How smart does a lightbulb need to be?

By Gregg Stebben, Men’s Health

WASHINGTON — This is not a “screw in a lightbulb” joke:

Two weeks ago, I was at the GE Lighting Institute in Cleveland.

GE invited me to town to see its facility, and to see its new Smart Home products. And much to my surprise, the cornerstone of GE’s new smart home product line is a really smart lightbulb.

So how smart can a lightbulb really be?

Here’s what I can tell you: I was blown away by what the folks at GE showed me. And I think you’re going to be blown away too.

Turning your house into a smart home sounds expensive. Presumably you’ve got to buy a lot of expensive hardware, and then hire some expensive technicians to install it. Right?

Wrong.

Systems such as GE’s Link system start at $50 for a hub and two smart lightbulbs. As for the installation, here’s what it takes:

1. Plug the hub, which costs $20, into the wall.
2. Screw in the two lightbulbs. Each costs $15.
3. Download the free app.

Your initial $50 investment now allows you to control your new smart lightbulbs on your phone from anywhere in the world. That means you can turn the lights on or off or dim them from afar, set the lights to come on at night as you approach the house — called geo-fencing — or set your lights to go on and off on a schedule you determine and can change at will.

Now that you have a hub and two intelligent bulbs it’s very easy and affordable to start adding more functionality to your smart house setup. For instance:

• Ever forget to turn off the curling iron? If you plug it into a Wi-Fi- enabled power strip, which costs $60, that interfaces with your new smart house hub, you will never have to turn around and go back to the house to check on the curling iron again — you’ll be able to turn it off from anywhere.
• You can get a Wi-Fi-enabled thermostat that you can control through your new $20 hub.
• Ever need to let someone such as the dog-walker into the house? Add a door lock to your smart house that you can now control with your hub and your phone.
• And here’s my personal favorite — a sensor that goes on the gas tank of your BBQ. With this, you’ll never again run out of gas when the steaks are only half-done. And never again will you stand in front of the propane tank rental display and wonder whether you should grab an extra tank — the sensor will also alert you when you are getting low on gas.

I think smart lightbulbs could become even cooler, and even smarter, than your smartphone. Here’s why:

Turning the lightbulb into the center of home automation is really smart. After all, every room in your house has at least one lightbulb.

Chances are you only have one smartphone. Of course, every lightbulb already has a source of power, and everyone knows that keeping it juiced is a big issue for smartphones.

Since smart bulbs are really just mini-computers, and over time they will get more and more powerful and capable, just as smartphones have.

Here’s the real difference between a system of smart lightbulbs in your house or business and a smartphone:

Unlike your phone, which goes everywhere with you, your lighting system always stays home. Once it’s connected to your home’s Wi-Fi network it will know more and be able to do more around the house, including staying in touch with you while you are away, than your phone ever could.

That, my friends, is pretty cool, and that’s why I am so excited about the future of lighting.

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