14 DAY TRIAL // There's no shortage of smart bulbs on the market. They are all expensive and have limitations. Emberlight aims to change that by turning any dimmable light bulb into a smart one that can be controlled via an iPhone app.
Emberlight has a few extra features that sound very good: it does not need a hub to connect to. Your regular WiFi router is enough for it to work. You just need to screw it in your lamp and then add a regular light bulb. Emberlight works with any incandescent dimmable CFL or LED bulb for the dimming part of its job.
The iPhone app can control one or all the light in your house with just a tap.You can also set it to switch your lights on in the morning slowly so you are getting adjusted to the light when you wake up. The proximity features will put your lights ON when you get near that place and switch them OFF as you leave.
Imagine you left your house and you forgot to turn off the lights. Just tap a button from 10 miles away and you can turn them off. The iPhone app will notify you if you leave your light on. The device is also good for having a safe return. Just turn the light on from outside your place.
The fun starts when you use Emberlight to set the mood in your home. You can turn off multiple lights or just dim them to your needs.
The developers explain the device works with your iPhone via Bluetooth Low Energy standard. That's how it knows you are getting closer or leaving. One of the advantages of the Emberlight is that you can start small and then add more devices as you need them. No need to buy a hub just for one light bulb.
There are ten different emberlight perks on Kickstarter. You can pay anywhere from $49 (€36.58) for one device and up to $399 (€297.89) for ten of them.
The hardware for Emberlight is using Bluetooth 4.0 and Wifi 802.11 b/g/n standards. The device works with 50W light bulbs, but the developers continue testing with higher wattages. The iPhone app works on iPhone 4s or newer and it is expected to appear on the market in December 2014.
You can get your own Emberlight on Kickstarter before the project's funding ends. After that, the price of a single device will go up from $49 (€36.58) to $60 (€44.80).
