Smart Switches vs. Smart Bulbs
In my ongoing quest to turn my house into a smart home, I decided to replace many of the important light switches with Leviton Wi-Fi Smart Switches or Dimmers. I chose to use Wi-Fi switches/dimmers instead of smart bulbs for a few reasons:
- Bulbs require forfeiture of the usage of any existing light switch functionality
- Light switches allow you to control other motors/appliances, like ceiling fans (which our house has)
- Smart bulbs require an additional hub (one per 9 bulbs for Philips Hue), using up precious real estate
- I wanted to replace the existing switches with Decora style switches anyways
- Fewer always-on devices constantly drawing power
- Smart switches require a neutral (white wire), since they need to draw power, which is available most if not all of our light switch boxes