It goes without saying that Philips Hue is more than just a set of light bulbs you can remotely turn on and off.

When it comes to creating a smart home, they are an essential part of the puzzle and often a great first step to making your house totally connected.

Once you’re set up with a Starter Kit, the possibilities are endless as to how you use the system to transform not only your home but your wellbeing too, given that lighting can often affect our mood, productivity and sleep.

Philips Hue has been around for a few years now and it truly is a must-have for any smart home. It’s a wireless system that allows you to control the lights in your house with a smartphone, instantly changing the look and feel of each room.

The energy efficient LED bulbs connect to Wi-Fi and have the ability to emit any colour on the spectrum - 16 million to be precise.

Whether you're new to the world of smart home tech, or looking to add to your ever growing connected collection - you should probably get on this.

Hi Lifehacker, I've been looking into kitting out my home with some smarter technology, but I'm wondering if the benefits are worth the steeper price. Are smart lights more energy efficient and long-term cost effective than standard LED lights?