A confession: I am not a technology fan. I am probably somewhere close to the late adopters of technology. If the technology works for me then I will put the effort in to learning about it. And it feels like effort. I don’t use Facebook because I haven’t felt the need for it. And anyway I get the news from my wife and kids when they go on Facebook.
So that’s where I came from when MyLights were installed in part of our home in January 2016. As we were supposed to be testing it I messed around a little on the touch screen. It was “pretty cool” is probably the best way I could describe it.
Dimming was good. We have had lights with manual dimmers in a previous home which we seldom used. We seemed to use the dimmers on MyLights a lot more. I am not sure why – maybe it’s easier to get to a mobile phone and dim than get up and go to a light switch. Maybe the dimming with MyLights was just better.
I hate reading user manuals and just don’t, so I often don’t get past first base with a lot of new technology products. But the screen is very simple and the main functions – on/off; dimming etc – are easy to use without reading a manual.
While the normal light switches on the walls still operate I soon started to use my mobile phone to switch lights on and off. The mobile is almost always closer than a light switch. And even I now use my mobile for so many things.
MyGoodbye is a good feature. You press it and all the lights in the house switch off. So its something you use when the last person leaves home. Our house is big and there are always lights being left on somewhere. I didn’t use it much probably because MyLights was only in part of the home so you still have to go round and check if the other lights are off.
Probably the best feature of MyLights is that you can switch the outside and inside lights on from your mobile. My wife Marg really appreciated that when she came home in the evening and it was already dark she can switch all the outside lights on so they feel assured there is no one in the darkness (security lights only go on when you walk into the area) outside your home and then she also liked to walk into an already lit home inside.
Two things I noticed after using MyLights for some time:
You start finding ways to use it like setting up the lights to go to the toilet in the middle of the night, so just pressing a button switches on the lights leading to the bathroom – and you make it dim so you don’t wake up your partner.
Secondly, in the parts of the home where MyLights were not installed the lights soon felt outdated and boring!
Lights have a big impact on setting the mood of a room; dimmed for watching a movie; half dimmed for having dinner with friends; and bright when you are trying to read a recipe in the kitchen with 54 year old eyes!
MyLights really grows on you. I liked MyLights for the security, the energy saving and convenience and for the mood it creates – but mainly because it’s fun to use.
To find out more about MyLights, get in touch with one of our MyLights dealers today.