Lights and lightbulbs are in the midst of a huge transformation.

With the announcement that halogen light bulbs will be banned from sale from September 2021, and fluorescent light bulbs not far behind, many people are looking to swap the bulbs in their luxury desk lamps, and there are a lot of energy-saving and innovative solutions.

One increasingly fascinating solution that has become increasingly popular is the smart bulb, which uses fascinating technology and intelligent design to create the most energy-efficient and fully featured lamps yet.

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions.

What Are Smart Bulbs?

Smart bulbs, or smart lighting, are technologies that take advantage of the Internet of Things principle of connecting household objects to technological hubs to provide lighting that is energy-efficient, programmable and adaptable.

Typically this takes the form of lights that can display in a range of colours, hues and brightness settings, as well as lights that can be scheduled to turn on and off at specific times or even based on the number of people in the room.

Smart bulbs have tiny but sophisticated microchips, which are powerful enough that one creative programmer managed to play a game of Doom on one of them.

What Do I Need To Use Smart Bulbs?

Smart bulbs use wireless technology to control and program them, so for many bulbs, all that you need is a smartphone, a smart bulb and a Wi-Fi connection to link them all together.

Some systems, such as Philips Hue, do require a hub, so it is important to check the packaging before buying.

How Do They Save Money?

A lot of the energy cost caused by lighting is unnecessary usage, such as when a light bulb is accidentally left on or is turned on when there is enough natural light to see.

Smart bulbs help this by letting a home or office owner turn lights on and off remotely or according to a schedule, reducing energy use and therefore energy costs.