Make the most of your smart lights this holiday season with these expert tips

Daylight saving time has officially ended, bringing us darker (and colder) nights. The upcoming holidays certainly offer a bit of cheer during these chilly months. But a better way to combat winter fatigue is by optimizing your smart lights. Whether you have them installed inside or outside your home, now is the perfect time to tinker with their settings and create routines that keep you nice and cozy.

From changing the hue of your bulbs and installing motion sensors to creating schedules and setting up a vacation mode, here’s a look at powerful ways to optimize your smart lights.

Create a schedule or routine

Philips

If you haven’t yet created a schedule or routine for your smart lights, now is a great time to dive into these useful features. Creating a schedule for your lights is particularly easy — yet it’s one of the coolest features of your smart device. This allows your lights to automatically turn on in the morning and simulate the sunrise, then slowly dim when it’s time to go to bed. If you wake up earlier than the sun rises, this is especially useful. All of the best smart lights offer this feature, so dive into your companion app, find your smart light bulb, and open its Settings menu to start programming a schedule.

Anyone with outdoor smart holiday lights can do the same, ensuring they toggle on when it gets dark before toggling off when it’s time to go to sleep.

Routines are useful too, though they require a bit more planning. For example, depending on your smart home setup, you can create a routine that closes your smart blinds, turns up your thermostat, and powers on all your smart lights for a cozy night inside. You might also want to make a routine for movie night, dimming the lights in your home theater and turning off all others in the home. Whatever the case may be, messing around with smart light functionality can lead to useful effects — especially when it’s this dark outside.

Change your hue

Hatch

Many smart bulbs are capable of producing colors that mimic sunlight. And with limited sunlight available outside, using your smart bulbs to create artificial sunlight inside could help you get through the cold winter months. You might also consider picking up something like the Hatch Restore 2, which is built from the ground up to make your waking and sleeping routines a bit more bearable.

At the very least, dive into your bulbs’ companion app and see what colors they offer. You might find it beneficial to use vibrant hues during the day to stay alert, before winding down with softer hues at night. You could even use colors like purple, red, or green to give your home a festive flair.

Upgrade your gear with motion sensors

Philips

Tired of manually toggling your smart lights? Add a few motion sensors to your home, and they’ll automatically activate when you enter the room. Just make sure you’re buying motion sensors that are compatible with the same smart home platform as your smart lights — for example, if you’re using Google Home for your lights, you’ll want Google Home for your sensors.

You can also check out physical buttons like the Linxura Smart Controller, which let you and your family toggle smart lights at the press of a button without the need for a mobile app.

Set up Vacation Mode

Ring

If you’re going to be traveling during the holiday season, make sure to check to see if your smart lights offer Vacation Mode. When enabled, Vacation Mode will randomly toggle your lights — making it appear as if someone is home. If your bulbs don’t offer vacation mode, consider setting up a basic schedule that turns your lights on and off throughout the day. This helps keep your property safe while you’re away, as anyone passing by will think someone is inside manually manipulating all the bulbs.