The ExPower Smart Wi-Fi Light Bulb may not seem all that different compared to so many other smart light bulbs in the industry. But quite a few go for it, because it’s surprisingly affordable.
The light bulb industry has undergone radical changes over the last few years. First it was the transition to LED which has proved to offer more effective, safer, and much more energy-efficient lighting. Then there was the smart light bulb revolution, which enabled you to have a programmable light bulb that can be controlled through your smartphone.
Nowadays, you can even have your smart light bulb work in conjunction with your other smart devices, such as your smart security camera. In fact, you can have them work with your voice assistant hubs. Never mind clapping to turn on the lights; now you can just tell your light bulb to do what you want.
You may be able to change the brightness of these smart light bulbs. In fact, you may even change their colors. These changes maybe done manually or you can program them.
All these benefits seem so advanced you’d think you’d have to pay dearly for the privilege. That’s actually true with some brands. But it’s not necessarily true, now that you’ve encountered the ExPower smart light bulb. This one is actually pretty affordable.
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Setup
Yes, it’s true that your budget can probably fit in the ExPower smart light bulb. You can also plug this into a 110 to 220-volt socket.
But you still need to check that you have 24.GHz Wi-Fi as it won’t work with 5.0 GHZ. This doesn’t really need a hub, but it can work with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, but it won’t work with Samsung Smart Hub. It does work for Wink, though.
Also, you need an E27 lamp holder, though this is rather standard. This also works with iPhones and Android smartphones, but it may not work for other types of smartphones.
Once you’ve made sure you have all the requirements, you can get this smart light bulb and install. Screw it into the lamp holder socket, and then download the Smart Life app from the App Store or the Android market. You can also just scan the QR code in the user manual.
You can then register your account in Smart Life. Just open the app and find the registration page. On the upper right corner you’ll find the Register link.
After you’ve registered and logged into Smart Life, add your smart light bulb device. Click on the “+” icon, select the Wi-Fi you’re using, input the password, and then click “next” to connect your light bulb.
Rename the device once you’ve added it successfully, and you may want to sue a more descriptive name than “ExPower light bulb”. After all, there’s a very good chance you’ll buy more these bulbs in the future, so you may want to change the name to “ExPower living room 1”. You may want to buy more lights in your living room, and then groups of light all over your house.
Now you have the app to control the various settings of the ExPower Smart Wi-Fi Light Bulb. You can also connect this to Google Assistant and Alexa, which gives you the opportunity to give verbal commands to make adjustments to your lights.
Brightness
This is a dimmable light, and at its maximum it’s not overly bright at all at 450 lumens. A single light may not be enough to illuminate a large room, so it’s a good thing it isn’t expensive. But why would you want to use just one light bulb for a large room anyway? You can use several to light up different areas of the room.
With voice commands, you can also adjust the brightness as well. All you have to say is “Dim the light to 75% brightness (or whatever percentage of brightness you want) and you’re set.
Just understand that the light here in this bulb is described as extremely “warm” instead of cool. So it’s meant more for mood lighting to help you relax, rather than to invigorate you and let you see clearly enough to perform surgery.
Color
While you can also use vocal commands to change the color of the bulb, getting the exact hue among your options may not be possible simply by saying “change the light color to blue”. That’s because you don’t have 7 colors here or even a many (or as few) as the colors in a crayon box. That’s because the light bulb can give you any of the 16 million colors available.
Scenes
Since you can control the color and brightness, you can then try to find your own settings to match any occasion or use you may wish for this light bulb. Remember that you can out this anywhere, such as in recessed lighting or in desk lamps, or even in chandeliers. Your settings may change when you’re just waking up in the morning or trying to fall asleep, cuddling up with a blanket and a book, TV bingeing, or having a party.
To help you out, there are already 8 preset “scenes” or settings that you can pick from. The names of the settings seem pretty explanatory: gorgeous, shine, rainbow, soft, leisure, party, reading, and night.
There are also IFTTT apps that let you change to specific colors at different times, and these apps can also let your light bulb work with other smart devices like your smart home security camera. Now with Google Assistant, you can use a single vocal command to change the brightness and color settings of the light bulb.
Scheduling
You can program your light bulb to automatically turn on or at preset times. This can work as a security measure, as it can turn on during the evening while you’re still at work.
It can also turn on in the morning to simulate a sunrise to help wake you up. This can turn on automatically with the color you prefer, to help you wake up gently.
Durability
This light bulb can last for a good while, as it’s rated with a lifespan of about 20,000 hours. If you’re going to use this light bulb an average of 3 hours per evening, you can expect it to need replacement after about 22 years or so (22.8 years to be more exact). So not only is it cheap, but you won’t have to spend more money on frequent replacements.
This does come with a 30-day money back guarantee, and it also comes with a 6-month warranty.
Energy Costs
You’ve probably heard by now that LED lights are every energy-efficient, and you’ve heard right. One of its advantages is that it uses most of its energy as light and not heat, which is why it doesn’t feel hot to the touch when you touch the bulb directly.
This also means that this light bulb only uses 6.5 watts, yet it can match the brightness of a traditional 60-watt incandescent bulb. If you use this 3 hours a day and you pay about 11¢ per kWh, your annual energy cost for the ExPower Smart Wi-Fi Light Bulb is a measly 78¢. You got that right—it costs you less than a dollar in energy bills for the entire year!
Pros
For the most part, its main advantage over its many counterparts is that it is more affordable even though you get the same features:
- You can control the light bulb through an app or through vocal commands.
- The brightness and the colors can be adjusted.
- There are 16 million colors to choose from.
- It’s affordable enough that you can get a bunch of light bulbs for a reasonable cost.
- You can set the light bulbs for different occasions.
- You’re able to schedule the lights to go on or off at different times.
- This can last a very long time.
- It doesn’t use much electricity at all.
Cons
Of course, when you don’t pay the high price for a light bulb (or for any consumer item for that matter), you get a bigger chance that things may go wrong, or that some things may not go right the first time.
- Some find to their dismay that it won’t work for their hub.
- Others can’t figure out how to use Alexa to change the colors.
- Also, the brightness of a single light bulb is insufficient to illuminate a large room.
- The app doesn’t appear to let you program it to gradually turn brighter over a period of time.
Conclusion
This is one light bulb that’s starting to appear in many of the “best smart light bulbs” lists online, and that’s because it offers great value for your money. This is a viable option when you want to use smart light bulbs for your entire home. It’s certainly a lot more affordable, and then you can control everything through a single app or hub.
Yes, it’s not unique when it comes to its features and it may even lack more advanced feature that you may find in other smart light bulbs. But with the ExPower Smart Wi-Fi Light Bulb, you get your money’s worth and more.