Philips launches app-controlled LED lighting system

LED light bulbs are becoming more popular with consumers, businesses and public sector organisations because of their energy efficiency and ability to cut lighting bills. But now a new LED bulb allows users to control their illumination wirelessly by way of a smartphone app.

The bulb was launched by Philips and has been championed as the world's smartest web-enabled LED home lighting system, as it allows phone and tablet owners to download the hue app and control lighting levels though the tap of a screen.

A starter pack contains three LED bulbs that screw in to the lamps in your home, along with a bridge that plugs into the Wi-Fi router. With the app, you can customise the colour and brightness of the bulbs in the knowledge that each one is using on average 80 per cent less energy compared with traditional bulbs.

Jeroen de Waal, head of marketing and strategy at Philips Lighting, commented: "Philips hue is a game-changer in lighting - a completely new way to experience and interact with light.

"Hue pushes the boundaries even more, not only in offering great light quality, but in how lighting can be digitised and integrated with our world to further simplify and enhance our lives," he added.

Meanwhile, in other LED research news, scientists at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have been studying how the bioluminescent lighting system in fireflies could help inspire an anti-reflective lens for LEDs.

Steve Dunn of Queen Mary, University of London, told RSC.org: "This contribution elegantly shows that by thoroughly investigating a biological system and then using the latest developments in nanoscale processing significant performance gains can be made."

He added that the application of a reflecting surface to enhance the light emission from an LED is the perfect example of using Mother Nature's best bits in our modern technology.

If you're looking to use LED lights in your home, try GU10 LED lamps to provide cool or warm white illumination while reducing electricity bills.