Smart lighting is a cool tech that lets you control your lights with your phone, voice, or even set them up to turn on and off automatically. You can change the brightness, colors, or even schedule lights to go on and off based on when you’re around. This makes your home feel more inviting and helps you save money on energy bills by using lights more efficiently. Many smart lighting systems work with popular smart home systems like Google Home, Alexa, and Apple HomeKit, so you can easily set up a connected living environment.
My assistant of choice is Apple HomeKit and Siri. This is a glimpse of what I chose and threw together to make my personal magic happen.
Most of us prefer smart over stupid when it comes to technology and people. I’m sharing my journey from a temporary basement office to a fully equipped workspace that suits my needs for productivity.
I never planned to transition from a pre-pandemic corporate office job to a backup contingency plan basement workspace. But then I moved to a new company and became a full-time basement home office cave dweller.
Now that I was working remotely, I decided to redesign my space to make my professional life as productive as possible. I also wanted to incorporate my fitness and creative interests into the equation. After much research and planning in January, I started my mission.
A big part of it was environmental. I wanted to control the mood of the space based on the time of day or what I was doing. Whether I was an IT Service Management pro during the day, a creator, a gym rat, or a TV binger at night, I wanted each to have its own unique vibe and ambiance in the same space.
It all started with lighting. I’m a big fan of lighting, especially since I worked in television. I wanted to have a wide range of colors, but I didn’t want to break the bank. I looked into different brands, but some of the popular ones were too expensive for the number of lights I needed. For example, I needed twelve ceiling pocket lights just for starters. The main players were Philips Hue, Nanoleaf, and others, and they were going to cost me a fortune. So, I had to dig deeper.
To avoid buying cheap products, I decided to test drive a few brands before committing. I started with some lamps I had lying around and bought two “smart bulbs” from Sengled as accent lighting behind my desk. They worked, but only with their own app to set scenes and schedules. Unfortunately, they didn’t support HomeKit, which was what I wanted. So, I moved on.
So, I stumbled upon this awesome company called VOCOlinc on Amazon. They claimed to work with Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa, and guess what? They had these pocket lights that were super affordable and fit perfectly within my budget.
Setting them up was a piece of cake! No need for their own app. You can just use HomeKit, which is awesome. I haven’t tried setting them up with Google or Alexa, but I’m sure they’re great too. I’d love to hear your thoughts on those.
To add the lights to my HomeKit network, I just scanned the HomeKit QR Code on the light. It was recognized and added to the list of devices in the home app. From there, it was just adding the lights to different rooms and scenes with whatever colors I wanted. Boom! Done!
The only little trick was scanning the QR code first, then screwing in the bulb while HomeKit searched for the Wi-Fi network to complete the connection. After a couple of days of playing with schedules, colors, and scenes, I got it just how I wanted it.
After that experience and buying ten more bulbs and three of the VOCOlinc LED stands, I had completely kitted out the basement. I’ve been experimenting with scenes for different things I do throughout the day and even changing scenes based on what my MS Team calls I have. Maybe I’m a little too into it, but it’s been a blast!
The best part? The cost! When you compare the price of mainstream smart lighting, the VOCOlinc products are way more affordable. I saved around $70 per 2-pack by going with VOCOlinc. That adds up!
I know some people have had issues with the reviews on Amazon, but so far, knock on wood, I haven’t had any problems. I guess there’s always the risk of how long these things will last, but being an optimist, so far, it’s been worth it. We’ll see how it goes.
Oh, and one more thing: I’ve been using the lights to create some cool scenes, like “Basement Goodnight.” It’s like having a personal light show!
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