The Lutec ceiling light is economical, cozy and looks good.

Introductory

Nowadays, LED lighting has become almost dominant in our homes, pushing other energy-saving solutions out of the market. This is due to the low power consumption of LED lighting, their ability to illuminate almost immediately at full brightness after switching on, and thanks to modern innovations, there is already plenty of choice for both cold and warm lamps. Plus, there are smart lights that can adjust not only the brightness, but also the color temperature or even the color of the lighting, so we don’t have to complain about losing the friendly, warm glow of traditional incandescent bulbs.

Most people, especially in the design of home lighting, quite precisely in the apartment, are thinking about smart LED lights, but it is good to know that there are also outdoor pieces of such luminaires. Of course, we also find many types of these, ones that can even be exposed to heavy rain, and ones that are suitable for lighting a terrace or a gazebo, for example. For the latter, protection against water and dust is also important, but a lower IP class lamp is also sufficient. Such will be the Lutec ceiling lamp presented in the article, which is rated IP54, ie, for example, protected against splashing water.

What kind of lamp do we want?

When choosing the right smart light for your home, the first and foremost question is whether we want to integrate it into some smart home ecosystem later on. If not, a piece that can be controlled with a remote control may be enough, but if the answer is yes, the situation is a bit complicated. You may want to choose hardware that is either a product from a larger manufacturer, one that also runs its own smart home system, one that has many other smart devices. If you are buying from a smaller manufacturer, it is important that the product be compatible with at least Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa systems. Of course, we do best if the lamp we buy meets both conditions at the same time, because later we have to reckon with the least amount of constraints.

What else do we expect from such a lamp? Among other things, it should be easy to install, look good, have a bright enough light, and last but not least, the added phone app should be easy to use. When we selected the Lutec Origo lamp, we also took these criteria into account to get the perfect product on the test bench whenever possible.

Packaging and exterior

The Lutec lamp is placed in a showy box on store shelves. There are no over-explained things on it, but next to the picture of the lamp we find the more important information. Here is a mandatory table of consumption classes in the EU, in which, since we are talking about an LED lamp, it is expected to be at the top of the list. In our case, classes A, A +, and A ++ have been indicated, suspected because the consumption also depends on the number of LEDs currently operating in the lamp and the brightness, i.e. within relatively narrow limits, but the mode of application changes the energy hunger. Important information is provided by the pictograms on the side of the box, which show that the Origo is a piece that can be remotely controlled, timed and integrated into smart home systems, and that it can even be operated in parallel via the phone of several users.

The lamp is a classic ceiling lamp in terms of shape, but it looks like it was designed for outdoor rather than indoor use. Of course, this does not mean that there is no place in a bathroom or even in the living room, for example, but the dark gray, slightly matte surface of the frame still fits into a terrace. Inside the gray rim is an aluminum hoop that surrounds the lamp envelope under which the LEDs reside.

Overall, it's simple, you could say puritanical on the outside, but it still looks good and has a noticeable material in it, really quality stuff!

Equipment and interior

As we wrote at the beginning of the article, we consider it important that a lamp be easy to install. Well, the Lutec Origo needs two dowels and two screws to attach it to the ceiling, and in addition, we only need to provide the right three-core cable with a ground wire through which the current comes. Of course, the lack of grounding is not an obstacle, but since the body of the lamp is metal, it is advisable to ground the structure in wet rooms or outdoors.

To install, we need to unscrew a small, manually-releasable screw, then the bottom cover comes off the part to be screwed on, turning it half a turn. The terminal is easily accessible, making it easy to connect the power supply.

There is an exemplary order within. The SMD, i.e. surface soldered LEDs, are located on the center circuit board. In the middle circle there are nine RGB, ie adjustable colored, outwardly radiating LEDs and ten rows of white LEDs. Of these, five rows are cold and five rows are warm. You'll also find the components needed for control on the panel, as well as the interface needed for the wifi connection on a smaller circuit board. In addition to these, only the terminal and the voltage transformer were housed inside.

