Cost
Some buyers may not mind paying $15 to $20 for a smart floodlight bulb that can do everything. Others have budgets in mind and aren’t interested in spending more than a few bucks per bulb to get replacements. Fortunately, we’ve got choices for both types of buyers, but you need to consider how much you’re willing to pay first.
Smart features
Do you want your bulb to connect to an app, or be controlled by a voice assistant? Some bulbs can connect to Wi-Fi on their own and provide many smart features, while others need a hub to do so, so check out the details first. If you use Siri, or Alexa or Google Assistant/Gemini, make sure the bulb supports that preferred voice assistant.
Beyond that, you could always smarten up any of the dumb bulbs recommended in this post by pairing them with a smart switch that's wired into your wall. If you've got a bank of floodlight bulbs overhead that are all wired to one switch, smartening up one switch instead of several bulbs might be the better way to go, anyway. The best I've tested is still the Lutron Caseta line of smart switches, but keep an eye out this year for new, relatively low-cost smart switches from GE.
Brightness
Learn what brightness your current floodlights are and if you want that to change. Lower brightness is easier on the eyes and better for indoor use. LED bulbs can often be seem very bright even at their equivalent wattage brightness, so you many want to choose a lower brightness if you’re moving from incandescent. Outdoor bulbs, meanwhile, often benefit from higher brightness to illuminate more of the evening darkness.
No matter what you pick, you'll want to look for a durable bulb that puts out at least 650 lumens of brightness from a power draw of 10 watts or fewer. I'd also advise sticking with a product that offers an average lifespan of at least 10 years and a warranty of at least five years, if possible.
Dimming options
Smart bulbs are a great choice if you're picky about dimming. With bulb-specific dimming hardware built right in, most smart bulbs will dim with flawless, flicker- and buzz-free precision via their app or through some other integration like an Amazon Alexa voice command. You won't need to use dimmer switches associated with those light fixtures at all. You might need to teach your kids to leave the switch up so your automations will work as planned.
Otherwise, we do have non-smart bulb picks for different kinds of dimming that cost a lot less if your light switch is already made for dimming bulbs.
Color temperature
Color temperature, typically measured in Kelvin, indicates how cold or warm a light’s appearance is. Lower numbers mean the light is warmer and closer to gentle candles (as well as to older incandescent lights, which are quite warm in color). Higher numbers mean the light is colder, clearer and usually looks brighter like the height of daylight — or fluorescent bulbs.
LED bulbs used to be quite cold, but modern upgrades have given them a range of color temperatures. On smart bulbs, you can often shift the color temperature. Either way, it’s an important consideration: Homeowners typically prefer a very warm color temperature for any indoor lighting.
Color changing
If you want bulbs that can change color completely, you’ll want smart bulbs from Cync, Philips Hue and similar brands. Nothing else will allow you to set the color in the same way.
