Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

How Sengled made a smart lightbulb with zero carbon footprint

sengled element lightbulb zero carbon footprint led
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Last month, Sengled showcased its new Element lightbulb at CES 2017 in a model connected home display at Sands Expo. The Element bulb is the world’s first carbon-neutral lightbulb, according to the company.

It’s not actually the bulb itself that’s carbon-neutral, but the company’s “One Bulb One Tree” campaign. The Element bulb is so efficient, it produces less carbon than a tree absorbs, and Sengled plants a tree for every lightbulb customers buy. Because each tree can absorb the carbon each lightbulb produces, the bulb effectively has zero carbon footprint.

Recommended Videos

The Element uses 80 percent less energy than a traditional incandescent bulb, and is rated to last for 22 years. The lightbulb offers the equivalent of a 60-watt bulb, but it only uses 9.8 watts.

In addition to its efficiency, Sengled’s new lightbulb can be integrated into your existing sockets, and it has some cool features like customizable scheduling, color temperature tuning (soft white 2700K to daylight 6500K), and energy tracking. You can control Element bulbs individually or as a group, and you can schedule your lights to turn on and off based on your schedule using the Android/iOS app or through a smart-home ecosystem. The app also shows you how much energy the bulb uses, so you can keep track.

For

around $60

, you can buy a starter kit, which includes two element bulbs and a hub that allows for connectivity. The bulbs also work with Xfinity Home from Comcast, AT&T Digital Life, Samsung SmartThings, Stringify, and Amazon’s Alexa.

The Element is one of the few Sengled bulbs that doesn’t double up on abilities; the Pulse acts as a speaker, the Snap has security features, and the Boost acts as a Wi-Fi repeater.

Amazon

Erika Rawes
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Erika became a professional writer in 2010, and her work is published all over the web on sites ranging from USA Today to…
TP Link launches budget-friendly smart light strips
TP-Link lights glowing pink behind a computer monitor.

TP-Link, a company known for producing affordable smart home gadgets, has announced a new lineup of smart LED light strips and light bulbs. This includes the Tapo L900, Tapo L920, Tapo L930, and Tapo L530E. Pricing for the products ranges from $25 to $50, making these some of the most affordable lighting options on the market.

The Tapo L930 is considered the flagship LED strip of the family, offering advanced features such as music sync mode, 16 million colors, up to 1000 lumens of white light, and an IP44 waterproof rating. You can also set up a personalized lighting schedule using the accompanying smartphone app. Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit are all supported by the L930. A 16.4-foot roll costs $50, making it a cheap way to get surprisingly versatile smart lights into your home.

Read more
How to use smart ambient lighting
The Govee Immersion Kit enhances on-screen content.

Ambient lighting is most simply thought of as "indirect lighting." It’s lighting that isn’t focused directly on an object and is used to add to the available amount of light in a room. You can use ambient lighting as part of ceiling-mounted fixtures or floor lamps to brighten or even out the light in a room. Ambient lighting can also be placed behind an object and used to bounce light off a wall or the ceiling. Think of it as the lighting that takes your room from plain to warm and inviting.
Benefits of smart ambient lights
While adding ambient lighting to a room can help transform it from simple to extraordinary, smart ambient lighting is definitely the way to go. The main reason is that smart lighting can be programmed to look precisely how you want it and turn on when you want. Not only can you control the brightness and intensity of the light, but also the color.

You can light up the back of your TV set and have it change color depending on your programming. You can also take things a step further by combining the system with a voice assistant and have several pre-set routines that change the lighting in the room with a single command. “Turn on horror movie lighting,” is just one example of how it could accent movie night.
Setting up ambient lighting

Read more
How smart tech can improve your 4th of July BBQ
philips hue outdoor range

Last year, you had to jealously attend your older brother's 4th of July gathering. You wanted to host the party, but he insisted. But the chump ran out of beer, had to order pizzas because he forgot to buy the burgers, and had a screaming match with your father about politics. Capri-Sun in hand, you sit in your lawn chair, holding back a devilish grin, and thinking: Next year will be my year.

So with Independence Day 2022 just several days away, if you're gearing up for an unforgettable 4th of July event, and need to come up with a few ways to wow your guests and put big bro in his place. Our suggestion? Break out your Wi-Fi password, put your sibling rivalry aside, and deliver the best 4th of all time with some of these amazing smart home devices and features.
Illuminate the night with smart lighting

Read more