Smart lighting at home: scenes, schedules and colour

What it adds

• Dimming without separate dimmer switches.
• Scenes — preset combinations such as "reading", "dinner" or "film".
• Schedules — lights that follow the day, or switch on when you are away.
• Tunable white — cooler light for working, warmer light for the evening.
• Colour — accents and effects, best used sparingly.

Planning it

1. Start with the layers

   Decide ambient, task and accent light for each room first; smart control comes second.

2. Choose bulbs or switches

   Smart bulbs are easy to add; smart switches keep the wall switch working for everyone in the house.

3. Set a few scenes

   Three or four well-chosen scenes are used far more than dozens of options.

Things to consider

• Pick one system so everything works together.
• Prefer systems that keep working locally when the internet is down.
• Check what data a system collects and where it is stored.

Tools for this

• Space styling