With smart lighting, users can not only switch light on and off conveniently, but also create very special lighting experiences.You don't necessarily have to resort to the expensive products from industry leader Philips Hue.The alternatives are sometimes significantly cheaper.This guide is aimed at anyone who is looking for initial information on smart light sources or who wants to get a general overview of the subject.If this information is too general for you, we advise you to take a look at our Smart Lighting theme world.There we compared, among other things, 5 Zigbee LEDs with E27 sockets, showed smart outdoor lighting for retrofitting or introduced vintage LEDs."Computer, turn on the light in the living room." Smart lighting is required for a digital language assistant such as Amazon Alexa (adviser), Google Assistant (test) or Apple Siri (adviser) to be able to implement this command.In this context, “smart” first of all means “networked”.Smart lighting control is not possible without networking.Different transmission standards such as WLAN, Bluetooth or Zigbee (guide) are used for this.Zigbee has established itself with major providers such as Philips Hue (test report), Ikea (test report), Innr, Ledvance, Paulmann and Tint (test report).The radio standard is not only particularly energy-efficient, but is also ideal for networking.While WLAN lamps ensure additional data traffic in the home wireless network, Zigbee components build their own network.A Zigbee device amplifies the radio signal in a similar way to a mesh network, thereby increasing the range.However, a central control unit is required to set up a Zigbee network.Manufacturers often refer to these as gateway, bridge or hub.But it is not absolutely necessary to use a bridge from Philips or Innr to control the corresponding lamps.Zigbee lamps can often also be controlled directly by smart home centers (guide) such as Samsung Smartthings (test report) or Homey Pro (test report).However, you have to accept some limitations when operating without a manufacturer bridge.Certain functions, such as light synchronization with music, are only available with the original Philips bridge.Philips Hue has also been equipping its lamps with Bluetooth since 2019.Without a bridge, users can control the lamps via smartphone and Bluetooth connection.However, you cannot operate more than ten Hue components with it - with the bridge it is up to 50. In addition, the range is limited with Bluetooth, so that you can control the lamps in the vicinity, but not while on the go.In addition, extensive automation with other smart home components is not possible with Bluetooth solutions.WLAN-based lights such as Luminea (test report), Nanoleaf (guide), Lifx, TP-Link Kasa and Wiz do not require a central control unit.They are connected directly to the WiFi router and controlled via an app.Compared to Zigbee variants, however, the power consumption in standby is higher.They also ensure additional data traffic in the home WLAN network (guide), which can lead to problems under certain circumstances.If you use a Fritzbox (guide), you can connect the Fritzdect 500 light based on DECT-ULE directly to it.Otherwise, no other DECT ULE lamps are available, so that the platform cannot keep up with the variety of choices of the competition when it comes to smart lighting control.In many cases, to get started with smart lighting, it is sufficient to replace the old light source with a smart version.Not much more is necessary.With smart lamps, users can easily create a cozy atmosphere via app.In combination with smart motion detectors, the smart home switches the light on and off automatically.There is a large range of networked light sources.For basic lighting, there are LED lamps in many shapes for the sockets E27, E14, GU10 and B22, occasionally also for GU 5.3 (12 volts).Alternatively, ready-made lights are available in various designs for table, wall, ceiling or cabinet mounting with built-in LEDs.For example, if floor lamps cannot be equipped with smart light sources because their housing is too small, they can be “smart” using radio-controlled sockets.Flexible LED strips or panels for wall and ceiling mounting are suitable as decorative mood lights.The top dog when it comes to smart light is the Signify group with its brands Philips Hue (test report) and Wiz.Under the umbrella of Ledvance, Osram's (Smart+ test report) former lighting division is to find its old form on the smart home market.Ikea gets involved with the Tradfri product range in the low-price segment.With Innr, Tint, Luminea and Eve, other European brands are vying for customers' favor.However, Asian challengers such as Govee (guide), Meross, Sonoff, Xiaomi and Yeelight would also like a piece of the pie and rely on an aggressive price war.Nanoleaf (Canvas test report) and Lifx are mainly known in North America, but are also popular with enthusiasts in this country.Here we have compared 5 E27 RGB bulbs with Zigbee.Lamps that can only display warm white are particularly cheap.At Ikea (Tradfri test report) it starts at 8 euros.For those that can vary between different shades of white, a small surcharge is due.RGB lamps, which can theoretically produce 16 million color nuances in addition to the white spectrum, are even more expensive.You can expect prices between 20 and 60 euros per lamp.Ready-made lights for walls, ceilings, tables or in the form of spots and LED panels are just the beginning and don't stop at over 400 euros.The design also plays a major role here.The Hue Play Bars (test report), for example, are comparatively cheap and more practical than design.The competition ensures more and more product alternatives in various areas of application.The suppliers are currently expanding their range of filament lamps with a filament look (filament lamps in comparison).And of course there is also smart LED lighting in the form of floor lamps.As an alternative to pure wall lights, there are also combination products with an integrated surveillance camera such as the Ezviz LC3 (test report).Those interested can find out more details about this in our article on surveillance cameras: outdoor lights with cameras, spotlight and floodlight cams from 90 euros.In addition, more and more waterproof and dustproof decorative and ready-made outdoor lights are available that can be easily retrofitted.With many gadgets, the garden becomes an oasis of light and well-being.The popular LED strips allow ever finer controls, diode clusters or even individual diodes to be colored.This enables new areas of application, such as the comparison of light color and brightness with the TV picture and music - for example with the Philips Hue Gradient Lightstrip.However, interested parties also need the Sync Box (test report) to control it.Depending on the manufacturer, the range also includes motion detectors, radio-controlled sockets, remote controls and radio-controlled switches for tables and walls.If you distribute several motion detectors in the apartment, you can completely do without light switches in extreme cases.Interested parties should first try out whether this really works in everyday life in a single room.If you prefer to operate your smart devices with a switch, you can easily retrofit them.Simple on and off switches, switches with a dimming function or color selection and multiple switches are available.Conventional light switches can be completely replaced with flush-mounted modules.However, they are not as easy to install as battery-operated wireless pushbuttons.You either stick these to the wall with double-sided pads like a normal light switch or place them on the table or sofa.If you would like to find out more about smart light switches, you will find valuable information in our guide to retrofitting WiFi switches and dimmers: How lighting becomes smart.If you want to get into the topic of smart lighting, you can start with the simple replacement of existing light sources with smart variants.These are already available for a few euros.But for fascinating light experiences, larger investments are necessary.Those who take advantage of offers from Philips Hue are playing in the Champions League in terms of lighting technology.However, this not only affects the performance and selection, but also the price.Anyone who does not need the full range of services from the industry leader can save a lot of money with alternative solutions.A 9-watt E27 lamp from Philips Hue (White and Color Ambiance) currently costs just under 35 euros, while Ikea only charges just under 20 euros for a comparable model.With regard to a growing lighting system, however, you should also use products from one manufacturer if possible in order to keep the lighting control as simple as possible.In practice, most users are likely to operate a smart light control together with other smart home components, so care should be taken to ensure that the lighting system and the smart home center are compatible.TechStage has already published numerous guides and test reports on the subject of smart lighting, which illuminate the topic in detail from different perspectives:(With material by Berti Kolbow-Lehradt)- The links marked with are commission links (affiliate links).If an order is placed via such a link, TechStage receives a commission.This does not result in any additional costs for the buyer.