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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
The KL50 is a standard A19 type bulb with an E26 screw head. The bulb is clear and uses four LED filaments like the filament used in old-fashioned incandescent bulbs. It produces 600 lumens, roughly equivalent to a 40-watt incandescent bulb, and has a warm 2700K white color temperature. That said, you can’t adjust the white temperature like you can with the Wyze Bulb. The bulb uses seven watts of power and is rated to have a lifespan of nearly 14 years based on an average usage rate of three hours per day.
The bulb has an embedded 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio and therefore doesn’t require a hub like most Philips Hue bulbs. It can be controlled with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands and supports IFTTT apps that allow it to interact with third-party smart devices like motion sensors, security cameras, and doorbells video.
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
The installation of the KL50 bulb is very simple. Get started by downloading the Kasa Smart mobile app and creating an account. Tap the plus icon at the top, then tap Add device and select KL50 from the Smart Bulb menu. Follow the on-screen instructions to turn off the fixture where the bulb will be installed and swap out the old bulb with the KL50. Tap Next and power on the immobilizer. After five seconds, the bulb will flash three times, at which point you’ll be directed to use your phone to connect to the bulb’s Wi-Fi SSID.
Once connected, go back to the app and wait a few seconds for the bulb to connect to your phone. Next, select your home Wi-Fi SSID and enter your Wi-Fi password. The bulb will be added to your network within seconds and will also automatically be added to your list of Alexa devices.
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.