I don't underatand how any schedule would save energy over my current method of simply turning on lights when I'm in a dark room and turning them off when I leave.

Surely a schedule would have them on more. Do you leave lights on in empty rooms?

These are terrible advices.

All smart lightbulbs have a small router in them, so they all use some electricity while switched off. You can gain some net plus only if you live with people who constantly forget to switch off lights. But you need some presence detector as well. Smart lighting is about convenience not energy usage.

Wifi is the worst wireless standard from energy usage standpoint. Zigbee's power usage is much less and devices are cheap. Thread and Z-wave power usage also lower than wifi, but devices are a bit more expensive.

Amazon and Google are a privacy nightmare. Home Assistant and Domoticz are two wellknown local first smart home systems.

> /c/technology

> look inside

> "consider Alexa or Google Home"

I bought my smart bulbs at Ikea. Idk how the price compares to the brands you mentioned.

I think smart home lighting is overrated. Schedules are nice for holiday and outside lights. But I don't use any "smart" solutions in most rooms. They have limited use in the hallway, though (with a motion sensor?) And in places where you want to dim them, like next to the TV. That's my opinion.