Many see this as merely a phase that will pass. Others view it as a frivolous luxury. We have all heard the saying, if it ain’t broken don’t fix it. Proponents of this technology are weary of that adage, with good reason.
Blinded by the light
Nowadays we have all become more energy conscious than ever. The practice of phasing out coal fired electric generators for greener alternatives have left users in many regions with higher electricity costs. One trendy solution for this is to use dimmer switches. The idea is that instead of just having your lights on or off, a dimmer switch will allow for a light to be turned halfway on. This means that if there is still some daylight, you can augment it with partial lighting from your bulbs and use less energy.
One problem with dimmers is that they need frequent adjusting as external lighting conditions change. Suppose the sun starts to set at 5 pm when you come home from the office. Maybe from 5-5:30 pm it’s still pretty bright outside, so you don’t turn your kitchen lights on. By 5:30 pm it’s a little darker so you turn them on to 25% brightness. As you are chopping your vegetables for the evening meal you notice it getting a little darker. You think to yourself “I might as well get the rice boiling before going to the other side of the room to adjust the lights, just to speed things up.” This is exactly what you do. Unfortunately, because the lighting was poor, you accidentally grabbed the instant rice instead of the Jasmine rice, and now the whole dish is not what was intended. You could be hard on yourself and think “oh, well that’s what happens when you rush.” The truth is, if you had installed smart dimmers, you could have adjusted the lights from your phone, or simply said “Alexa, give me more light.” Problem solved!
Ageing in the home
Maybe your 83-year-old father comes to visit sometimes. He can still handle stairs, but his vision is going, and he falls easily. At bedtime he is prone to falling because he often trips over things in the dark when the lights are turned off. There is a bedside lamp, but his arthritic fingers struggle to switch it off once he’s laying down. Ever since you put in the smart dimmers, he just says “Alexa, lights out,” and no more falls.
These are all examples of how smart technology is creating a safer, happier, error free world for their users. Smart bulb dimmers are ideal for dipping your toes into the realm of home automation because they are one of the cheaper items to automate when compared to blinds or door locks. Give them a try. What have you got to lose?
This story is brought to you by Great West Media Content Studio. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff.