Phone App

Of course, it’s worth plugging the lamp into a traditional wall switch, but we won’t experience its true capabilities that way. To see what you know, we need to download and install a phone app. To achieve this, one of the included booklets has a QR code that takes you to the right place and, depending on whether you have an Android or iOS mobile, directs you to the appropriate web store where you can download an app compatible with your mobile for free.

A program called WiZ is a slap in the face. A wizard will guide us through the steps required to set up, without any understandable help with minimal mobile experience. We also took screenshots of the installation steps to show you how easy it is.

When we’re done, we have no choice but to enjoy our new lamp!

Use

As described above, the capabilities of the lamp are fulfilled using the application. You won’t need to fine-tune or scroll through settings, there aren’t very many of them, but we’ll find plenty of options to adjust the brightness of our lamp. You can access the power button from the home page, and there is also a brightness slider. Above is a button that takes you to another menu to reveal the pre-programmed light effects.

On top are simpler things like cold or warm light and the best night and day light. Below are the light settings suitable for watching TV and relaxing, and we also find an option here where the lamp will produce the best color reproduction. This comes in handy for creative activities such as painting and drawing.

Scrolling even further we find the more interesting, pre-programmed but already dynamic lighting effects. Depending on the subject, they change not only the color of the lighting, but also the brightness, mimicking the effect of a fireplace or candlelight, for example. Then there is a boat here for the summer day, or one where it's like walking in a dense forest, but there are also ways to use it during house parties. So there is something to choose from!

Everything can be seen in the screenshots below!

A program called WiZ is simple and easy to use. It is clear that it handles not only lights but also other devices such as motion detectors, smart connectors and wifi switches. Thanks to IFTTT compatibility, the system also handles event-oriented control, ie a function can be set so that the motion sensor can switch on the lamp or smart connector.

At the same time, it seems that the system, due to the narrow range of devices that can be connected to it, focuses more on lighting, although it knows essentially everything in this area. In addition to the presets, for example, we can design lighting concepts for the apartment, save them, or even plan the operation of our lamp throughout the day, specifying when we get up, when we lie down, or when we usually turn on the TV. If that weren’t enough, we can keep track of how long we’ve been operating a lamp, as well as how much power they consumed in the meantime.

Anyone who chooses to operate their lamp as part of a larger home system will have a larger, more smart home ecosystem with which the lamp is compatible. The best known of these are Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, which also allow voice and live word control.

Summary

The evaluation is worth splitting into two parts, although, perhaps in a pre-envelope, both ratings will be five. The first is the lamp itself, the Lutec Origo, and the second is the telephone application that came with it.

Let’s start with the latter, if only because we don’t have to spend much time on the topic because of the previous chapter. As you can see in the screenshots, the program is clear, with tiny pictograms everywhere, making it easy to identify menu items. The only thing we may be dissatisfied with is that it does not speak Hungarian, but the setup is still as simple as slapping, neither the setup wizard nor further use is a problem, even if we don't have a language exam. I’ve seen a lot of similar apps, Wizz is clearly among the better.

The lamp has been given a strong, durable, thick aluminum body that will certainly protect sensitive circuit boards and electronics from the effects of the environment for many years to come. At the same time, the lamp has not become bulky, the glossy aluminum frame between the frame and the bulb makes it more airy.

Due to the size of the luminaire, we can imagine smaller or medium rooms for the area of ​​use, or a larger light source can be a targeted light source above a table. Of course, we still look at the Origo rather than as an outdoor lamp, and IP54 protection against water and dust is no coincidence.

It can be a great piece for a terrace, a balcony, or maybe a garden seat. We definitely recommend a covered place for it, but a little mist or splashing water will not harm it. Importantly, its light is particularly strong when using white lighting, but after using RGB LEDs, we can enjoy very cozy light effects. This is a good hit with preset profiles, and while it is possible to “mix” individual colors, in practice this is unlikely to be a demand due to the abundant amount of profile.

For our part, we classify the lamp into a category worth buying!

If you like it, you can find the domestic distributor here: navalla.hu

The price of the lamp is currently HUF 34, but in the week following the publication of the article (ie until October 435), if you refer to this article when buying, you will receive a 8% discount on the price!

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Lutec Origo RGB outdoor and indoor smart lamp