Smart lighting is one of the easiest ways to enter into the bright new world of smart home technology. But how smart is it when all it can do is turn on or off remotely?
When Forest installs Smart Lighting, it’s connected seamlessly to your other security devices. Our smart light bulb, a wall switch or plug-in module gives you more from your smart lighting. Here are considerations that make it a smarter choice.
A versatile crime deterrent
As part of a smart home, smart lights can deter burglars by making your home look occupied when you’re not there. Use motion sensors to turn front porch lights into motion-triggered security lighting. Have all your house lights turn on in the case of an alarm event. Of course, you can control them remotely, set realistic schedules that mimic real life, such as having your lights come on at sunset, or at slightly randomized times.
No more ‘app clutter’
Consolidate your smart lights and other devices using our single, award winning app for everything in your home. This unclutters your phone and makes it simple to interact with your home. When you go to bed, for example, you can turn off your smart lights, check your door locks, and arm your security system via a single screen.
Not just smart, but proactive
The other advantage of the ‘whole home’ approach is that other devices will share their intelligence with your smart lights. This enables them to do proactive, helpful things based on an understanding of what you’re doing. For example, you can have your porch lights turn on automatically when you remotely unlock your front door’s smart lock – a great feature on dark evenings when you’re loaded down with groceries.
You can choose your bulbs
Off-the-shelf smart lightbulbs are expensive because the ‘smart’ technology lives in the bulb. While great to install as special features, they’re expensive to equip your whole home with.
With Forest, the special hardware typically lives in the wall switch. Once that’s installed, your smart lights can incorporate a huge range of bulbs, from specialist LED bulbs to cheap fluorescent. That’s great value, especially when you have multiple lights controlled by the same switch.
