In addition to your usual lighting, you can also make the lights of your Christmas tree smart. How do you do that? And why would you want that?
Making your Christmas tree smart sounds unnecessary, but it involves some tricks. For example, you can set the tree to only turn on when a sensor in the room sees that it is dark enough, or to switch off automatically when you turn off all other lights in the house in the evening.
If you really want to use your lighting sparingly, you can connect it to a motion sensor that sees whether someone is in the room. Then the tree can switch off automatically after five minutes if no one is there.
There are two ways you can make your Christmas lights smarter. The cheapest option is with your existing lamps and an extra switch. But for a little more money you can buy smart lamps with some extra functions.
Option 1: hang your Christmas lights behind a switch
Photo: Philips
Several smart home manufacturers sell switches for the socket into which you can plug a device. You can then use an accompanying app to switch the power supply on or off, so that the lights turn on or off.
If you use Hue lamps at home, you can add the Hue smart plug to your ecosystem. This switch costs 35 euros as standard and is available in… Price watch from Tweakers also available from 27 euros. This will make your Christmas tree appear as a Hue lamp in the app. You can also add it to other supported platforms, such as Apple’s Home app.
There are also cheaper smart plugs, such as one from Xiaomi for about 15 euros. When purchasing, make sure that the switch in question fits within the ecosystem that your smart home devices currently use. Then there is a good chance that you can make the Christmas tree work together with other lights and sensors that you already have at home.
Option 2: smart Christmas lights
Photo: Philips
If you want a little more functionality, you can also invest in new Christmas lights that work directly with your smart home. Manufacturers such as Bedee and Govee have smart lights for the tree. You can change color with the accompanying app to match the style of your tree. You can find these streamers for around 40 euros at online stores.
The most expensive option in this category is from Philips: the Festavia garland for the tree costs no less than 205 euros. For that money you do get some nice extras, such as the option to make the lights flicker as if they were candles.
2023-12-17 04:08:07
#lights #Christmas #tree #smart #Live #smarter
