It seems like Ikea is always up to something new. In fact, the company just announced something in its smart home range and it is telling everyone that it will completely overhaul a modern home's lighting system.
At the start of summer or fall, Ikea's Trådfri will be available for consumers. The Trådfri is composed of "smart lights" that are designed to be compatible with Amazon Alexa devices, Apple HomeKit, and Google Home. This means that Trådfri has the ability to sync with your devices and you would be able to control everything through verbal commands.
Ikea is a well-known furniture company. In 2015, the company started to break into the smart home industry with its accessories and furniture that have a built-in wireless charger. Executives of Ikea expressed great interest in expanding into this certain niche. According to the company, they'd love to "democratize" the smart home industry and make it affordable for everyone.
According to a press release from Ikea, the company believes that smart home technology is something that should be available to everyone. This is the reason why Ikea will continue to work and develop products which are compatible with other tech products that are already available in the market.
The Trådfri is all about giving you more control without the need to do any rewiring. As a bonus, the system is designed to help you save money. There are three ways of controlling Ikea's smart lights. You can use the motion sensors, the Trådfri app, or Ikea's puck controller.
While the Trådfri app is free, you can purchase a premium feature and a gateway starter kit; and with these, you can better manage a group of lights, you will have the ability to set timers and more. Keep in mind that the gateway will require one of the ethernet ports of your router.
If you don't want to take that route, then you can just build your own lighting system using Ikea's strip down version, which just includes the puck-shaped LED bulbs. Collectively, the system is referred to as the Dimming Kit by Ikea.
The puck-shaped controller is simpler to operate compared to Philips' dimmer switch. However, it does not allow you to trigger "scenes" or control a group of lights. On the upside, it's a lot easier to find and operate compared to fumbling through couch pillows just to look for your smartphone.
Also, keep in mind that the controller is essential to Ikea's smart home lighting system. You can't just purchase some bulbs and the gateway, and expect to control the lights using the app.
The Trådfri collection is inexpensive, to say the least. The collection includes dimming lights, a gateway kit, a motion sensor kit, illuminated panels, and LED bulbs. While you may have to wait until the later months of the year to make the Trådfri collection work with your smart home ecosystem, it is now available for purchase through online shops.
