True, so it just depends on the exact set up.
For example, any place where it’s appropriate to use sensors mean lights come on automatically before anybody thinks about going to the switch. Many people now have sensor lights in closets – – Open the door, the light comes on. There’s no reason to even look for the switch.
It’s also hard to explain how much voice control changes switch use until you’ve lived with it for a few weeks, and I know the Amazon echo is not yet available in the UK. But there are a number of other voice control options, Including apple’s HomeKit, and again, once that’s in place there’s no reason to go to the switch most of the time. Add a battery powered obvious switch like the Phillips hue dimmer and you’ve handled visitor needs as well.
For example, pathway lights become very popular. At our house, I use voice to turn on “bedtime” which lights smart bulbs in three rooms: living room, hallway, and my bedroom. After I’m in bed, I use voice to turn them off again. Never went anywhere a near switch.
Of course, you can use exactly the same voice options with smart switches so it’s not that that’s a benefit of bulbs over switches. Rather that it just removes one of the negatives of bulbs so that if you do have a reason to use them, you can more easily.
All of which is to say that these days I make the smart bulb versus smart switch decision on a case-by-case basis primarily looking at two factors:
One) cost and effort of the project
Two) Quality of the light needed for that specific location. That includes the question of using the color or color temperature features of a bulb, as well as obvious issues like already having installed fixtures with fluorescent tubes.
From the beginning we’ve had some community members who passionately argue for smart switches and others who passionately argue for smart bulbs, but for most people there’s no one right answer. It just comes down to the details of each specific case.
BTW, from a planning point of view, I think it’s worth considering ensuring that there’s an outlet available in every bedroom and most common spaces for a voice control unit, whatever it ends up being. For discussion of some options other than Echo, see: