LIFX’s latest smart bulb boasts germ-fighting LEDs

Not only can LIFX’s new smart bulb illuminate a desk, a kitchen counter or a closet, it can also zap nearby bacteria and harmful microbes, according to the smart lighting manufacturer.

Slated to arrive this year for a hefty $70, the LIFX Clean is a 1,100-lumen, full-color A19 smart bulb that uses 405-nanometer HEV (High Energy Visible) light designed to kill bacteria.

While germ-zapping HEV light, which is safe for humans, pets and plants, is already being used in hospitals and other “clean” environments, the LIFX Clean marks the first time that the technology has been built into a smart bulb, LIFX says.

LIFX suggests three possible scenarios for using the LIFX Clean bulb, including installing it in an overhead socket to “help reduce bacteria in an open space”; in a desk lamp, with timed HEV light hours along with standard lighting periods; and in a closet, over a shelf, or in another “specific, closed area” where you keep phones, wallets, or masks.

Speaking of masks, LIFX (which is owned by Buddy, a building energy monitoring company) says it’s not making any claims—or not yet, anyway—about the LIFX Clean’s effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The bulb is currently “in the testing queue” as far as its ability to kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and LIFX promises to publish “detailed bacteria kill rates” in the coming months.

Besides its antibacterial capabilities, the full-color LIFX Clean bulb has a tunable white temperature between 1,500 and 7,000 Kelvin, while its E26 base allows it to be screwed into standard light bulb sockets.

As with LIFX’s other smart bulbs, the Wi-Fi-enabled LIFX Clean doesn’t require a hub, and it supports voice commands via Alexa, Google Assistant, and HomeKit. LIFX also offers integrations for SmartThings, Microsoft, IFTTT, Flic, Brilliant, Razer, and Logitech.

Updated on September 3, 2020 to clarify that the three lighting scenarios suggested by LIFX are use cases rather than actual settings.

Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he covers smart home and home entertainment products.