Amazon offers an affordable way to start building out a voice-activated home automation system for your house or apartment with its Echo devices and Alexa smart voice assistant. On its own, you can use Alexa to play music and find news, sports, and other information. But things get really interesting when you start to connect Alexa up to smart devices, including connected LED bulbs, smart hubs, and smart switches, around your house. We’ve collected some of our favorite Alexa-enabled smart lights below. If you use Alexa to control your smart home, you should consider picking some of these up.
The home automator’s favorite
Philips Hue White Ambience Bulb
Staff Favorite
Philips Hue is the OG of smart lighting, and they make a wide variety of bulbs, lamps, and lighting accessories. They require a hub or bridge to work with smart assistants like Alexa, but this is one expansive ecosystem that also works well with Apple’s Siri/Homekit and Google Assistant/Nest. They may be a bit pricier than other smart bulbs, but there is no denying the quality of the Philips Hue line.
$22 at Amazon
The home ecosystem advantage
Ring Spotlight Cam
Ring was a reputable home security brand before Amazon acquired them, and now that they’re officially part of the ecosystem, the devices work with Alexa better than ever. The Ring Spotlight cam lets you keep an eye on your home from anywhere, and shine a light on possible intruders. You can also speak to guests via Alexa from your Echo devices.
$200 at Amazon
A light that will glow-up
Amazon Echo Glow
The Amazon Echo Glow is another first-party lighting accessory that is designed to work seamlessly with Alexa. Positioned as an interactive nightlight for children, it can also be a fun lighting accessory for the rec room or the office, inspiring dance parties and mood lighting.
$30 on Amazon
Eye spy night vision enhancements
LIFX A19+
LIFX offers a range of smart bulb selections for indoor and outdoor use that are compatible with Alexa. The A19+ version of their smart bulb not only can create up to 16 million color variants, but it also emits infrared light. This feature can be particularly useful to help your home security camera’s night vision to better pick up on movements or intruders in low-light situations.
$62 at Amazon
Basics from an old standby
C by GE Full Color A19 Smart Bulb
Remember GE, one of the original American technological titans and still one of the biggest companies in the world? Yeah, they make smart bulbs too, and pretty good ones at that. These GE smart bulbs work great with Alexa, but you’ll need a hub from the likes of SmartThings or others.
From $30 at Amazon
Gaming guru or video influencer
Nanoleaf Light Panels Rhythm Edition Smarter Kit
Not all lighting options need to be bulbs. These from Nanoleaf are Smart LED Light Panels that you can connect to create an entirely custom and unique lighting solution for your home office, gaming corner, or wherever you want to show them off. The Rhythm Edition Smarter Kit syncs the blinks of the lights to your music in real-time!
From $300 on Amazon
This lighting’s on a roll
Maxonar LED Strip Lights
Whether you set them up seasonally as part of your holiday decorating or leave them up year-round, there are few smart home projects as fun as strip lighting. These from Maxonar work well with Alexa (and Google Assistant) and are simple to set up quickly. Best of all, you can control up to 16 million different colors!
$30 on Amazon
Drown your home with flood lighting
Sengled Smart LED Floodlight
One of the best uses of smart lighting is for outdoor spaces, particularly when it comes to home security. Sengled makes several great smart lighting products, but I’m partial to these nifty outdoor floodlights with built-in motion sensors. Note that you’ll need a hub or an Echo with a built-in hub.
$30 on Amazon
Get Wyze to these smart bulbs
Wyze Bulb
Wyze is a smart home devices brand that has been gaining traction recently for its excellent smart cameras, but they also make some really great lighting products too. These classic white bulbs can be set at different color temperatures, and don’t require a hub to work with Alexa.
$40 on Amazon
Recessed is in session
Kasa Smart Wi-Fi LED Light Bulb, Multicolor
I don’t know about you, but I like the clean, tucked-away look of recessed lighting. These Kasa Smart bulbs from TP-Link work great with Alexa, and can be set to a variety of colors and can put out up to 1,000 lumens of light.
$39 on Amazon
Smarten up with SmartThings
Samsung SmartThings Hub (3rd Gen)
The SmartThings Hub (3rd Gen) is a great starting point for connecting smart home lighting devices. Control existing lighting through smart switches and dimmers, or connect smart bulbs requiring through this hub for Alexa automation.
$67 on Amazon
We like this switch Mo than others
WeMo Light Switch
WeMo offers Wi-Fi-enabled smart switches and outlets that you can control via Alexa. The WeMo Light Switch can be used to replace any light switch in your home, letting you schedule and control your lights and appliances without the need for a central hub.
$35 on Amazon
Alexa, light it up!
There are many options for controlling smart lights with Alexa. We’ve broken things down based on the different brands and ecosystems that are most popular right now, and looked at smart bulbs, smart hubs, and smart switches that you can use Alexa to operate. Out of all the options, I still think that the best bet for fitting your fixtures with Alexa-enabled smarts is the Philips Hue line of products. A great starting point for getting into the Hue line is the White Ambiance Bulb, but what’s great about Hue is that there is a wide range of lights and light products to choose from that work well together and with Alexa.
If a dimmable white bulb is too dull for you, you may want to jazz up your space with Nanoleaf’s awesome light panels, or some light strips from Maxonar. Whichever way you go, know that Alexa has you covered when it comes to operating and controlling your smart lights!
