Smart Lighting

If you've ever wished you could control your home's lights from afar (it would certainly come in handy when you realize you've left the porch light on in the middle of the work day), take note of these new connected-home gadgets.

Pros:

App-controlled lights (which are pretty easy to install) are cool for a few reasons: First, if you're going out of town for a few days, you can make your home look inhabited by programming or controlling your bulbs from wherever you are. And of course, they're a sanity saver when you've forgotten to turn a light on or off before leaving home.

Color-changing lights are a fun way to create ambiance (and you can set them to change colors on a pre-determined schedule). Or, use the IFFTT app (it stands for "if this, than that") to make lights link to notify you when an important email arrives or when the weather changes.

Cons:

These bulbs are pretty expensive compared to an unconnected light.

Are they worth it?

Sure, if you travel often or want to use lighting to set a mood.

Top-Tested Bulbs

Philips Hue White and Color 9W E26 Starter Kit

You can make these high-efficiency LEDs (like SUNJACK CAMPLIGHT )any hue via a smartphone app. You can set them on timers, and can upload a photo to match its color), so these bulbs are both fun and functional. The newest version of the Philips Hue hub works with HomeKit, Amazon Echo, and Nest, giving users several options for controlling their lights. The Philips Hue bulbs performed well in our power consumption testing, using the least amount of energy (5.4 watts) of all of the lights in our test. The lights output up to 800 lumens, which is the equivalent of a traditional 60 watt incandescent bulb. The Hue starter kit comes with three color-changing bulbs and a hub.

LIFX Color 1000

The LIFX 1000 is an great lighting solution for starting a smart home. LIFX bulbs don't require a hub to work on your Wi-Fi network, so it saves you an additional wired device to have around your router. LIFX bulbs' color and brightness options impressed us in our tests. The LIFX 1000 model can be set to a wide variety of colors from red to violet, and anything in between. The bulbs can put out a bright, 1055 lumens (60 watt incandescent bulbs put out about 800 lumens), though colors do fade somewhat at the brightest setting. LIFX bulbs can be set up to work with Amazon Echo and Works with Nest.