Smart Lighting Cost

Want to know the cost of having smart lighting installed?

In this guide, we’ll discuss the pricing of various smart lighting installations and explore other related subjects such as additional costs and the cost factors involved in this work and how to find and hire an electrician.

How Much Does Installing Smart Lighting Cost?

While it is relatively cheap to simply install conventional LED bulbs, smart lighting offers many advantages including more customization and control over your lighting and arguably better value for money.

The cost of fitting smart lighting depends on a whole host of factors such as the type of smart home lighting, size of installation area (i.e., how many smart lights you want to install), ease of access and even where you live. Your location is relevant since labour prices differ from region to region across the UK.

So, what is the cost of a smart lighting system?

Here are the average prices of different smart lighting installations:

• Smart Bulb - £50 to £100
• Smart Hub - £60 to £150
• Motion Sensor Lights - £65 to £110
• Dimmer Switch - £60 to £100
• Smart Lighting throughout your Entire Home - £3,200 to £10,500

Smart Lighting Prices

Supply Only Costs

The overall cost of a smart lighting installation is primarily made up of the labour and supply costs. Of course, waste removal expenses may add to your total bill but more on that later.

As for the cost of supplies only, these are the prices as if you were to purchase directly from the retailer. These costs would be especially relevant if you were to undertake the work DIY.

Supply Only Costs of Smart Lighting

• Smart Bulb - £10 to £50
• Smart Hub - £20 to £100
• Motion Sensor Lights - £15 to £60
• Dimmer Switch - £20 to £50
• Smart Lighting throughout your Entire Home - £3,000 to £10,000

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Additional Costs

When having smart lighting installed, you may decide to have other work undertaken on the same day (or days if you were having smart lighting installed throughout your entire property). Let’s have a look at some popular examples.

Smart Meter

An actual smart meter can be provided for free with the only expense for the installation relating to the cost of labour, which would be around £20 to £40.

However, while the cost of having a smart meter would be added to your bill (just as is the case with a conventional energy meter), it would be a reduction over the total cost when the price of a conventional energy meter is factored in.

By accurately monitoring your energy use, you may save the following amounts:

• 250 kWh energy use monthly - £35 per month
• 500 kWh energy use monthly - £70 per month
• 750 kWh energy use monthly - £100 per month

Smart Thermostat

The purpose of a smart thermostat is to provide intelligent control over a heating system. These Wi-Fi-enabled systems are not only smart in how they manage your heating system on their own accord, but they allow you remote control over said heating system.

For instance, some smart thermostats allow homeowners to turn on their heating or heat it up water for a shower while out and about. 

Depending on a range of factors, having a smart thermostat installed is likely to cost between £300 and £530 with the job generally taking an hour or two.

Labour Costs and Timescales

The average cost of labour per hour for a smart lighting installation is £40 to £50 with electricians charging around £200 to £250 per day.

Smart lighting generally takes an hour or less to install such as in the cases of having one smart bulb unit or a single smart hub unit installed. However, if you were to have smart lighting fitted throughout your home, you can expect the work to take one to two days.

The cost of labour and time frame can vary depending on the number of smart lighting units being installed and ease of access. Again, location can also affect the labour price.

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Cost Factors of Installing Smart Lighting

There are many price factors involved in fitting smart lighting. Let’s have a look at the most standout examples.

Types of Smart Lighting

There are various options when it comes to the type of smart lighting ranging from a smart bulb to a smart hub. Of course, the types of smart lighting also vary based on the brand and quality of the products.

Beyond that, the nature of a smart home lighting system (if applicable) can also affect the cost of installation. That is to say, for instance, that a smart lighting hub, which is a type of smart system would be more expensive to install than smart lights that are controlled via a free-to-download app, for instance.

There are several things to consider when finding the best smart lighting system for you.

Area of Installation

The size of the installation area or, in other words, the number of smart lights being installed, would also shape the overall price.

Location of Property

As mentioned already, where you live will shape the overall price of installing smart lighting. Electricians tend to charge more in the southeast while labour prices are usually below the UK average in the north of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Here’s what electricians tend to charge for different parts of the UK:

• London - £45 to £50
• Liverpool - £30 to £35
• Glasgow - £30 to £35
• Manchester - £30 to £35
• Cardiff - £25 to £30
• Belfast - £20 to £25
• Newcastle - £25 to £30

Ease of Access

The more accessible the work area, the less the work will likely take and vice versa. This is because, of course, ease of access tends to correlate with a quicker job.

