Philips takes 'smarter' home lighting system to LatAm

Philips Lighting, part of Netherlands-based tech group Philips, has launched the second generation of its smart, LED lighting system HUE in various markets, including Latin America.

Under the internet of things concept, HUE consists of LED light bulbs that connect to iOS and Android devices to allow remote management of lighting via a mobile app.

It is possible to customize lighting, adjust brightness, reproduce colors from photos, sync it with music and e-mails and set the lights to turn on and off at specific times, according to Philips.

The new version uses the ZigBee protocol, which enables up to 50 lamps and accessories to be connected to a single Hue bridge, the company said.

The second generation of HUE is also compatible with Apple's Homekit solution, which enabling home automation and interaction with the lighting system via iOS's Siri voice command interface.

SMART HOME

The use of smart bulbs for automated homes and to provide household energy efficiency is still limited to only a few very cases in Latin America.

But there are other new brands providing smart home lighting solutions. In addition to Philips, there are products available in the market made by Belkin, as well as start-ups such as LIFX, ILUMI and others.

However, none of them are available in Latin America and therefore need to be imported.

Philips Hue is available at physical and online retailers in Mexico, and in Brazil is available exclusively online via the Apple Store. In the rest of Latin America the solution can be found at MacOnline stores.

According to consultancy and research firm Gartner, smart home solutions will represent 21% of the estimated 1.6bn connected things being used in smart cities worldwide this year.

In smart homes, the consumer IoT applications that are fuelling growth, according to the consultancy, are smart TVs, smart set-top boxes, smart bulbs and various home automation tools, such as smart thermostats, home security systems and kitchen appliances.