Sengled smart bulb and kits make a great starting point to test smart lighting, especially if you are on a budget and cannot use smart switches. They offer a wide variety of bulbs, light strips, and other accessories that all connect via the Sengled Hub.
We always recommend smart switches, but if those aren’t an option for you then be sure to consider a Sengled system.
Our Verdict about sengled smart bulb
Sengled is a great solution for those looking to invest in smart lighting on a budget.
Although not as popular or versatile as the industry leading Philips Hue lights, the Sengled smart lighting system is an excellent choice for those that want a simple, functional system that doesn’t break the bank.
Sure, the features might not be as robust as many of its competitors, but Sengled is still a quality option for rigging up your home with its first smart lighting system.
In addition to the affordable up-front price, replacement bulbs are inexpensive. Furthermore, a wide range of bulb models and sizes as well as extra accessories are available.
Full compatibility with the most popular voice assistants and a well-designed, intuitive smartphone app make using Sengled smart light bulbs easy.
One additional minor negative to make note of is brightness. Compared to Philips Hue, the color-changing bulbs are not nearly as bright, although this may very well be a non-issue for many users.
- Inexpensive
- Affordable Replacement Parts
- All-in-One Starter Kits Available
- Intuitive App
- Easy Installation
- Poor IFTTT Compatibility
- App Not as Robust as Competition
- Not as Bright as Competing Models
What is Sengled smart lighting system?
The Sengled smart lighting system comes with everything you need to install smart light bulbs in your home.
A number of starter kits are available that make installation even easier. These come with the necessary hub as well as numerous light bulbs. Alternatively, you can build your lighting system by yourself by buying the hub and light bulbs separately.
Remember, you can always add to your initial Sengled smart lighting starter kit by buying and installing additional smart light bulbs as you see fit.
The cheapest Sengled starter kit comes with two light bulbs and the hub. This is a far cry cheaper from competitors such as Philips Hue.
A large number of accessories, including smart switches and motion detectors, are available to customize your Sengled smart lighting setup to your individual needs and preferences.
How Sengled smart lighting system works?
The Sengled hub acts as the heart of the entire system. This is what forms a wireless connection with each light bulb and sends out commands by communicating with the smartphone app.
You must connect the hub to your Wi-Fi router with an Ethernet cable. This connection creates a ZigBee wireless communication network.
Sengled smart light bulb iscfully compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. A basic form of IFTTT was recently added on an updated version of the system. The Sengled Home App is available for both iOS and Android.
Sengled also offers motion detecting light bulbs. Like a traditional motion detector, these turn on whenever they detect motion. This makes them an excellent option to use outside the doors of your home so that they automatically turn on at night when someone walks by.
Finally, Sengled offers a fairly diverse selection of light bulbs. In addition to soft white and daylight light bulbs, they also offer tunable white and color bulbs.
Sengled Smart LED Light Bulb Review
Sengled offers a wide selection of different light bulb colors, styles, and sizes as well as a host of specialty lighting.
The four main types of Sengled smart LED lights are soft white, daylight, tunable white, and multicolor. This refers to the color of the sengled smart bulb. All four options are available in different sizes to fit as many fixtures as possible.
The soft white Sengled light bulbs emit a soft white light. This is similar to the color from a traditional light bulb to create a relaxing and welcoming atmosphere. The soft white bulbs are not tunable.
The daylight Sengled light bulbs create a cooler type of light. This light is more natural, similar to that of the natural light outside. The daylight bulbs are not tunable.
The tunable white Sengled light bulbs can go from a soft white light to daylight light. They are tunable via the smartphone app or voice assistant.
The multicolor Sengled smart bulb can be tuned to just about any color imaginable. In fact, their color tuning is so precise that you can choose from any one of 16 million colors and thousands of shades of white.
Sengled multicolor options
| Sengled Soft White | Daylight | Sengled Tunable White | Sengled Multicolor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colors: | Soft White | Cool White | Soft White to Cool White | Full Range of Color, Including White |
| Color Temperature: | 2700K | 5000K | 2700K to 6500K | 2000K to 6500K (with color) |
| Life: | 25,000 Hours | 25,000 Hours | 25,000 Hours | 25,000 Hours |
| Dimmable: | Yes, with app | Yes, with app | Yes, with app | Yes, with app |
n addition to these standard LED light bulbs, Sengled offers a number of specialty smart light bulbs, including motion sensor bulbs, bulbs with built-in speakers, and bulbs with built-in cameras.
The majority of the light bulbs available from Sengled operate on a ZigBee network. This ZigBee network requires the use of a Sengled hub with the light bulbs.
If you do not want to invest in the hub, Sengled also offers a smaller selection of Wi-Fi light bulbs that operate on your standard wireless network.
You can mix and match different Sengled smart LED light bulbs together to create a smart lighting system customized specifically for you.
Most Sengled bulbs are rated for 800 lumens of output.
Sengled Smart Hub
The majority of Sengled smart bulbs connect via a ZigBee network, which is controlled with the Sengled Hub. Although a few Wi-Fi models are available, the ZigBee bulbs are much more efficient not to mention versatile.
