Creating an electriQ Equipped Smart Home for Around £150

Final Thoughts

How Much Does it Cost?

• electriQ GU10 RGB WiFi Bulb – £14.97
• electriQ B22 RGB WiFi Bulb – £14.97
• electriQ WiFi Smart Plug – £14.97
• electriQ HD 720p Monitoring Camera – £34.97

Overview

When I set out on this little project/review my aim wasn’t “haha, here’s the killer product for the smart market!” because realistically, I didn’t think these were the products to topple the big names in the market. Philips, Nest, Netatmo, LIFX, etc, they’re premium brands and command premium prices too. electriQ are not the household name, but that reflects in their extremely affordable prices. For those who wanted to get their first taste of smart home gear, without the premium prices, they’re the best option around right now. Furthermore, they’re shipping from the UK, and while Amazon and eBay offer lots of cheap unknown brands, many of them are China imports with long shipping times, none of those issues with electriQ.

Performance

I must admit I’m pleasantly surprised with the hardware. The performance is exactly what was promised, but I’m still quite surprised how well it all performed respective of their price ranges. The lights are less than a 3rd the price of Hue lighting, but they’re certainly not a 3rd of the performance. The features are plentiful, particularly the scheduling, themes, multiroom configurations, it’s all great. They do lack 3rd party support, such as additional switches and hub controllers, but Alexa and Google support soon sorts that out. You can control everything via voice commands and groups through those respective services, making them easy to integrate.

Build Quality

I was expecting the products to feel much cheaper. They do feel less premium and even look a little less premium than the top brands, but not by much. Everything is as it should be, fits well, setup was a breeze, no connectivity issues, and the quality was better than you’ll find with many other brands at this price range.

Should I Buy One?

If you’re looking to build a smart home, you don’t have to start with a big budget or a full house project. Changing the lights in one room, retrofitting a couple of smart plugs, and even adding the monitor camera can be done cheap. Even the whole bundle we tested clocking in at around £150. Start with one or two lights and a plug, keep the budget low, and build from there. Be warned though, it’s an addictive habit and after a few bulbs, you may want to quickly expand to your whole home.