Following coolly along in the breeze of their Haiku fans, Big Ass Solutions brings us another designer smart home feature.
Going one up on a basic smart light bulb, their Haiku smart lights are a complete installation for a ceiling light point, and provide motion detectors so they can come on and go off as people pass, color options for any type of ambience and smart home control features.
While they are a fixed feature once installed, they come in a range of designs to suit any home and will look very attractive in a modern decor.
The smart features can be used to provide a bit of a wow factor, or add a little ambiance to an event, or just give your home that ever-changing style, so you never get bored with the place.
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Key Features of the Haiku Smart Light
The Haiku Smart lights come in a range of styles and price points, rather like their fans (read my Haiku Fan review here!). For $149, you can pick up a plain black or white model, while at $199 there’s a Premier black model, an oil-rubbed bronze or satin nickel design while at the top is the $299 polished aluminum edition.
The main feature is that there is no need for a light switch, it will come on when someone enters and goes after a while in an empty room, so will help save energy. Lights can also be scheduled for regular activity and to make it look like people are at home.
They can also smart dim if there are other light sources in the area to reduce its impact, ideal if the TV or a bed-side light goes on.
Control comes in the form of a dedicated slim line remote to adjust color or brightness. If you don’t want to use that, or lose it then there’s the mobile app for iOS and Android, so you can control them from anywhere and do all the management for scheduling and so on.
Finally, it supports Amazon Echo for the ultimate in smartness, so you can give it direct instructions, such as “turn the light off” when you’re settling on the couch. However, with the unit’s sensors, that should rarely be needed.
The ring of LED lights provides even lighting around a room, with color temperature control, from 2,200 to 5,000 Kelvin for a soft yellow or an energizing blue, depending on the time of day or mood. They put out 20 watts of light, at around 1,350 lumens which is the equivalent to a 60-watt old-style bulb,
Pros of the Haiku Smart Light
While it is a bit more complicated than just replacing a light bulb, the Haiku Smart Light only takes about five minutes to install with a screwdriver and ladder to reach the ceiling. It comes with a mounting plate, wires and the all the screws you need for the job.
The light unit is sealed so there’s no chance of getting dead bugs inside it or dust reducing the effect of the light.
The LED lights are rated to 50,000 hours of use, operating up to 40 degrees, while the metal designs in the higher-cost versions will help radiate heat better for even longer life, while looking a little bit cooler than black or white. There’s also a five-year warranty on the products should anything go wrong.
With plenty of control options, even the Haiku wall control at $125 if you want to do things the old-fashioned way, the Haiku lights are fun to play with and make a great impression, or – you know – they just make a good light fitting.
Cons of the Haiku Smart Light
There’s no obvious issues with the Haiku lights, they install easily enough in flush mount, or a five or six-inch housing, but there are bound to be some DIYers who bodge the job or have a non-standard fitting, but that’s hardly Haiku’s fault.
What is their fault is the marketing claim of over 2 billion combinations of feature, which is awkward and dumb, even if it is mathematically possible, there’s no need to market such an elegant product is a tawdry manner!
In terms of smartness, it is a shame there is no Z-Wave of IFTTT connection so that you can build them into other smart home themes, especially since these sort of lights could end up as the standard fixture in a higher-end property where wider control could be very useful.
The apps too are a touch in the minimalist side, when they really should be making a statement too.
The only other issue really is the price. There are a lot of lower-cost solutions that while they might not look quite as pretty, do a better job in terms of color display and smart features. However, if you want a smart light that looks a part of your home, this is definitely a positive choice.
Overall Summary of the Haiku Smart Light
These lights don’t just impress because they are smart, but because they represent a designer item that will look fabulous in any room in the house.
They will go with the more expensive fixtures and fittings, although $300 for an aluminum light unit is really pushing most people’s budgets.
However, if that’s the design statement you are making in a property then the smart features might just make it justifiable as an essential feature.
In fact people aren’t even likely to put these on the comparison list with a Philips Hue or a LiFX, they are on the next level up when it comes to smart home shopping, which along with the company’s range of fans could help boost the impression given off by a property, we can’t wait to see some live examples.
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