As the countdown to Christmas begins, we’re all thinking of ways to make this year’s celebrations extra special. While you might have the presents and the catering sorted, you may not have considered smart home technology.
One particularly festive type of smart lighting is the Christmas light. Unlike your traditional lights, which usually have limited settings and cumbersome plugs, smart Christmas lights give you total freedom. They’re easier to control and they’re no less magical – they might even lower your energy bills, too.
Whether they’re adorning your porch or hanging from the Christmas tree, smart lights offer multiple benefits, including:
Funky and festive or calm and Christmassy? You can customise your Christmas lights to your own patterns, allowing them to shine constantly or to certain rhythms. Equally, you’re not limited by colour. The Philips Hue, for example, lets you toggle between cool and warm whites for different effects.
You can even set them to come on at certain times of day – ideal if you don’t want to waste energy on Christmas lights in the daytime!
Rather than reaching down for plug points or climbing up on the roof, you can control all these settings from the comfort of a handheld device. Depending on the product, it’s easy to set up your smart Christmas lighting via a mobile app.
It’s even possible to integrate Christmas lights with voice assistants. Sync them up with smart speakers like Alexa or Google Home and make changes with your voice alone.
Leaving your festive lights on all day soon adds up to mounting energy bills. At six hours per day, they could cost you £3.99 per month. If they’re operating without stopping, this could cost £16.00 per month – plus the obvious carbon footprint.
Scheduling your lighting will cut down bills, while the LED nature of smart lights makes them more energy-efficient. Typically, these bulbs use 75% less energy than traditional incandescent ones, so do your bit for the planet as you get into the Christmas spirit.
Setting up your smart Christmas lights can be as simple as you’d like it to be! For smaller, indoor setups, all you have to do is:
If you’re going for something more elaborate, like an outdoor display, it’s always best to call in a professional. A CEDIA-certified integrator will be used to working at heights, while they’ll also understand any complex wiring and WiFi setups. Avoid safety risks by going with the professionals – your lights will look better, too!
Want to make your Christmas display extra special? Change it up with these design ideas and smart integrations:
We all think of the tree or the porch, but how about external garden foliage or doorways? Change the whole mood of a room simply by cycling through colours as your guests transition from one space to the next.
Integrate your smart Christmas lights with motion sensors. This way they will come on when your friends and family are least expecting it. As a bonus, this can save energy too!
Customisable Christmas lights can be set dynamically to the rhythm of sounds and music. Integrate them with your existing smart AV systems for a true party experience.