By Jason Solis
Hello, my name is Jason Solis, and this is my take on Smart Lighting for homes. Let’s be real, there is an app for almost everything out there, and honestly, I don’t like my phone to be full of apps—so for me, less is more.
I recently installed the JUNO AI lights in my house and here is why I like them, and why you may like them too.
Light fixtures are installed in prime real estate throughout a house and with that, I can de-clutter some shelf speakers and other smart devices throughout the house by using Juno AI via my WIFI home system AND use my phone less to do so.
Why JUNO AI can de-clutter my home features:
One shipment includes all downlights, lighting controls, and speakers, with no hubs, etc. Guaranteed to be fully compatible, because it’s in the downlight.
Reduces problems before, during, and after construction. Eliminate cost/time for callbacks while increasing the value of the home.
I can use the Juno AI lights as my speaker, light switch, and Alexa device, all in one.
Control your entire smart home with Juno Ai
Building a successful smart home involves more than installing a collection of smart devices. It requires an ecosystem that makes peoples’ lives easier, safer and more enjoyable while reducing installation costs and helping builders sell homes.
Juno AI is a portfolio of smart home lighting fixtures that easily place Alexa into every room of a home. Our flagship product – Juno AI Speaker Light with Alexa Built-In – is an advanced LED downlight that features a JBL® speaker and Amazon Alexa voice service in a single patent pending ceiling light fixture. It’s a 6” downlight, but much, much more. Juno AI takes advantage of the most ideal location in the home – the ceiling – to create a smart ecosystem. It can control up to 200 other smart devices, play music through its premium speakers, and set the mood through controllable lighting. Ask Alexa anything with Juno AI.
With these smart lights, I can use the Juno app to set scenes such as lights on a 7 pm in the kitchen and lights go off at 7 am just from the app alone. I can play music from the app and change the color of the lights from the app. As you can see above, this light has a JBL speaker, light, and Alexa built into it.
However, the Juno app can only get you so far because, with apps, you need your phone to control things and if I can put my phone down and just ask the Juno AI to do stuff for me, then she will, when I connect it to Alexa. With Alexa, I can say, “Alexa, play Chris Stapleton” and just like that, a clear sound is playing above my head in the ceiling via a JBL speaker.
Here are just some of the things the Juno AI Lights can do with just using my voice; no phone needed. Control any of these devices via the Juno Ai:
Top 31 Juno AI Features
Here’s the run-down of my top 31 features by function type—yes there’s that many!
Lighting features
- Dim lights to 1%
- Change to 5 different CCTs, Warm to Cool or in between.
- Set scenes and schedules, Night Lights, especially while you are on vacation etc..
- Control the lights individually or by group
- Control all other lights in the house
Safety & security features
- Lock your doors
- Close your garage door
- Protect your family
- Use as a PA system
- FIND MY PHONE? Ya, through the lights, Alexa will call your phone so you can run around in a dead sprint trying to listen for the vibration ring….
Entertainment features
- Play high-quality music
- Turn of TV
- Provide weather & traffic reports
- Answer questions
- Read audio books
- Provide team scores and schedules
- Call any of your contacts and talk through the lights
- Tell jokes
- Entertain your kids
Comfort and convenience features
- Order pizza!
- Change your thermostat
- Order and track packages
- Start your dishwasher
- Set timers
- Add tasks to your to-do list
- Schedule appointments
- Order Lyft or Uber
- Send reminders
- Read the latest news
- Improve your quality of life
…Oh, and did I mention that it can light your room?!
Types and Applications
What are the best applications for this product?
Residential and light commercial applications (office spaces, restaurants, and anywhere where light and sound are key to enhancing the living experience). Many homes already have 6” recessed cans that probably have an incandescent or halogen light source, warm in color but big on wattage. The Juno AI replaces that light source with LED and saves big on energy.
There are three types of Juno Ai Downlights.
- The ALXA (Alexa built-in which includes the JBL speaker and downlight)
- SPKR (JBL speaker and downlight, works with Alexa)
- DWNL (color-tunable downlight, works with Alexa)
The image below shows a room layout of what you can do for a system:
12 Reasons to Love Juno Ai
There are 12 Reasons that I love Juno Ai—and you will too:
1. Individual fixture control (where I used to have one switch on the wall controlling 5 fixtures, I now can control each of those fixtures, creating an ambience that was not attainable with traditional downlighting) I named one can light “Stove Light” and the other Light “Fridge Light” and the rest I call “big lights.” I also named them as a group called “Lights”. So before I go to bed I can just say, “Alexa, Lights off” and all the can lights shut off. We never use the light switch anymore.
2. Dim to 1% out of the box. I love this feature so much…I leave a night light on for my dogs…just one downlight in my kitchen so that they can see their food and water bowls…again, I used to have all 5 lights on…now I simply say “Alexa, turn on Night Light”, and that one fixture comes on at 1%.
3. Tunable White Light. Full range of CCT from 2700K to 5000K, including the Circadian-like experience of our Daylight Simulator, which adjusts the color temperatures automatically throughout the day to mimic daylight. A great feature for places that do not have much daylight (Great for indoor office spaces and for those working or schooling from home).
4. Ability to listen to music in my entire house, or whichever room I select. For those with can lights in multiple rooms, you can also play different music in different rooms, so I can listen to country in the kitchen and my girlfriend can play her weird music in a room where she sits.
5. Fun for the entire family. The kids love playing the various skills that Alexa offers (Alexa says, 20 questions, etc.).
6. Add to your shopping list. You just talk to your lights and tell Alexa to add whatever you need to your shopping list.
7. Reminders/Alarms. A great feature because sometimes I need to be reminded to do things, and now I can just tell Alexa from the couch with Juno AI in the ceiling and set a reminder. Example – Alexa, set timer for 10 minutes as I try not to overcook the steaks outside.
8. Announcement feature. You can use your Juno AI fixtures to broadcast announcements like “Dinner is ready”. Since we have a carriage house in the backyard.
9. Talk to people in other rooms – through the lights. I can “Drop In” a feature to talk to any guest that stays with us and talk back and forth through the lights. This is very similar to the old Intercom System back in the day.
10. The sound quality is amazing. The JBL speakers are clear and crisp, and provide volumetric sound throughout a space.
11. Set-up “Routines.” This allows you to set up specific things that will happen when you give a command. One of my daily routines is “Good Morning…” I simply say, “Alexa, good morning” and all of the lights that I have selected for that routine will go on to the brightness and color temperature that I selected when creating the routine and the morning news plays out of the speakers.
12. All in/all in one. No light switch needed, no phone needed.
The Juno Smart Lighting will grow in product offering as well such as these new wafers that are also connected via an app or through ALEXA. More to come on these.
Need more proof? Here’s a fun, in-home demonstration from Dave Riney at Juno:
Want more information? Contact your TLA Sales Rep, or drop me an email at jsolis@thelightingagency.com and I’ll be happy to get you all the information you need!
Thanks for reading along and we’ll see you next time!
Best regards,
Jason Solis
TLA Lighting Specialist
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The Lighting Agency is a local construction allied company representing the premier lighting and controls manufacturers for Colorado and Southern Wyoming. We strive to be an integral part of the design process through our work with lighting specifiers, contractors, suppliers, and owners to create brilliant yet budget-sensitive results for projects big and small.