TP-Link Tapo
TP-Link Tapo L530B smart bulb (B22, colour)
- Native integration
- Local control
- Wi-Fi
Prices verified September 2026
See more smart lighting picks on our Amazon storefront →Our verdict
The cheapest way to make a bayonet fitting smart — under £8 for a full-colour B22 bulb, controlled locally over the LAN by Home Assistant's native TP-Link integration (a Tapo account is only needed for setup). Colour rendering (CRI ≥80) is honest budget RGB — nowhere near Hue's Gamut C for deep reds and blues, and a step behind Innr's >82 CRI, so treat it as mood lighting, not a colour-critical fixture. Rated for 15,000 hours, roughly half Hue's or Innr's 25,000, tracking with the price gap. Best for older UK homes with B22 pendants where E27 rivals don't fit, or anyone wanting a cheap, controllable bulb rather than a lighting centrepiece.
What can Home Assistant control on the TP-Link Tapo L530B smart bulb (B22, colour)?
| Control | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Light | Primary control entity; supports brightness, HS/RGB colour, and colour temperature. |
| Colour temperature | Number (2500-6500K) | Range reported by the device's own component negotiation; setting outside this range is rejected by the bulb, not just clamped by HA. |
| Effect | Select | Limited to up to 2 unnamed custom dynamic-effect slots synced from the device; does not expose Tapo's named seasonal presets, which are strip-hardware-only. |
| Brightness | Number (0-100%) | Changes apply locally with no cloud round-trip once the bulb is paired. |
| Availability | Attribute | Flips to unavailable on re-authentication failures after certain firmware updates; recovering it currently requires a manual Third-Party Services toggle in the Tapo app rather than an HA-side retry. |
The bulb reports a light-effect component in its device profile, but it's capped at 2 user-defined slots with no name field — Tapo's named preset library (Christmas, Halloween, Aurora and similar) is strip-hardware-only under the hood, so it never surfaces on this bulb's HA effect dropdown despite showing in the Tapo app's own UI. A firmware regression reported repeatedly through mid-2026 is worth flagging: bulbs auto-updated to a newer firmware started failing setup with an encryption-scheme error, and the fix users converged on is toggling Third-Party Services off then back on in the Tapo app, sometimes two or three cycles before HA can re-handshake. Colour temperature is addressable 2500K-6500K alongside full HSV, and because control is local post-setup, brightness/colour changes land with none of the Tapo app's cloud round-trip lag.
Specs
| cri | ≥80 |
|---|---|
| power | 9 W (60 W equivalent) |
| fitting | B22 (bayonet) |
| lifespan | 15,000 hours (manufacturer-rated, 15,000 switch cycles) |
| brightness | 806 lm |
| energy rating | Weighted energy consumption 9 kWh/1000h (EU label; no letter class published) |
| dimmable range | 1%-100% |
| colour temperature | 2500-6500K, plus full RGB colour (16 million colours) |
How does the TP-Link Tapo L530B smart bulb (B22, colour) compare?
| Product | From | Protocol | Local control | Integration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TP-Link Tapo L530B smart bulb (B22, colour) (this product) | £7.99 | Wi-Fi | Yes | Native |
| Athom WLED WS2812B LED strip controller (pre-flashed) | £6.5 | Wi-Fi | Yes | Native |
| Govee Flow Plus RGBICWW light bars H6056 (twin pack) | £69.99 | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Yes | Native |
| Govee RGBIC LED Strip Light H619A (5 m, protective coating) | £39.99 | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Yes | Native |
Frequently asked questions
- Does the TP-Link Tapo L530B smart bulb (B22, colour) work with Home Assistant locally?
- Yes. The TP-Link Tapo L530B smart bulb (B22, colour) is controlled locally in Home Assistant through a built-in Home Assistant core integration (tplink), so it keeps working if your internet connection or the TP-Link Tapo cloud goes down. Control and state updates stay on your own network.
- Which protocol does the TP-Link Tapo L530B smart bulb (B22, colour) use, and do I need a hub?
- The TP-Link Tapo L530B smart bulb (B22, colour) uses Wi-Fi. To pair it with Home Assistant you need no hub — it joins your Wi-Fi network directly. TP-Link Tapo's own hub is not required when you integrate through a built-in Home Assistant core integration (tplink).
- How much does the TP-Link Tapo L530B smart bulb (B22, colour) cost in the UK?
- The lowest price we have listed for the TP-Link Tapo L530B smart bulb (B22, colour) is £7.99 at Amazon UK. Prices were last checked in September 2026 and change often, so confirm on the retailer's page before buying.