standby mode in one smart bulb, if the bulb is permanently on standby mode for the entire month, it would cost $0.01752. When rounded, it is approximately $0.2 or 2 cents.
As you can see, it is not a huge cost considering the services a smart bulb can provide. Also, as stated earlier, in the long run, a smart bulb can save you money and energy.
Why should I buy Philips Hue smart bulbs?
Philips Hue smart bulbs are popular among smart bulb users. Also, Philips itself holds a reputation for providing the best home automation appliances, including smart bulbs.
Philips Hue smart bulbs come from 3 color ranges. They are White, White ambiance and White, and color ambiance. The White bulbs are extremely smooth, and there is the dimming option too. It goes from dark, dim levels to bright, comfortable white light. It is available in E26 and PAR38 fitting types. PAR38 bulbs control the lights more precisely. You can choose a white light of your preference from this spectrum.
White Ambiance bulbs also have a range of beautiful, natural white light. The light can be set to any shade of white, from cool energizing daylight to relaxing warm white light. This type is available in E26, E12, and BR30 fitting types.
White and color ambiance light has a huge color range of 16 million colors. It also has dimmable shades of white light as well. If you are creative and like a diverse atmosphere, then this should definitely match your taste. This bulb is available in E26, E12, BR30, PAR38, PAR16, and GU1o fitting types.
What else I should know about Philips hue smart bulb?
Philips hue smart bulbs are of high quality, and energy-efficient LED lighting. They have a variety of fitting types so that you can choose from that too, on top of the different color and shade ranges. This type of bulb also supports your voice assistants, but you will have to install a hub to be compatible with these bulbs. You also need a Hue bridge if you want to create custom scenes with Philips hue smart bulbs. In case if you do not do too many complicated things with these bulbs, then a Hue bridge is not essential.
You can buy Philips Hue smart bulbs from your local area shops, or you can easily order them online.
Applying smart bulbs is a smart way to start building a smart house. It is easy, and you can enjoy all the features that come with them. They will save you money and energy both, also contributing to saving the resources and energy for the whole world.
