If you haven’t switched over to an automated LED light system, you’re illuminating your home wrong.
Awakening to light is way more peaceful and natural than chirps from your cell phone. It works for sleep, too: dimming your lights on a timer as the evening wanes will help you get to sleep. And in tandem, they’ll improve your circadian rhythms tenfold.
As for where to find this magical cyberpunk technology?
IKEA, of course. The Swedish retail giant just announced they’re dipping their toes in the home automation ring by buying Scotland’s LED Design Products. Until this, the market was dominated by Phillips, which is double the price of IKEA’s automated home-lighting system, Trådfri.
LEDs (light emitting diodes) are good for thousands of moons, so you won’t replace these for years — a nice, eco-friendly bonus. But what sets IKEA apart is the UX appears to be more user-friendly than Phillips’ version, and also includes an attractive remote the size of a wafer cookie. That’ll come in handy when you don’t want to hop on your phone to dim the lights for a movie.
There are lots of bulb sizes and options, including backlighting for translucent cabinets and motion-activated units. But for our money, the greatest benefit of home automation is that we can set it and forget it.
Peep the video below to see Trådfri in action.
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