Smart Light Bulbs can do so many things!

When your smoke alarm goes off, your mind starts moving a mile a minute: What’s going on? Is it smoke or CO? Where’s the danger? Where should I go? What should I do? What if I wasn’t home? What if you have hearing-impaired family members or guests in the home? These thoughts probably zip through your mind in a split second. If you have the ‘dumb’ smoke alarms like the vast majority of us do, then we really don’t get answers to these questions, even though they could mean life or death. Thanks to new smart home technology, we now have a solution to keep our family and our property safe. The smart light bulb – and it’s a game changer.

nest protect works with smart light bulbA company called Nest has introduced a ‘smart’ smoke + CO detector called Nest Protect that not only sounds an alarm, it also speaks to you with a human voice. It tells you if there’s smoke or carbon monoxide, which room it’s in, and if you’re in immediate danger. So you can quickly figure out the best way to exit your home and avoid running into fire on the way out.

‘Emergency! There’s smoke in the Living Room!’

Awesome! It’s about time something like this is brought to market. But what if you are hearing-impaired, or have family members who are? Well when you link the smart smoke + CO detector with a smart light bulb, like the Philips hue, you can reach a whole new level of safety and protection. When Nest Protect senses something’s wrong, your Hue lights can flash on and off, or even flash RED to get your attention. For those hard of hearing, the flashing red lights could save their lives if the smoke or CO danger is real. They may not have heard the alarm going off and without flashing red lights, they’d be in serious danger. The flashing red lights would also alert neighbors or anyone walking by that there was danger in the home.

If Nest Protect finds a possible hazard it will give you a heads up by flashing the hue lights yellow alongside the audible warning. In case of an alarm, the lights will flash red before going to a dimmed red state which is best to help you navigate in smoky environments.

How does a smart light bulb work if I’m not home?

But what if you’re not home? Because the Nest Protect and the Hue smart light bulbs are all wi-fi enabled and connected to your smartphone, you’ll immediately receive an alert on your phone, in real-time, letting you know that an alarm has been triggered; what type of alarm it is, which room it’s in, and allow you to connect to 911 with the touch of a button. If you had setup smart cameras or a smart home security system in your home, you could then see what is going on in your home, even if you’re halfway across the country on business or on vacation. Talk about piece of mind! As as a father of a 10-month old boy, I see the value in this type of security more than ever. You just see the world differently when a tiny human relies on you. The app also monitors the battery life of the alarm, so the days of grabbing a ladder, climbing to the top rung, and stretching perilously to push that damn Test button are over.

Now hopefully, you won’t actually experience this system in action with a real fire or CO leak. But here’s an added bonus to having this smart system in place in your home.

‘When Nest knows you’re away, your Philips hue lights will automatically switch off gently. When you are gone, we’ll make it seem like you are home by switching your hue lights on and off to mimic your presence.’

philips hue smart light bulbCool! So I don’t have to mess around putting timers on lamps in my house when I’m on vacation? Nope. The Nest system and a smart light bulb can do that for you. Just schedule when you want the lights on or off on your smartphone. It’s all automated. We’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg with smart home technology. The cost of buying the system (especially the smart light bulb) is still pretty high, but as we as consumers demand more smart technology in our homes, more companies will invent, innovate, and compete which will bring the cost down. Remember how expensive flat screen TV’s used to be? Hell, now you can pick one up for less than $100. The future of smart home technology is coming. I for one, am hopping on board with both feet. Will you?

 

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EAP Homes Realtor

EAP Homes, Realtor

About the Author: The above article on How a Smart Light Bulb Can Save Your Life was written and provided by EAP Homes, a leader in the field of Real Estate sales, marketing, and smart home technology. Chris can be reached via email at [email protected] or by phone at 801-455-8753. Chris has helped many people buy and sell Salt Lake City area homes for years.

Thinking of selling your home? I have a real passion for buying and selling Real Estate, as well as marketing & smart home technology. I’d love to share my expertise!

I help people buy and sell real estate in the following Salt Lake area cities & neighborhoods: Holladay, Cottonwood Heights, Millcreek, Olympus Cove, Canyon Rim, Sugarhouse, Midvale, Murray, East Millcreek, Sandy, White City, Draper, Riverton, Daybreak, South Jordan, West Jordan, Herriman, Bluffdale, South Salt Lake, The Avenues, Federal Heights, and of course, Salt Lake City.

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