SMART SWITCHES OR SMART LIGHTS? WHICH OPTION IS BETTER FOR YOUR HOME.
Hi! Dawn here. Thank you for joining us again!
Now that we have covered the fundamental points to look out for when purchasing lights, we can move on to the next topic that many of our clients would raise during their own smart home journey; should I choose Smart Lights, or are Smart Switches?
As always, visit us to learn more about lights and share this article with your friends that are embarking on their own home journey!
So let us get started!
What are smart switches?
Smart switches are essentially a direct replacement for your traditional switches, which allows for you to toggle your lights remotely (via an application / voice assistants). Since everything can be controlled from your smart device, most smart switches do not have an on/off function.
Generally, smart switches can be connected in three ways: WIFI Switches, Kinetic Switches or other Radio Frequencies (such as Zigbee / Z-Wave).
For WIFI and some Zigbee & Z-Wave connections, there will be likely a need to pull neutral wire from your home's DB box, an electrician will need to be engaged, however, do note that there is always a possibility that the electrician might find it impossible to lead the wire to the desired location due to onsite limitations. Additional costs for implementation and aesthetics compromise might be needed to be catered for, so always communicate your requirements to your electricians before work starts! This will allow you to understand the specific costs involved as well as potential wire casings that will be needed to be installed on the surface of the walls to facilitate the Neutral Wire connection.
If you are against Neutral Wiring, we do have good news for you! For specific Smart Switches, Neutral wiring can be omitted, but the homeowners will be required to procure corresponding accessories to enable the switches to control the lights. These accessories include but are not limited to; Gateways and Kinetic modules which would need to be installed.
*To note, Kinetic Switches will likely need false ceiling to hide the module.
