Getting Smart with Smart Bulbs

Transform your daily routine with voice-activated lightbulbs

In an ideal world, Carter King would come home, walk through the door, snap his fingers, and his “welcome home” routine would kick into action; the lights turn on and warm the apartment, a prepped dinner of chicken alfredo is heated up and ready, and, naturally, The Office starts playing on his living room TV.

“Wouldn’t that be nice,” he says with a laugh.

What he has today isn’t quite to that extent, but it’s close! Carter, who works as GoodBulb’s E-Commerce Specialist, is a big fan of smart bulbs. He’s integrated them throughout this apartment in a way that saves time and energy.

“The first thing I do when I get home is say, ‘Hey Google, turn on the lights!’ and Google turns on every single light that is connected,” he says. “That way you don’t have to walk through each room and turn on the lights.’

Carter prefers the 2700K Smart Bulb for its “warm, homey feeling,” he said. Each bulb is connected through the Google Home app, and voice-activated through Google Home Minis that Carter has set up throughout his apartment.

In addition to setting up the smart bulbs themselves, Carter also created a personal life hack to utilize the two non-Smart Bulb lamps in his bedroom. By plugging them into Smart Extension Cord that is connected to Google Home, he is still able to control the lights with his voice.

“It’s super convenient,” he said.

In addition to being convenient and just plain cool, smart bulbs are energy-saving as well. Being LED bulbs, they’re already far more cost and energy efficient than  incandescents and CFLs. And by utilizing Google Home, you can ensure that the lights are turned off when they need to be. 

Home security is another added benefit to some smart bulbs, Carter said. Now, you can find motion-sensor security lights that will turn on if they detect movement. You can set which hours you want this setting turned on — from 1 AM to 5 AM, for instance, or any time you’re not home.

The capabilities are many—and this is just the beginning, Carter said. While he may not be able to watch The Office on command yet, smart bulbs offer a fun, energy-saving way to optimize your living space.