The Sengled smart hub is simple to use. All you have to do is connect it to your Wi-Fi router via Ethernet cable. It must also be plugged into a traditional wall outlet at all times.
The Ethernet connection to your Wi-Fi router serves several purposes. First, it allows you to control your lights from your smartphone app, even when you’re not at home. Second, it allows all of your Sengled smart bulbs to create a mesh network with their ZigBee connection.
The smart hub acts as the brain to the entire system. It’s what allows you to control and program each bulb from the smartphone app or with voice assistant.
While we recommend purchasing a Sengled Kit, which includes a hub plus bulbs, you can also purchase the hub by itself.
Sengled Smart Switch
Sengled smart lights don’t work very well with normal switches because they must always have power to them so you cannot flip the switch off. Instead you have to use the app to control your lights, which isn’t ideal and takes a bit of getting used to.
Enter, the Sengled Smart Switch. This switch operates completely wirelessly so it can be used in apartments. The mounting plate allows it to wall mounted like a normal switch or you can remove the remote and carry it around.
The switch operates with a CR2032 battery and comes with the wall-mount plate.
Feature Comparison
We’ve covered overall features for each product, but let’s review some of the features that apply to the Sengled lighting system as a whole.
Controlling Your Lights
There are a number of different ways to control your Sengled smart light.
Chief among them is using the smartphone app. Available for both iOS and Android, the app pairs directly with the hub.
Sengled light bulbs are also compatible with a number of voice assistants, most notable Amazon Echo and Google Assistant.
Instead of manually switching your light bulbs on or off with the app or a voice assistant, the app gives you dozens of options for scheduling the bulbs to turn on or off at certain times of the day and night.
Even though Sengled recently introduced a basic IFTTT system, it’s still not very efficient at developing custom applets, such as those that allow for geofencing.
The final way to control your smart lights is the old-school method. This consists of turning a switch or a power strip on and off.
Unlike many of its competitors, Sengled does not currently offer any smart switches or dimmers – you must use the light bulbs only with the traditional light switch.
Geofencing
Geofencing is not as well developed for Sengled as it is for other brands of smart lighting.
That said, it’s still possible to develop rudimentary geofencing thanks to the recent implementation of IFTTT. But because of the lackluster connection between the hub and your smartphone GPS, this is a rough system at best.
It’s likely that Sengled will continue to develop and improve their geofencing capabilities in the near future.
IFTTT – If This, Then That
Sengled has only recently added IFTTT capabilities to its roster.
Despite the benefits of the recent addition, IFTTT is only available with select Sengled light products.
All smart Sengled light bulbs now work with IFTTT. You can use IFTTT to create a variety of functions and tasks.
A notable example is to use IFTTT to connect your living room smart lights to your outdoor motion detecting lights. When the motion detector detects motion outside, your indoor living room lights will also turn on.
Visit this resource for more information on IFTTT for Sengled.
Also Read
Are Color changing bulbs worth it?
Sengled smart lighting system Installation
Installing a Sengled smart lighting system is relatively simple and straightforward.
If you decide to go with the more basic, yet functionally limited, Wi-Fi lights, installation is as easy as screwing them in and downloading the smartphone app.
For the more effective ZigBee-enabled smart lights, installation is slightly more complex, but still only consists of a few steps.
The first is hooking the smart hub to your Wi-Fi router with an Ethernet cable and plugging it into a wall power outlet. From there, plug the light bulbs into their fixtures. Next up download the smartphone app and then follow the setup instructions.
Visit the Sengled website for more information on how to install Sengled smart lights.
Sengled Home App
The Sengled Home app is similar to any standard smart light app. It shows you a list of all of your smart light bulbs, enables you to turn these on and off, lets you adjust the color on compatible bulbs, and allows you to create lighting schedules.
From the Home screen, you can quickly turn all lights on or off and you can also make quick adjustments to any light. You can also access Devices, Routines, and Settings across the bottom ribbon menu. Scenes and schedules are set up through the Routines menu item.
One unique feature of the Sengled Home app is the ability to track how much power each one of your Sengled smart light bulb is currently using. This is found under Settings > Performance.
The Sengled Home app is available for both iOS and Android.
Security and Privacy
Sengled is known for quality security and privacy.
Although the brand and its smart light bulbs have been under fire for vulnerabilities in the past, the company has been prompt about fixing these problems. For example, a recent study showed that your Wi-Fi login information could be hacked form Sengled bulbs. When this was revealed, the company immediately took steps to ensure it wouldn’t happen again.
View the Sengled privacy policy for more information on the company’s security and privacy protocol.
About the Manufacturer
Sengled is an international electronics company known for its lighting products.
Although they are based out of Shanghai, Sengled maintains a solid presence in both North America and Europe. Their home smart lighting solutions have rapidly grown in popularity in the United States during the last several years.
In addition to their smart lighting products, Sengled is known for its traditional lighting solutions as well as audio and security products.
Because of their experience and expertise with audio, security, and lighting, many of the company’s most popular lighting products are actually specialty smart lights that combine these functions together (such as a sengled smart bulb with built-in security camera).
