Bulbite Solana Smart Filament Bulb review: See the light

Cupertino, March 8, 2020

Solana Bulbrite A19 filament

Source: Christopher Close / iMore

Make no mistake, the classic filament bulb design is back here as well. These upgraded bulbs are not only elegant, but have the same energy savings as traditional LED bulbs, and for the past two years now, have added smart wireless technology for convenient controls.

We recently created a trio of intelligent bulbs with filament from the Bulbrite Solana line and I discovered that the fashionable design certainly adds a certain character to some pretty ordinary luminaires. This character comes not only from the "filaments" exposed inside their glass casing, but also from the adjustable temperature of their color, giving them the possibility to add yellow and white tones to any surrounding area, upon request. Needless to say, I'm a fan of the look and, of course, the smart ones.

Smart and elegant


bulbrite solana filament a19 render cropped

Bulb Bulb Solana Smart Filament

Bottom line: The Solana Bulbrite line offers excellent looks and convenient controls, all at an affordable price. If you are in the market for an elegant alternative to the traditional smart bulb and you don't mind missing out on HomeKit, then the Solana bulbs should definitely be on your radar.

good

  • Accessible
  • Multiple styles
  • Temperature and temperature regulation
  • Accepts Alexa and Google Assistant

The river

  • Big size
  • It is not the brightest
  • Does not support HomeKit
  • Requires internet connection

Same, but different

Bulb bulb Solana Smart Filament: features

Solana Bulbrite filament globe

Source: Christopher Close / iMore

The Solana filament range extends into three different bulb shapes, the standard A19, G25 and ST18 Edison globes, each using a medium screw base that is compatible with most surrounding fixing bodies. The Solana bulbs are made of glass, with a small white support at the bottom, and inside are thin LED strips arranged in a cross-cut pattern to give the filament appearance.

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All three bulbs are listed as consuming only 5.5 watts of energy when used, but larger variants are, for some reason, labeled as equivalent to 60 watts, compared to A19 being listed as 40 watts. Each bulb is capable of producing up to 600 lights again, despite the difference in commercialization. The bulbs only accept white light, although they are dim and adjustable, allowing users to adjust them from a soft white hue to daylight.

Lifespan is evaluated at just over 13 years with standard use, and Bulbrite offers a 2-year limited warranty. The bulbite states that the bulbs can be used outdoors in closed bodies. However, we could not find any information regarding the potential weather resistance and the company mentions that the life will be affected by extreme conditions. Also, Bulbrite says that the bulbs are only suitable for traditional light switches and lamps, and not for the ones in the dark of the variety.

Solana Line works with a free application, as well as Alexa and Google Assistant, for convenient checks without a subscription. The bulbs use 2.4ghz Wi-Fi for home network connectivity and work without a separate hub, which is nice, especially since all three sizes sell for under $ 20 each. In addition to the standard on and off controls, the Solana app has programming options and scene support.

Responsive controls

Bulb bulb Solana Smart Filament: What I like

Solana Bulbrite filament

Source: Christopher Close / iMore

Since the bulbs have all the hardware included even without the need for a hub, the installation simply involved screwing them into the lamps in my house. The association of the bulbs was also easy, at least for 2 of the 3 (more on this, in a bit), requiring something other than creating an account in the Solana application and selecting them after they were found.

Solana line control through the associated application was a fairly standard tariff, with sliders and switches that control the power, brightness and color temperature. Response times for adjustments were fast, changes could be seen almost instantly. I did not give any situation in which the bulbs failed to respond and were always available at the launch of the application without delay.

Bulbrite Solana Filament Controls App

Source: Christopher Close / iMore

Overall, I found the app to be more than sufficient for everyday use, with a clean look and easily accessible controls. The only flaw I saw with the application was that the group or room controls looked exactly like an individual bulb control, which can be confusing at first for those trying to access a single bulb.

The bulbs themselves produced a clean white light and I liked being able to adjust the color temperature from a softer white or yellow, to more intense daylight upon request. I liked seeing the filament effect from the bulbs, especially at the lower brightness levels, and saw no problems with the blinking or humming with the lamp I tested. Solana bulbs have definitely beat the filament design, instantly giving my lamp a more elegant and industrial look.

2 of 3

Bulb bulb Solana Smart Filament: What I do not like

Solana Bulbrite filament joint

Source: Christopher Close / iMore

As mentioned earlier, the combination of the intelligent filament bulbs with the Solana Bulbrite filament was quick and easy for two of the three bulbs we tested. Unfortunately, a light bulb when first turned on did not blink fast. Instead, it was just lit, which meant that the Solana Bulbrite application couldn't see it when trying to pair it.

To remedy this, I had to perform a reset procedure that involved starting and stopping the luminaire quickly, a total of five or six times, with a door pause for one second between them. This was not the highest bid, but it was strange that one of them would even come out of the box and also give me reason to believe that these bulbs could be accidentally reset if you have members of the house who like to play with the light switches on.

Moving on to the hardware side of things, I found that the bulbs themselves were slightly larger than some of my existing bulbs, especially the ST 18 variant, which is comically large. Granted, these bulbs are meant to be seen and will not be used more than likely in closed or shaded bodies, but it is still something to keep in mind, as they might look out of place compared to the size of the socket they attach to.

I also found that the Bulbrite filament line was a bit on the weak side for my tastes, with 600 lumens just not packing enough power to function as lighting in the area. Even with the difference of "20 watts" in the name between the A19 and the larger globe and the Edison styles, each of them produces the same level of maximum brightness, which is just weird.

Finally, even if the Solana Bulbrite line supports Alexa and Google Assistant Amazon, it does not support Apple's HomeKit, which is quite boring. The bulbs also require an internet connection and a registered account to access them, which means you could be left in the dark if there is a home outage or if the company's cloud service has an outage. Sure, you can just go to the light switch on the wall or press a button on a lamp to turn them on or off if it's worse, but I would definitely prefer a local approach for connectivity.

Affordable alternative

Bulb bulb Solana Smart Filament: Bottom line

3.5
out of 5








Bulbrite Solana smart filament LED bulbs provide all the connected benefits, such as darkness and remote control, without breaking the bank. These bulbs are responsive, easy to set up and simply look with their fashionable design.

As with anything, there are definitely some downsides, such as their limited brightness output, internet requirement and lack of HomeKit support. If you can look into these issues, though, the Bulbrite Solana line is definitely one that needs to be considered for the next smart upgrade.

Smart and elegant


bulbrite solana filament a19 render cropped

Bulb Bulb Solana Smart Filament

Bottom line: The Solana Bulbrite line offers excellent looks and convenient controls, all at an affordable price. If you are in the market for an elegant alternative to the traditional smart bulb and you don't mind missing out on HomeKit, then the Solana bulbs should definitely be on your radar.

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