Techradar Smart Home Week
This article is part of Techradars Smart Home Week 2025. From lighting and switching to robot vacuum and intelligent thermostats, we are here to help you choose the right devices to make your life easier and get the best out of you.
Singing your lighting is one of the easiest ways to build an intelligent home and it can have many advantages. For example, you can control intelligent lights with voice commands free-handed or switch on and off when you are on vacation and thus prevent thieves.
However, this only scratches the surface of what they are capable of. That is why we spoke to Giuliano Ghidini, Business and Marketing Leader at Signify, to learn more about the advantages of installing intelligent lights at home and where the technology leads next.
Meaning is the parent company of Philips Hue and Wiz, which are brands behind many of the best intelligent lights that we tested here at Techradar. Hue is the one who comes to mind when most people think of intelligent lights, while Wiz is a more budget -friendly option.
“Hue extends over indoor and outdoor areas and has different product variants in all of these categories,” says Ghidini. “Hue offers a more comprehensive range so that you can cover all the rooms. Thanks to the technology on which it is based, you have a very good coverage indoors and outdoors with a Hue hub and a very high reliability without loading your Wi-Fi network too much.”
WIZ came later and is a more affordable brand with a smaller light disc that connects directly to Wi-Fi.
“We wanted to bring high quality at a cheaper price. As a result, we can finally bring more houses in Great Britain and the world of intelligent lighting,” says Ghidini.
Why intelligent lighting?
According to Ghidini, a lot has happened in the seven years since joining Signify, with the intelligent lighting shifted from something that is considered very technical products in the normal department stores.
Hue was sold exclusively by retailers who specialize in computer hardware, has now went to the mainstream and even has a special place in the flagship John Lewis in the London Oxford Street.
It is very important to talk about intelligent lighting and know that it is not just the light bulb
Giuliano Ghidini
“First of all, it is very important to talk about intelligent lighting and know that it is not just the light bulb,” he says. “For some people it is still a connected light bulb, but if you look at Philips Hue and Wiz, we have products in all categories, both indoors and outdoors, and we also have other products.
“So if you talk about convenience, you can talk about how we use lighting outside and inside. For example, lights can flash red when an intruder or a movement is determined where you do not expect it.
“You can set scenes depending on the time of day, for example to change the mood for a party. And the lighting can be synchronized with music or wellness. For example, you can awaken with the right light and this helps you to start more relaxed and better.
“It all started with a connected light bulb, and what you can do now is pretty amazing.”
What's next
What's next in the world of intelligent lighting? Ghidini is not giving away anything yet, but it sounds like convenience would play a major role.
“Intelligent lighting is basically connected,” he says. “With this connectivity you can do many things – connect your lighting to other smart home systems, for example to make your home safer. You can connect to a specific scene to help your general wellness or to improve the ambience of your living room, bedroom and kitchen – all the different rooms in your house.”
However, it's not just about technology – intelligent lighting is also about facilitating your life and there are exciting developments on this front.
“The integration of these products into other platforms is very important – for example Google or Amazon Alexa. Then you have access to an extended number of applications in which you not only control the lighting with your phone, but also with your voice.
Ghidini does not give away for the time being, but promises that something exciting will come soon. We will keep you up to date as soon as we know more.