Wi-Fi Lightbulbs Are Real, And They're Awesome—First Impressions (UPDATED)

The Island of Dr. Moreau-style splicing of technologies is generally one trend the world could do without. "Haven't you always wanted a lava lamp with a built-in hatchet?" No, Mr. Pitchman, and please take your abominations elsewhere.



The bulbs themselves give off a warm, 2700K glow, which is a comparable color to incandescent bulbs. It's a pleasing light, and it retains that color even when dimmed. The LED bulbs are Energy Star Certified, and consume just a fraction of the power of incandescents. These are roughly on par with CFL bulbs in terms of consumption, but they are far more durable and should last a great deal longer. We tested the 40-watt equivalent lights and they cast a very nice, even lighting to the room. The top of the bulb is a disc that doesn't light up, which makes the bare bulbs not particularly attractive, but they're certainly not as ugly as others we've seen.





You can also create schedules called "Smart Controls." These could be very simple, as in "turn on outside lights at sundown, then turn them off again at sunrise," or they could be intricate vacation modes, where various lights come on and off at various times, giving the appearance of someone moving around your home. But don't worry, you need to have your phone or remote control with you at all times—you can still use your home's light switches as usual.


This is all made possible through to GreenWave's partnership with NXP, which is responsible for the wireless technology within the bulbs and routers (and probably the NFC chip in your new smartphone), but the bulbs are just one piece of a much larger puzzle. It's a part of a system which will soon be integrated with thermostats, appliances, IP cameras, motion sensors and much more. These systems have already been integrated in Europe (where utility companies aren't quite so regulated), and have been well-received. I was worried that having dosens of bulbs, each with a little radio that is on and waiting all the time would end up costing a lot more on one's energy bill. I was told, however, that each bulb only draws 100 milliwatts of power when off, which would cost roughly 10 to 20 cents per year. Not bad at all, considering the other savings.

We're still waiting on confirmation of pricing and availability, but it should be very soon. GreenWave has licensed this technology to a number of leading bulb manufacturers in the U.S. and China, and now that they're Energy Star Certified we should see the popping up in no time. We've seen a lot of companies take a stab at the "connected home" market (Wi-Fi washer and dryer... great), but this is one of the first that's actually useful enough (and will likely be affordable enough) to catch on. [GreenWave Reality]

UPDATE: Just got this response regarding pricing:

GreenWave Reality is really the "brand behind the brand," selling through utilities and other partners. Because of Energy Star rebates and other incentives through utilities, we can't give an exact price, but we expect bulbs to be available for around $20 or less. The full kit that you have should be at, or under, $200.
