Smart Switch vs Smart Bulbs – Which is BETTER? – ft. TreatLife Smart Switches
Smart Switch vs Smart Bulbs – Which is BETTER? – ft. TreatLife Smart Switches
Today, we are going to compare which Smart Lighting is better…Smart Bulbs or Smart Switches. I use both of them but I like one better from the other and I’ll tell you why in this video. Also, I’ll be showing the install and setup of Treatlife’s Single Pole Smart Switch and also their combo Smart Ceiling Fan Control and Dimmer Light Switch.
Shop: (Paid Link)
Treatlife Single Pole Smart Switch – https://amzn.to/3HAliij
Treatlife Fan Control and Light Switch – https://amzn.to/3Qx9Pno
Wago Connectors – https://amzn.to/3xEwp4T
Switch Covers – https://amzn.to/3NgNU1j
Switch Wall Plate 2 Gang 1 Deco – https://amzn.to/39A2AKQ
Treatlife Fan Control Switch Review – https://youtu.be/7OL-_WPexS4
Wago Connector Review – https://amzn.to/3wQOA6A
00:00 Introduction
00:25 Smart Bulbs vs Switches
02:12 Treatlife Smart Switch Install
04:42 Treatlife Fan Control and Light Dimmer
05:19 Thoughts on Treatlife Switches
#lifehackster #treatlife #smartswitches
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For my needs, I went with smart plugs. 2 in the house, & 2 in the garage. 99% of the time I just use voice commands to control them. Very cost effective too! I’m using both Amazon, & Wyze plugs.
Hey LifeHackster! You HIT the nail on the head as far as ground wires needed for switches. I have an older home with NO ground on many switches so, no-dice! I do have a couple of GE switches from several years ago that do not need a ground and these work great (SmartThings). For me I either use smart-bulbs or smart-plugs. Another option is to use switch-bot devices to control existing switches and also no wiring needed. These Switch-Bot devices also work GREAT for coffee makers, floor fans, and space-heaters, or anything else you need a button to be pushed or a switch toggled. Also, I have several smart-bulbs that change color and I use this feature once and a while but as you mentioned in your son’s case not that often. Great video and keep them coming! Stay safe!
I find smart switches for the same reasons and some smart bulbs lost their configuration much faster.
IOT devices that only connect to 2.4GHz networks are a huge PITA to connect to my mesh network that does not have separate SSIDs for 2.4 and 5GHz networks.
💐🌹🌷👍🌷🌹💐
I don’t mess with the electric so it’s smart light bulbs for me. Love to mess with the colors every once in a while and the brand I use is a really good value….
FYI If you do plan on getting smart light bulbs they can use electricity even though the light is off but the outlet isn’t all be it it may just be a few cent increase but still better than just leaving the lightbulb on
Amazon Alex-a?
kaya po yan sir sa interprise set up salamat po sa inyongbsagot
Thanks for mentioning the neutral wire. I am interested in switches because my smart bulbs suddenly won’t connect back to my wifi no matter what I try. I figured switches would be more reliable. But if non-neutral wire switches are also unreliable, I’m back to the drawing board. 💡🤔
The best deal, if you can make it work, is to get smart plugs!
😊
Nice job as always. I have one switch and the rest (15) are smart bulbs or plugs. For the lights I bought switch guards on Amazon so nobody can flip them. I found that sometimes the switch’s are hard to get into the electrical box as the are tremendously larger than normal, and I am jamming the wires in. Thanks Again!
bulbs are obviously more expensive more flexible and better.
Thank you. 👍🏻
Take-aways as I now see smart switches:
– In the U.S., it would be rare to find a 120 volt circuit that does not have a neurtral. There is normally a hot, neutral, and uninsulated ground in the form of a thrid wire or a metal conduit back to the distribution panel. it would have to be a very old structure built between the 1880s through the 1930s with the original knob-and-tube wiring in order to to have only a hot and ground with no neutral.
– While a neutral wire is always available at an outlet box, except in the rare case mentioned above, that does not necessarily mean it is available in the electrical box that houses the switch. It is not so rare for the hot, neutral, and ground to be available at the device, with one wire going to the switch and another returning. Now there is either no neutral or no hot because the switch itself is no longer just a pair of contacts, it is a smart switch that requires continuous power from somewhere to remain alive when the device is off. There are only a couple things you can do to work around this situation. One would be a battery-powered switch, which I’ve never heard of. A second would be to pass a small amount of power through the load that is enough to power the switch, but not enough to activate the device. That is a pretty fine line, and probably why those that can work without a neutral might be unreliable because it might start the load device to be always on if the load uses a relay, might turn on a bulb dimly, or the smart portion might not work at all. Passing a small amount of power through the load is common in vehicle wiring where the exact loads are known, but you can understand how that could be sketchy for a generic smart switch where the load amout and type are not known prior to designing the smart switch.
Great video! I feel like this is one of those fundamental controversial questions in the smart home like whether to hub or not to hub. My general take is when you can, go for smart switches. When we start out with a smart home, we sometimes have the idea that all of our lights need to be RGB, but in reality very few of them need to be and I find that most of the time light strips add that bit of color much better than bulbs.
Can I activate the lights on a smart switch when I’m out of town on vacation or do I have to be at the house?
