Equipping your house with smart home devices is a fantastic way to bring peace of mind when travelling. After getting an Echo or Google Home the next smart two smart home items that are best to invest in are smart plugs (read my review of Wemo Smart Plugs) or smart light bulbs. Smart light bulbs are a great investment as they can easily make it appear as though you are home even when you are away. By setting the smart bulbs to turn on and off at scheduled times, it will help decrease the likelihood your home is broken into as to the neighbour it would seem like you are at home.
Smart light bulbs can easily be controlled anywhere in the world that you have internet access. So you can load the app on your phone and easily turn off and on any bulb in your home from anywhere in the world.
When it comes to smart light bulbs there are tons of options on the market. The most popular is the Philips Hue and Lifx, but they range in price from $55-78 a bulb in Canada. Both are extraordinary products with loads of functions, but if you are looking for more affordable smart light bulbs one fantastic option is Yeelight which is $34 CAD a bulb for the colour version.
There certainly are lots of smart light bulbs to pick from, but what makes the Yeelight a great starting option is it doesn’t require a hub that you need to plug in. With the Yeelight you simply add the light bulb as you would with a regular light, load the app and click add device.
How To Set Up A Yeelight Smart Bulb
The installation process is fairly simple. After you download the Yeelight on your home, click add device, then click the icon of the type of light bulb you have. Next, your phone will detect all the new light bulbs, and you just need to wait a few minutes for them to be installed.
Within the Yeelight app you can easily apply different scenes to each bulbs, such as sunrise, date night, candlelight etc. set the bulb to flow between 4 colors, or to display any color you wish.
Why Is The Yeelight Smart Light Bulb Great For Travelers?
Not only is this light bulb more affordable compared to brands like Lifx and Hue but it is set up it comes with plenty of useful functions for travelers. Within the app you can set light schedules for all the lights (or certain lights) to turn on and off at different times which is perfect when you are on vacation.
Yeelights also work with Google Home, Apple Home Kit, and Amazon Alexa so you can control your lights through that too if you prefer. Likewise, you can set up your lights to work with IFTTT so you can use it to automate when your lights turn on and off too.
If you want small, begin with a few smart light bulbs strategically placed near the exterior windows with scheduled timers to make it seem like someone is home while you are away. While it might not fully prevent your home from being broken into, it does act as a deterrent and adds another level of security to your home. Speaking from experience, the small upfront cost of a few light bulbs was well worth it, as the bulbs are easy to use and work well with my Google Assistant or Alexa. I enjoy the convenience of never worrying if I forgot to turn off the lights as I can easily check on my phone. If you have been on the fence about adding smart features to your phone, the Yeelight bulbs are a worthwhile investment.
Buy Yeelights now on Gearbest.