Everything You Should Know About Smart Bulbs Before Buying Them

When people think about investing in smart bulbs for their home, they often only think of the most common A19 bulb with an E26 base, but you can get a smart bulb in pretty much any shape or size you need. Whether you need a small bulb for your bathroom or ceiling fan or a huge bulb to replace the floodlights in your backyard.

All light bulbs — incandescent, LED, and smart — are identified by a combination of a unique letter and number, called a light bulb code. The code starts with a letter (or letters), which indicates the shape or special feature of the bulb. Then, the number that follows the letter(s) represents the bulb’s diameter in eighths-of-an-inch.

A-shaped bulbs are the standard choice for households, so it’s the one people are most familiar with. But there are also B-shaped bulbs, often used in chandeliers and wall sconces, and Parabolic Aluminized Reflector (PAR) bulbs, the most common choice for floodlights and spotlights.

So if you’re looking to replace a certain bulb in your home that doesn’t like a standard A19 bulb, try unscrewing it and trying to find a letter/number combo written on it. Then, plug in that letter/number combo and “smart bulb” into your shopping site of choice, and start filtering through all your options!