The Best Kitchen Smart Lights
Expanding upon or even creating your very own smart home network has never been easier. Swap out a few lights in the living room withsmart bulbs, maybe in the hallway and the bedrooms as well, but why stop there? The kitchen is arguably one of the most essential spaces for smart home functionality.
Considering the kitchen is the last place you want to be spreading germs, you’re able to avoid this entirely by fitting in a few voice-controlled smart kitchen fixtures. This means you get the illumination you need without ever touching a nearby light switch.
Here are the best kitchen smart lights to add color and flair to your cooking space.
1. Philips Hue Infuse Ceiling Lamp
For bringing contemporary style and smart home functionality to the kitchen, you’re able to’t go wrong with the Philips Hue Infuse Ceiling Lamp. Even without a hub, it brings so many features to the table while still leaving room for customization down the road.
With the Philips Hue Infuse Ceiling Lamp hardwired to the ceiling and a simple Bluetooth connection, you’ll have access to voice controls, dimming, a timer, temperature controls, and 16 million colors to choose from right off the bat. It gives you all the right features for setting the perfect mood or even keeping you on track while you’re cooking thanks to the timer function.
Having the Philips Hue Infuse Ceiling Lamp also opens doorways for expansion through other Hue accessories, further enhancing its capabilities. For example, the Hue Bridge unlocks automatic lights, scheduling, and control over the system when you’re away, which is quite useful to have for shaving down your electric bill.
2. ChangM Recessed Lighting
Why stop at one smart light when you could have several? Introducing the ChangM Recessed Light, containing six LEDs which are perfect for creating a network of smart lights that can extend past your kitchen.
For starters, the ChangM Recessed Light works right out of the box, no hub required. In fact, thanks to the use of a Bluetooth mesh connection, it doesn’t need Wi-Fi to function, meaning your network won’t be bogged down by yet another device. Without all that interference, the lights respond near instantaneously by simply using the app.
Through the app, you’ll also find the full breadth of what the ChangM Recessed Light can do for you. With 16 million colors to choose from and a dimmable slider, you’re in complete control of the smart lights in your kitchen.
3. WYZE Bulb Color
If you aren’t keen on making renovations to your home, but still want to benefit from smart home functionality in your kitchen, look no further than the Wyze Bulb Color. Mere seconds after the bulb is installed, you’re given full reign over the light’s color, dimness, and routines.
What’s most impressive is the Wyze Bulb Color offers a laundry list of features without ever needing to connect it to a central hub device. With just the app alone you can set timers, sleep routines, time-based color events, group by zone and floor, even a “vacation mode” to ward off burglars. Hook up your favorite voice assistant and you can even use voice commands, too!
One of the most beneficial aspects of the Wyze Bulb Color is the lack of tools needed to install it. You don’t have to mess with wires or dig into with the breaker; you twist it into a viable socket just like any plain old light bulb, and you’re good to go!
4. Philips Hue Play Gradient Tube
Maybe what you need is something a bit more subtle, in which case the Philips Hue Play Gradient Tube should be your go-to.
To get the Philips Hue Play Gradient Tube up and running, all you need is a nearby power outlet and a few screws for mounting to the wall—no major renovation needed. More importantly, the black and white finish means the light bar will always blend seamlessly into whatever aesthetic you’ve chosen for your kitchen.
Despite being a single tube, the Philips Hue Play Gradient Tube is blindingly bright, reaching 1,100 lumens at its brightest setting. Thankfully, you can make adjustments to the brightness and temperature on the fly using the companion app or with the sound of your voice. In the event you want to get fancy, the Play Gradient Tube also supports gradient lighting, which comes in handy for setting the mood or highlighting special events like birthday parties and holidays.
5. Feit Electric Recessed Kit
If you’re a stickler for saving on your electricity bill, having full control over your lights with smart home technology is a great place to start. You can go even further by investing in the highly-efficient Feit Electric Recessed Kit.
To produce 1,000 lumens, the Feit Electric Recessed Kit uses no more than 11.1 watts, which is but a fraction of the energy that a 75-watt incandescent bulb uses in comparison. Not only will these smart light fixtures provide plenty of light in the kitchen, including different hues, it’s doing so while using significantly less energy than your average option.
Best of all, the Feit Electric Recessed Kit fits seamlessly into any smart home network controlled by Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Don’t have either? No problem! The app is more than capable of grouping lights, dimming, and scheduling on its own without a smart assistant.
6. Nanoleaf Canvas
Forget those boring kitchen light fixtures and consider something bold, like the Nanoleaf Canvas Lights. They’re an excellent way to bring some artistic flair to the kitchen while simultaneously acting as a practical light source.
Rather than limit you to a single light, the Nanoleaf Canvas Lights are a series of panels that you may fix to a nearby wall in just about any design you want. In fact, you can preview a particular setup ahead of time using the companion app, ultimately saving you a bunch of time on the installation process.
If that wasn’t enough, the Nanoleaf Canvas Lights are also quite friendly to a vast array of smart home networks. These kitchen lights not only support Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, but Apple HomeKit and IFTTT, which opens options for scheduling, creating scenes, customized lighting, and voice commands.
7. Kasa Smart LED Light Strip
What if you weren’t looking for dedicated kitchen light fixtures but something more low-key, like smart cabinet lighting? In that case, there’s no better candidate than the Kasa Smart LED Light Strip.
To spice up your kitchen space, the Kasa Smart LED Light Strip features several feet of LED lights which you can cut into sections as you please. This means you have the option to create your own accent lighting in various sections of the kitchen, giving the space a wonderful level of ambiance.
Most impressively, the Kasa Smart LED Light Strip retains much of its smart home functionality even if you cut portions away. With just the app alone, you can set schedules, scenes, and groups. Pair it with Alexa, Google Assistant, or Samsung SmartThings, though, and you’ll gain access to additional features via voice control.
Q: Do Smart Kitchen Lights Need a Smart Home Hub?
It depends entirely on the smart kitchen lights you choose.
If you choose one that doesn’t require a hub to function, you’ll gain access to its features through a proprietary app. However, keep in mind that some smart kitchen fixtures may work without a hub, but some features are locked off until one is connected. For example, voice control tends to be an option only available when paired with something like an Amazon Echo or a Google Nest Hub.
Q: Will I Have to Connect My Smart Kitchen Lights to Wi-Fi?
It depends on the type of smart lighting you opt for.
Some smart lights function only on Wi-Fi, others through Bluetooth, and there are a few that can work off of either protocol. Keep in mind that smart lights connected to your Wi-Fi will slightly impact your network’s performance.
Q: What Should I Look for in a Smart Kitchen Light?
There are three aspects you want to hone in on: lumens, compatibility, and features.
The lumen count you need may vary wildly, but anything closing in on 1000 lumens is a good start. After that, determine if the smart kitchen lights are compatible with your smart home devices or, at the very least, function without a hub. Lastly, look for helpful features like a companion app that tracks the amount of energy the smart lights use, allows scheduling, and has support for voice control.
