Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Zigbee?

How to Choose the Smart Lighting Technology That’s Right for You.

Smart lighting continues to grow in popularity as well as technology styles. Gone are the days when you were limited to standard LED light bulbs that operated via a hub. Today with many protocols, bulb styles, and other options, it can be a challenge knowing where to begin. Let us help you navigate the vast sea of smart lighting.

The Technologies

Wi-Fi—a Great Way to Start 

New to smart lighting? Sengled Wi-Fi lights and devices are a good way to get your feet wet since you don’t need a hub and can set up in seconds. What’s more, if you decide to purchase a Sengled Smart Zigbee kit in the future, your Sengled Wi-Fi bulbs can be grouped and controlled with the Sengled Home app along with their Zigbee counterparts. 

How it works

Sengled Smart Wi-Fi bulbs work directly with your home network. Bulbs communicate directly through your router. We recommend operating no more than 20 Wi-Fi bulbs in your home to avoid slowing down your Wi-Fi.

Where to start

Because each Sengled Smart Wi-Fi bulb and device works independently, any Wi-Fi bulb or device is a great option. For a dynamic entertainment experience, we recommend our Wi-Fi TV Light Strips or Wi-Fi Light Strips with Audio Sync. These lighting strips sync and respond to your audio and are great for everyday activities like gaming and TV watching or special get-togethers like karaoke or Superbowl parties. 

 

Bluetooth Mesh—When You Need an Extended Reach

Big house? Sengled Bluetooth Mesh may be your perfect option. Because this mesh network expands as you add products, it’s ideal for reaching those remote areas of your home.

How it works

Sengled Smart Bluetooth Mesh bulbs and devices connect to your home network using the Alexa app, Echo device, or the Sengled Bluetooth Mesh app. They connect via Bluetooth Mesh and form an expandable network. Each Bluetooth Mesh light or device then extends the signal to give you whole-home reach.

Where to start

Like Wi-Fi, each Sengled Smart Bluetooth Mesh bulb and device works independently and doesn’t need a hub. We recommend starting with more than one to get the most out of your mesh lights or products. Sengled Bluetooth Mesh technology comes in multicolor, soft white, and daylight standard bulbs—our Multicolor 4-Pack is a popular choice (available at BestBuy.com and Amazon.com). You can also get multicolor BR30s, candle bulbs, and light strips. Sengled Bluetooth Mesh Smart Plugs are also a great way to incorporate smart technology into your daily appliances.

Zigbee—Whole-Home Lighting System 

Perfect for smart lighting aficionados, Sengled Smart Zigbee light bulbs can be used with a compatible hub (i.e., Sengled Smart Hub, Amazon Echo Device with a built-in hub, Apple HomeKit, and SmartThings). Up to 64 Sengled Smart Lights and Devices can be used on each Sengled Smart Hub. This robust whole-home lighting system is ideal for people who want to fill their homes with smart lighting and smart plugs. Remember, you can add Sengled Wi-Fi TV Light Strips, bulbs, and more to your Zigbee home, as both technologies can be used together and controlled with the Sengled Home app.

How it works

Sengled Smart Hub acts as a Zigbee-to-Wi-Fi translator for your home network and your lights. When you turn on your Sengled bulb using the app, the signal is sent to your router, then the Sengled Smart Hub (or compatible hub) translates that command into a Zigbee signal and sends it out to the bulb.

Where to start

We recommend starting with a Sengled Starter Kit. Sengled has many starter kit options, including multicolor or white bulbs, light strips, and our 3-pack multicolor kit with smart light switch. 

Add more

Once you have your starter kit or a compatible hub, then you can add more Sengled Smart Zigbee bulbs, light strips, plugs, and more.