I need the dimmer light switch to control a remote plug system. There are no switches connected to wall outlets in our home. Duh …
I have the Smart Dimmer Plug controlled by the app, but I need to have manually controlled for others without the app.
Secondly, can a switch/plug be controlled by two phones, I tried to do it but it kept disconnecting the device from the original phone. What am I doing wrong ?
Alex-A
I will take the smart switch over the bulb as it feels kinda weird walking around your house talking to some devices to turn on or turn off lights
I’m currently using the Lifx bulbs. In my office, for example, I have them set to 20% blue when not in a meeting, 60% yellow when in a meeting, 100% white when working on electronics/etc.
I think the next time around, I would prefer everything to be hardwired instead of Wi-Fi because it’s really annoying to unplug all lights and plug them in one at a time each time you need to reset it (say to change WiFi settings). I have not yet seen a good wall switch for controlling light brightness and color though, so probably configure that through home assistant next time.
Wishing & you a blessed 🙌
& Happy Father’s day!
I have four of the FEIT smart light bulbs and they suit my purpose (security routines) fine. I have one that my wife does occasionally turn off on the lamp, which puts it out of commission, as you mentioned. It is a pain, but I’m training her up!
Why not just get a product that uses both smart bulbs and smart switches?
tell me why the heck i cant just get some sort of wifi remote that controls google assistant with programable buttons that I can just stick on the wall next to light switches that controls WIFI bulbs????
Yes I do use RGB lighting (different colors) in my room for a more gamer aesthetic or when i’m just chilling. But when i’m having lunch or reading I switch to normal white lighting (warm for lunch, cool for reading)
Actually IMO, smart switches are better than bulbs. But in my case where changing switches is not possible then bulbs are okay too
I have (C by GE dimmable white) bulbs which allows me to adjust brightness plus kelvin on every bulb independently or groups or program scenes (“movie theater” in the family room) and I have them through out the house including ceiling fans.
In the beginning I would forget and use the switch but I don’t anymore and haven’t touched a wall switch in over a year. RGB doesn’t interest me at all.
Now that GE has updated to the SYNC app they work really well.
I do think Phillips Hue is a better choice though
Alex eh? Or Alexa? Lol
Smart switches… smart bulb only for accent lights or lamps
what tool did you use to check that there is no power at the switch.
Hi there I have a ceiling fan with 3 lights. How do I make it smart without having to interfere with the actual fan? I am senior with little electrical skills
I have a smart switch in my bedroom and smart bulbs for the porch. I like the smart switch because I don’t have to use the pull chains on my fan to turn off the light or adjust fan speed and I can still use voice control to change both. The smart bulbs I like for outside because they are RGB so instead of having to buy decorative holiday bulbs I can just change the colors of these (I normally have them on warm white, 3000K like all my other low voltage lighting.)
I have the bulbs as well as my low voltage lighting on a dusk to dawn schedule and they work great! IMO, smart switches are great for rooms or fixtures with multiple bulbs, and smart bulbs are good for everything else; especially if like you said you can’t make any changes like renting or an apartment.
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Thank you for your videos. Always great content and presentation. Your honest inputs and experiences are super helpful with all the home automation options available 👍👍
Smart bulbs turn on too easily you can walk by and the bulb will turn on and the power always has to be on for a smart bulb
It’s really cool. I was honored with this video. Thank you for your work
Shortly after moving into my house earlier this year, I made the decision to do smart switches instead of bulbs. Recently tried out the Lutron dimmer starter kit as my first smart switch as I wanted a hub to be the central point of control so as not to burden my network down the road. I’ve got the dimmer controlling the pot lights in my living room, and I also love having the Pico remote as another option to manage those lights. Also like setting up the schedules/routines for out of home situations.
Next project is to add another smart switch at least to the stairway lights in a 3-way config, and possibly to the bedrooms too.
I’m using smart bulb, smart switches for normal bulb and smart switches that are compatible with smart bulb 😁
I thought this was what better instead he showing how to wire up a switch
Can you do any reviews on the "Camera Bulbs" that are being sold? Would like your opinion!
I have both a smart bulb and switches. I use the bulb for a bit of a night light for my daughtee as I can dim it to not be as bright. I use smart switches as my daughter will walk past and not turn off a light switch on her way to her room, so I can simple ask Google to turn it off or on the app. Its also part of my routines to turn lights on/off.
What if I want to use the smart switch with the smart bulb. Are there any that won’t cut the power completely to the bulb ??
Never heard of this brand but I’ll take a look.
I have the govee waffe rgb lights in my living room and use the dreamview feature a few times a week, dreamview mimics the lights from the TV screen and matches the lighting real time, these are also smart lights to they work with Google assistant and Alexa, they are dimable via the app but not the switch so need to run a block off for that switch
Most older houses are not setup to run a four wire switch so smart switchs is a no for most people with older houses. You failed to mention that in your video
Bro, how to get the 2k video recording from micro sd card of Eufy camera.
Please answer.
I’m using WiZ Portable Smart Button 💡
Love all ur video. Very informative, thanks for sharing 😊
Where was this video 5 years ago! I wasted so much time on smart bulbs…NOT wife proof.
Now I am changing all my bulbs out with Shelly 1L (for all most of ly 14 light switches) and Dimmer 2 (for bedrooms). Bulbs are good as desk lights/ complimentary lighting terrible for a normal house