What's Involved in Installing Smart Lighting?

We'll now provide an approximate breakdown of the work required to fit smart lighting. Of course, this can vary depending on factors such as the type and design of the smart lighting in question. 

1. Hire a Professional

Unless you are fitting smart lighting DIY, you’ll need to find the right contractor for the job. We’ll discuss more of this in the ‘Hiring Contractors for Installing Smart Lighting Checklist’ section. 

2. Install Smart Lighting

Next, you must turn off the electricity at the mains. This is vital for your safety as electrocution can be lethal.

Once you are sure the power is switched off, you can remove the old light fitting and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to install the new one. Obviously more work may be required to replace the lighting unit correctly.

In this case, it is best to hire a professional either way. It’s critical to fix the new lighting in place correctly for both safety and operational reasons.

3. Clean Up

When all is said and done and you have confirmed that the new lighting installation is fully in place and the work (per the instructions) is complete, you can turn the power back on at the mains.

At this stage, you’ll want to remove any items that are left over. You can bring the old light bulb and electrics to a relevant recycling facility or hardware store that accepts all the components you are disposing of.

You may need to take certain items to different locations (i.e., light bulbs to one place and electrics to another), so just make sure you are taking them to the right facilities.

Alternatively, if hiring a professional to do this job, you could double-check with them as to whether they’re happy to deal with waste removal. This may or may not come with an additional fee if agreed upon.

Can I Install Smart Lighting Myself?

Generally, it is okay to undertake this work DIY, but you should only do so if you know what’s involved, have the right skills and understand the necessary safety steps.

The following hazards/dangers are involved:

• Risk of electrocution.
• Working at a bit of a height.
• Risk of incorrect installation.

Building Regulations & Planning Permission for Installing Smart Lighting

There are no specific building regulations or planning permission rules for having smart lighting installed. However, if you are having additional work undertaken on the same day, then rules and regulations may apply.

More information can be found on the Planning Portal. On average, building regulations approval costs around £100 whereas you’d look at spending about £200 for planning permission approval.

When planning permission is needed, it can take up to eight weeks for an application to be approved, although it generally does not take quite this long.

Types of Smart Lighting

As you've seen, there are many types of smart lighting. Let’s take a closer look at the most popular options.

Smart Bulbs

A smart bulb is a Wi-Fi-enabled LED bulb that can be controlled remotely. Users will have the ability to remotely control scheduling and customization of these light bulbs. One core downside, however, is that they do not last as long as conventional LED light bulbs.

In fact, they have about 40% of the latter’s life expectancy. You won’t need a large budget for most smart bulbs with most costing between £10 and £50.

Smart Hub Lights

These lights are essentially smart bulbs that are specifically connected to a smart hub. The differentiation here is that this installation requires the purchasing of smart hub hardware and, of course, it's set up. Some smart bulbs are not enabled for a smart hub specifically.

The obvious downside of smart hub lights is that the installation as a whole is a bit more expensive, but it would be totally worth it if it’s what you’re looking for.

The cost of such a smart lighting system would likely be between £20 and £100 in terms of the standalone costs (i.e., excluding the labour cost for installing said system). Don’t forget that smart lighting isn’t just for indoors and there are smart outdoor lighting options too.

Motion Sensing Lights

As the name suggests, these lights turn on in response to a motion. Some options, known as occupancy sensor lights, can also turn off if it detects that a room/space is unoccupied.

Broadly speaking, a motion sensor light will cost a bit more, on average, than a smart bulb or even a smart hub light. The supply cost of the average motion sensing light is approximately £15 to £60.

Hiring Contractors for Installing Smart Lighting Checklist

Before hiring an electrician to fit smart lighting, there are a variety of considerations worth taking into account. By doing so, you can maximize your chances of finding one of the best contractors in your area for the job, or at the least, one of the best electricians in terms of value for money in your region.

Checklist for hiring a contractor to install smart lighting:

• Are they a qualified electrician?
• What prior experience do they have?
• How have customers rated them online (if ratings and reviews are available)?
• Ask friends or family for their recommendations.
• Obtain several quotes before coming to a decision.
• Check whether they are part of an accreditation.
• Ideally find a contractor that is best for a smart lighting installation (while keeping other factors in mind too).

FAQs

Sources

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/product-reviews/tech/g688254/best-smart-light-bulbs/