Do smart bulbs work with normal light switches?

Do smart bulbs work with normal light switches?

Yeah, chances are you are here because you want an answer to this question.

Believe me; I've been there. When I was shopping around, I asked myself if I could just buy a Philips hue smart bulb and replace my regular light bulb even if I didn't have a smart light switch. After buying it, I realized that it works.

It is not necessary to have a smart switch to use smart bulbs.

Before purchasing a smart bulb

This statement about working with a normal light switch is true, but it depends on what you are using them for.

Right now, my house has many smart bulbs connected with smart switches, and most of them are paired with an echo or with a wink hub (which are the non-Alexa compatible ones).

I can have 100% control of the lights everywhere in the house all the time.

Unfortunately, the "smart bulbs + normal light switch" combination  doesn't give you total control of the lights as I have with my setup... Sorry 🙂

But, you can still have nice features

Alright, let's say you don't have any smart ligth switch in your house and you  really don't want to buy one because you want to save some money and you don't want to call an electrician to replace the normal light switch you already have.

Well, you can still just go for the smart bulb and have some fun with it.

Here are some things you can do with a smart bulb

You can control the lights with apps on your phone or simply leave them at a certain brightness and come back home to the same settings.

Smart bulbs have the "mimic sunrise"  function to wake up on a sunny morning.

You can turn them on half an hour before your alarm clock to have a more realistic sunrise. Most of the routines will do this, too, so you can do it with a simple voice command.

The "I'm home" feature is one of my favorites; all you need is a smart bulb, an echo, or a wink hub. If you have an echo, simply open the routine section and write "when I come home" (or whatever you like) and the name of your light.

Now, let's talk about the pros and cons of both light switches...

Pros of a normal light switch + smart bulb

• Normal light switches are inexpensive;
• No need to call an electrician;
• You can control it with your hand; no voice is needed;
• You won't have to shout the name of the lightbulb when you enter the room;
• You can control them with more than one device (switch+phone).

Cons of a normal light switch + smart bulb

• You need to keep the switch in the "on position" all the time;
• Other people will eventually press the switch to the "off position";
• You need to get out of bed to turn the switch on;
• If the switch is in the "off position"you can't control the light.

Pros of a smart light switch + smart bulb

• You can fully automate your light routine;
• Turn the lights on automatically when you arrive home;
• Adjust the brightness to a certain percentage when it's dark;
• No need to get out of bed, just say "turn on the light";
• No problem when other people can change the light switch position.

Cons of a smart light switch + smart bulb

• It will cost more to automate your light routine;
• More switches/hubs are needed for the same amount of lightbulbs;
•  You will have a lot of cables clustered around your light switch;
• It's necessary to call an electrician to replace the old switch.

Conclusion

It's perfectly possible to have a normal light switch to turn a smart bulb on/off,  but it's always better to get the most out of your investment.

I hope this article can help you; please share it with your friends.