MEGATech Reviews: Belkin WeMo LED Lighting Starter Set

I want everything in my home to be smart. I want to have a smart TV. I want to have a smart thermostat. And yes, I even want the lightbulbs in the ceiling to be smart. Expanding on a growing selection of smart home automation products is the Belkin WeMo LED Lighting Starter Set, a kit that allows you to control the lighting in your home through a convenient mobile app, complete with smart rules and dimming to further improve the intellect of the lightbulbs in the house.

WeMo Says, “Let There Be Light!”

We got our first glimpse of the WeMO LED lights at CES earlier this year. At the time, Belkin told us that the initial offering would only include “warm white” bulbs that simulate the 3000K appearance of 60-watt incandescent bulbs. That’s exactly what we have here with the starter kit.

Included in the packaging are two of these WeMo LED lightbulbs, which are far more efficient than the old incandescent counterparts, as well as a single WeMo Link. The WeMo Link plugs into a wall outlet in your home, preferably in as central a location as possible, and it is the Link that communicates with the bulbs. The LED bulbs themselves are the standard size, fitting into the majority of home fixtures.

WeMo says these bulbs have a life expectancy of up to 23 years, based on 3 hours of daily usage, consuming just 9.5 watts. You also get a two-year limited warranty should anything go awry.

The Same WeMo Mobile App

As can be expected, the WeMo LED lighting taps into the same ecosystem and mobile app as the rest of the WeMo product line. You might remember our reviews of the WeMo Switch, WeMo Motion, and WeMo Insight Switch. The same app is used, but as was the case with the Insight Switch, the options for the LED light bulbs go beyond a simple on/off.

For starters, as with other WeMo products, you can combine lightbulbs such that they act as a single device. Beyond this, you gain the ability to remotely dim the bulbs from 0% to 100% via a slider. I did experience a noticeable delay and you do have to ensure that the regular light switch stays on all the time. It takes a while for the Link to re-establish a connection to the bulbs otherwise. Finally, there is a sleep fader for a time interval of your choosing.

While the WeMo mobile app is perfectly functional and a single WeMo Link can handle up to 50 lightbulbs, the app still feels sluggish and it can hang upon occasion. And unlike the regular Switch and Insight Switch, the WeMo LED lights don’t have a physical on/off button, so you can really only control them via the app.

MEGATechie Really Bright Idea or MEGATechie Dimmer Switched?

There are other “smart” LED bulbs on the market, some of which come in a variety of colors and hues. The WeMo LED lightbulbs follow in this kind of trend, offering you the ability to dim the lights, place them on schedules, remotely control them over Wi-Fi or 3G/4G, and put them on sleep timers. It’s all pretty neat.

Since there is no physical “button” to override the bulbs, though, it can become a bit of a hassle as you need your phone (or tablet) and it becomes even more troublesome for other people in your home who don’t have the WeMo app. For this reason, these lights are best suited when you establish rules, either through the app or with IFTTT. Activating the lights based on the WeMo Motion or based on time of day, for example, makes a lot of sense.

The WeMo LED Lighting Starter Kit retails for $99.99, while additional smart bulbs are are $29.99 each. Considering that they’ll last for up to 23 years, that’s not too bad.