Light marries form and functionality. You can use it to make a small room look bigger or direct a beam directly at a tiny line of print you’re trying to read. However, it takes energy to create.
Addressing climate change is a collective responsibility. Fortunately, you can decrease your carbon footprint while enhancing your home’s beauty through technology. Here are seven tips on how to upgrade your home with smart lighting.
1. Light a Path to Your Door
Most slips and falls occur at home, and having inadequate lighting when you try to make your way up a steep driveway to your front door leaves you ripe for an accident. Add a few bags of unwieldy groceries, and you’re an “oops” waiting to happen.
However, improper lighting can also pose hazards. For example, the glare from hanging carriage lamps could leave you blind if your windshield is the least bit blurry or bug-splattered. Overly bright lights along your driveway could leave your front porch plunged into deep shadows, where a would-be intruder could lurk.
The solution? Smart lighting illuminates your routes into your home to make it a snap to navigate after dark. You can find solar power stake lights to line your driveway and front steps or walkway. You don’t have to run a single wire to give yourself a landing strip when you arrive home past midnight.
2. Reduce Eye Strain While Watching TV
You might have heard that it’s a bad idea to watch TV in a darkened room. That’s because the contrast between the light on the screen and the surrounding environment causes eye strain.
Researchers from The Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute recently confirmed a modest but significant increase in subjective discomfort and changes in blink rate when watching the tube in such conditions.
The solution? Use smart lighting to create an ambient glow around your display that minimizes the contrast between light and dark. It can be as simple as adhering an LED light strip on either side of the back of your set to cast a subtle glow from behind. You can even find color-changing models if you want a funky discotheque look after sunset.
3. Create an Atmosphere With LEDs
You can use LED bulbs nearly anywhere. Plus, replacing incandescents with these models decreases your carbon footprint while saving money. These models use less energy, saving you as much as $75 over the life of the bulb.
For example, do you want a soft, romantic glow in your bedroom? Swap your white bulb for a soft pink or lavender LED model. You won’t have to worry about the bulb burning a hole in your favorite scarf you used to throw over the lamp to set the mood.
Your kiddos can have a field day with LED bulbs. Get a color-changing one or create a rainbow effect with different hues in each lamp.
Even spots like the kitchen aren’t off-limits to LED works of wonder. You can find inexpensive under-cabinet lighting at most hardware stores that allows you to change the warmth from bright daylight to a warm glow for evenings.
4. Get Cellphone Savvy
There’s an app for everything these days – including turning off the lights when you forget. When selecting a new smart lighting system, seek one that links to your cellphone, allowing you to turn things off and on, even if you’re two states away. Could you imagine if Kevin McCallister from “Home Alone” had such technology?
Some models double as dimmer switches. If you’re one of the many working from home since the pandemic, use this trick to create a visual buffer between the “office” and the rest of your life. Dim your lights when your workday ends – you’ll instantly feel the stress start to slide from your shoulders.
5. Make It Automatic
Why make going from day to night require any effort at all? One of the benefits of smart lighting is that you can use timers to dictate when certain lamps turn on or off.
This feature significantly enhances your safety and might save you a few bucks on your homeowners’ insurance. Programmable timers make it look like someone is always home, deterring thieves. Check with your carrier to see if they give discounts for home security improvements like these.
6. Incorporate Backlighting
Adding lights underneath cabinets is only one way to highlight your home’s architectural beauty. You can also use illumination to highlight objects like mirrors and entertainment centers.
Doing so gives your home a sophisticated air. However, you won’t have to shell out big bucks. You can create the look with inexpensive smart LED string lights that easily mount behind the object you want to showcase.
7. Highlight Your Favorite Works of Art
Have you ever browsed an art gallery and noticed the tiny lamps illuminating each piece? You can likewise draw attention to the artwork decking your walls.
You can use backlighting for this purpose. Another option is to mount wall sconces on either side of the piece you want to highlight. If you have an impressive gallery, why not light it up like one, with an individual lamp showcasing each painting?
Upgrade Your Home With Smart Lighting
You might be spending more time at home these days. Improving your abode doesn’t have to entail shelling out big bucks, though. A little illumination can often do the trick. Follow the tips above to upgrade your home with smart lighting and enjoy a brighter tomorrow.
