amazon TP-Link Kasa Filament Smart Bulb KL50 reviews

The TP-Link Kasa Filament KL50 smart bulb supports voice control, works with third-party devices, and can tell you how much energy it’s using.

If you’re looking to add smart lighting to your home but want the classic look of traditional transparent incandescent bulbs, check out the TP-Link Kasa Filament KL50 Smart Bulb ($12) .99). This new addition to the Kasa line of smart home devices is a clear LED bulb that produces 600 lumens of warm white light. It works with other smart devices using IFTTT apps and can be controlled with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands, but it doesn’t work with Apple HomeKit, and you can’t adjust the thermostat the color of the bulb.

Design and Features

It is an A19 bulb with a standard E26 screw head. The bulb is clear and contains four LED filaments, like the filaments in vintage incandescent bulbs. It produces 600 lumens, the amount of light produced by a 40-watt incandescent bulb, having a warm-white color temperature of 2700K. However, the white temperature cannot be adjusted unlike in Wyze Bulb. It consumes seven watts and has an estimated lifetime of nearly fourteen years, assuming average usage of three hours per day.

The built-in Wi-Fi radio sends and receives data on a 2.4GHz frequency; hence, it has gone hubless, unlike most Philips Hue bulbs. It is voice-controllable via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant and supports IFTTT recipes that let it interact with third-party smart devices such as motion sensors, security cameras, and video doorbells.

The KL50 uses the same Kasa Smart mobile app (Android and iOS) as other TP-Link products. The bulb appears in a tab on the Devices dashboard, along with tabs for other Kasa devices installed. The tab contains an On/Off button that is green when the light is on when it is off and has a brightness indicator and a light bulb icon that lights up when the bulb is on and dark when it’s off. Tap the tab to launch the bulb screen, where you’ll see a larger On/Off button and four brightness presets (100, 75, 25, and 1 percent). Tap any of the presets to change the bulb’s brightness, and tap the pencil icon to change each preset to whatever brightness level you want.

Below the On/Off button are options to toggle between Power and Brightness modes, and below that are the Preset, Schedule, and Use buttons. The Presets button takes you to a screen where you can edit the presets and see all the presets you’ve used. Tap any to change the brightness level. Tap the Schedule button to turn the bulb on/off on a schedule, and let the bulb fade in and out at a certain time and return to the chosen brightness preset. The Usage screen shows daily, weekly, monthly energy usage statistics and total time used. It also shows daily and annual savings compared to standard 40-watt bulbs.

Back to the Devices dashboard is the Scenes button that opens a screen to create scenes that control one or more devices with a single button press. A Smart Action button takes you to a screen to create controls for Kasa smart devices to interact with each other, but this requires a specific router (TP-Link SR20) work.

Settings and Performance

KL50 bulb installation is really very easy. First of all, make sure you’ve downloaded the Kasa Smart mobile app and have an account set up. Tap the plus icon at the top and tap to Add device, select KL50 from the Smart Bulb menu. Follow the on-screen instructions to turn off the fixture where the bulb will be installed and exchange the old bulb with the KL50. Next, tap next and power on the immobilizer. Five seconds later, the bulb will flash thrice; connect to the bulb’s Wi-Fi SSID using your phone.

Disconnect from the bulb. Go back to the app and wait for a few seconds for the bulb to connect to your phone. Select your home Wi-Fi SSID and enter the Wi-Fi password. The bulb will be added to your network within seconds, and Alexa will also add it to her list of devices automatically.

The KL50 delivered a great warm light in testing and responded instantly to on and off commands and brightness level adjustment using the mobile app. It also responded quickly to Alexa voice commands and tracked my schedule without issue. I made an IFTTT app to have the bulb dim to 10 percent when the Arlo Pro 3 camera detects motion, and it works perfectly and my app to turn on the bulb when the sensor from the Starter Kit Wyze senses motion detection.

Conclusion

With the TP-Link Kasa Filament KL50 Smart Bulb, you can outfit your lights and fixtures with smart LED bulbs that offer the classic look of transparent incandescent bulbs. As a white-only bulb, the KL50 is easy to install and provides scheduling and power usage reports. You can control the bulb with Alexa and Google voice commands and have it respond to triggers from third-party devices using IFTTT apps, but you can’t adjust the white temperature.

Advantages

Good price.

IFTTT support.

Works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands.

Electricity usage report.

No hub needed.

Easy to install.

Defect

White temperature cannot be adjusted.

Lacks Apple HomeKit support.

where can you get a TP-Link Kasa Filament Smart Bulb KL50 online

Kasa Smart Kasa Filament Smart, Soft White by TP-Link – WiFi Light Bulb, Works with Alexa & Google Assistant (KL50): Buy it now

TP-Link Kasa KL50 Smart LED Filament Bulb Soft White Voice Control TPLink: Buy it now