LED recessed lights are a cutting-edge and energy-efficient lighting solution that has gained significant popularity in recent years. Unlike traditional incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, LED (light-emitting diode) technology offers numerous benefits, making LED recessed lights a versatile and eco-friendly choice for various lighting applications. These lights are characterized by their sleek and low-profile design, seamlessly blending into ceilings and walls to provide both functional illumination and aesthetic appeal.
Smart LED recessed lights represent the evolution of traditional recessed lighting by integrating advanced technology for enhanced control, convenience, and customization. These intelligent fixtures combine the energy-efficient benefits of LED lighting with smart capabilities, allowing users to remotely adjust settings, colors, and schedules through various devices such as smartphones, tablets, or voice-controlled assistants.
We recently came across one such recessed lighting system. They are the Rollin Light Smart Recessed Light. The diameter of these lights (including the housing) is less than 7” but the impressive part is the thickness is less than 0.7”. So, you can use these lights even in tight spaces. How easy it is to install them? How to control these lights? What sort of adjustments we can make?
Let us find out answers to all these questions in this review of the Rolling Light Smart Recessed Lights. We are writing this review after using and testing these lights in our home and garage for several day. If you are looking to invest in a reasonably low-cost smart lighting solution, then continue reading this review to find out more about the same.
First, we will take a quick look at the contents of the package. Before proceeding further, we want to clarify that we got the 6-pack variant of the Rollin Light Smart Recessed Lights and they all came in a single large box. If you opt for a single light, then the packaging will be small but the essential contents will be the same.
That said, after opening the box, we have access to the Smart Lights themselves, which are 6 in number. To control these lights, we have six controller boxes as well. Then there is a very detailed user manual. It has information on how to connect the Lights to the controller, how to wire the controller, install and setup the app, and even some troubleshooting tips. Do read this guide before proceeding with installation.
Last but not least, there is a hole cutout size reference sheet. You can use this reference to mark on walls or ceilings before making a hole.
If you are familiar with ceiling recessed lights, then the Rollin Light Smart Recessed Lights are no different. We have a round frosted plastic lens in the middle. Behind this lens we have the LEDs. The diameter of the lens (the part that actually emits light) is roughly 6”. Surrounding this lens is an outer metal trim with powder-coated finish. If you include the outer trim, then the overall diameter of the light is roughly 6.8”.
On the other side, there is a cable coming out of the lights with a special connector on the end. There will be a matching connector on the controller box to connect the LED Lights with the controller. You can also see two spring clamps that hold the light fixture to the ceiling or wall. These spring clamps are suitable for ceilings in the thickness range of 0.12” to 0.75”.
The other important part of the Rollin Light Smart Recessed Lights is the controller. It is a metal box with a cable coming out of its top. On the front, there is a provision to open the bottom section that reveals the wires for connecting the mains. Thankfully, the ends of the wires have quick connector, where you can insert the respective hot, neutral, and ground wires.
There are knock-out on both sides of the controller box. So, depending on your wiring choice and comfort, you can remove either one of them. There are also holes on the back of the controller box to wall mount it. All the electronics and power supply modules are housed in the top section of the controller box.
Before looking at the installation procedure and how simple it is, we would not recommend beginners or anyone without prior experience working on electrical wiring to install these lights themselves. You have to deal with mains AC wiring and if you feel uncomfortable, then contact an electrician. That said, installing the Rollin Light Smart Recessed Lights is very simple and straightforward. First, using the hole cutout reference, make a hole in the ceiling where you want to install these lights. Next, take the controller box and break the necessary knockout on the controller box and connect the mains AC wires i.e., hot, neutral, and ground.
You can connect the Rollin Light Smart Recessed Lights to a Dimmer Switch but we have to set the dimmer position to maximum.
We are now coming to the “Smart” part of the Rollin Light Smart Recessed Lights. The only way to control these lights is with the help of a smartphone app. The official app, known as “Smart Life” is available for both iOS and Android. Once you install and setup the app, you have to pair the lights with app. It is very simple and you just have to follow the on-screen instructions.
The Rollin Light Smart Recessed Light, like many smart lights in the market, will support only 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. Thankfully, most modern routers with advanced Wi-Fi bands, still have 2.4GHz band support.
During the setup, you have to connect the lights to your home Wi-Fi network (or the network wherever you want install these lights). After the setup, you are now ready to use the lights and control them with the app. The first and obvious thing you can do is turn the lights on or off. If you remember, the LEDs in the Rolling Light Smart Recessed Lights are of RGBCW type. This means there are RGB elements as well as a cool white LED.
With the RGB elements, you can set any color you want, theoretically one of 16 million possible colors. The app also lets you adjust the brightness and contrast of the light.
With white light, you can set the color temperature anywhere in the range of 2700K (warm white) to 6500K (cool white). You can also adjust the brightness anywhere between 1% to 100%.
Want to create a mood or scene in your home? Use one of the several scene options in the app. Additionally, you can create your custom scene through the app. Another cool feature is to sync the lights to music. There are several things you can do with the app and the whole experience in our testing was very smooth.
How was the overall performance of the Rollin Light Smart Recessed Lights? Starting with the basic installation and wiring all the way to installing app and controlling the lights using a smartphone, everything was really smooth and worked well. The main light fixture is very thin and you could easily fit even in tight ceilings. But make sure you have enough room to place the controller box.
The LED lights can produce a 1100 Lumen bright light. If you compare this with a 120W incandescent bulb, then the Rolling Light Smart Recessed Lights will consume only 13W of power. That is seriously impressive energy efficiency.
If you bought a bunch of these smart lights and want to control all of them at ones, then you can do it in the app by grouping the LEDs together. You can give appropriate names to individual lights so that it becomes easy to control and manage them. The manufacturer doesn’t recommend adding more than 12 lights to the same Wi-Fi router.
We also paired the lights to Alexa with appropriate name (kitchen light, bedroom light, etc.). Then it is as simple as saying “Alexa, turn on the kitchen light” or “Alexa, change the bedroom light to blue”. Although we couldn’t try this with Google Home or Siri, we believe the setup and usage is equally simple. Manufacturer claims a 50000+ hour lifespan of the LEDs. We couldn’t test this for obvious reasons but the good thing is you get a solid 5-year warranty on the product.
The one thing we thought was a let down as the CRI numbers of the lights. The manufacturer claims CRI 80+. This is okay for normal usage but if want to use the lights for photography or other similar purposes, then you might not get color accurate results.
So, what do we thing about the Rollin Light Smart Recessed Lights? On a whole, they are one of the best recessed lights out in the market. They are also really affordable, especially if you choose the 6-pack variant and apply some coupons.
The installation process was a breeze and there were no hiccups with the app experience. Speaking of the app, it lets you do a lot of things with the lights including but not limited to adjusting the color temperature, setting a color, changing the brightness, set a mood/scene, and many more. While the light is really bright, its CRI is only rated for 80+. This may not be a big deal for normal users but for photography aficionados, they might have to look somewhere else. Other than this, all is well with Rollin Light Smart Recessed Lights.
The thickness of the light fixtures or the lack thereof, might be useful for some folks who are space constrained. If you are looking for a bunch of smart LED lights with tons of control, the Rolling Light Smart Recessed Lights are definitely a worthy choice.
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