Knowing your home and family are safe and sound, all tucked in at night — there’s really no feeling like it. It’s something most of us take for granted until something happens close to home.
A few years ago, my sister’s home was broken into. When it happens to someone you know and love, you realize in an instant: this can happen anywhere, at any time. It makes you start thinking about all the little ways you can protect your own home and loved ones.
Now, if you know my mom, you know she loves her QVC. She’s always on the lookout for gadgets that make life easier — and sometimes she finds gems I wouldn’t have even considered. Just the other day, she called me and said, "You need this Energizer Lightbulb Security Camera!" She was so enthusiastic, I could almost see her leaning forward into the phone, telling me all the reasons I needed it.
Being the dutiful daughter I am (ha!), I ordered it right away… and then promptly canceled.
Why? Well, I wasn’t sure it would work for us. I had so many questions bouncing around in my head: Would it connect to our WiFi? Would it be complicated to install? Would it really give us peace of mind? Rather than risk regretting the purchase, I canceled and told myself I’d figure it out later.
That evening, I actually remembered to mention it to my husband (which doesn’t always happen, believe me!). He surprised me by saying he thought it was a great idea. We both liked that it wasn’t another monthly subscription service, and that we could each monitor the camera from our phones.
Several of our neighbors have security cameras with hefty subscription fees. While those systems can be wonderful, I just wasn’t ready to jump on that train. And don’t even get me started on the Ring doorbell — I know it’s popular, but I couldn’t bear to let go of our old-fashioned chime doorbells. They’re part of our home’s character, and I wasn’t about to give them up. Are you really surprised about that? Really? I doubt it. 😉
But if I’m being honest, when someone left footprints in our freshly poured concrete, I really wished we had some sort of camera to catch them in the act. It’s those small frustrations and mishaps that often push us to finally take action, isn’t it?
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| Yep, picks up cars driving down the alley |
We Chose the Energizer Lightbulb Security Camera
After chatting with my husband, I went back to QVC and reordered the camera. I patiently waited for it to arrive — or at least, as patiently as I can be when I’m excited about a new gadget.
One thing I loved was that the set from QVC actually came with two cameras, so we could try them in different areas of our property. QVC also has a 30-day return policy (unless it's Christmas, you have until January to return), so you can install them, test them out, and if you decide it’s not a good fit, you can send them back. That really took the pressure off — sometimes you don’t know until you see it working at your own home.
We decided to hold off on installing them right away since our roof was being worked on at the time. Once that was done, we carefully opened the box, hoping we wouldn’t regret this little splurge.
When we first got started, we thought we might have to send it back. We installed the camera bulb into our garage overhead light first — rookie mistake!
Our garage isn’t attached to our home, and there’s a breezeway between the two. Because of that, the WiFi signal just wasn’t strong enough (or that is my thought anyway). We kept getting fail messages when trying to connect, and after about the 50th trip up and down the ladder (or so it felt), we were both pretty frustrated.
My husband, ever the problem solver, decided to try the bulb in a lamp inside the house first. And you know what? It worked perfectly. Once it was fully set up and configured, we moved it back to the garage, and surprisingly, it kept the connection just fine. We didn’t even have to reconfigure anything — which felt like a small victory.
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| Yours truly, moving the trashcan away from the gate. Honesty is the best policy: You can see faces when you increase the pic on your phone, but I am not exactly the most tech savy person to transfer that to here, plus I removed sensitive information from the photo |
All the Features We Love
Once everything was up and running, we were like kids on Christmas morning. We had fun testing out all the different features:
✅ Easy installation — screw it into any standard light socket, install the app, and you’re off and running.
✅ No monthly subscription — I love that it’s a one-time purchase with no ongoing fees.
✅ Real-time motion and sound alerts — you can adjust these to avoid getting pinged every time a bird flies by (I learned this one quickly).
✅ Human body filtering option — you can click a button in the detection settings to filter alerts for human body movement only. This helps reduce false alarms from animals, trees, or cars passing by.
✅ Follows motion on-site — the camera tracks and follows people or animals as they move, so if someone is walking across your yard or driveway, the camera keeps them in view.
✅ Two-way talk feature — you can talk to whoever’s outside, even if you’re far from home. I still get a kick out of teasing my husband when he leaves in the morning.
✅ Night vision mode — ours is set to Auto, so it seamlessly switches from day to night on its own.
✅ Photo and video recording — images are automatically watermarked with the date and time, and they’re saved right to my Google Photos account.
✅ Built-in siren — there’s a button you can press to scare off intruders (or curious raccoons!).
✅ Flexible screen flip — if your camera is mounted in an unusual spot, you can flip the screen to get the right view.
✅ Comes with extender- I researched this, not all Energizer Lightbulb Cameras will come with the extender, something to keep in mind when searching for the best price. We did need the extender for it to work on our garage.
One feature I didn’t think we’d use much was the talk function, but it’s turned out to be one of my favorites. It’s a small comfort knowing that even if I’m away from home, I can speak to someone who shows up unexpectedly.
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| Remember Bobby? If not, check out his post, truly an incredible guy. |
Things We Learned Along the Way
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WiFi strength is crucial. Our garage was too far from the router at first, so we recommend setting it up closer to the house or using a WiFi extender if needed.
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Sound alerts can be overwhelming. Birds, squirrels, and every breeze can trigger them — thankfully, you can customize or turn them off.
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Human body filtering helps a lot. Turning on this setting really reduced all the animal-related notifications and kept the important alerts coming through.
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Start inside first. We had the most luck by plugging it into a lamp indoors to get everything configured before moving it outside.
WiFi strength is crucial. Our garage was too far from the router at first, so we recommend setting it up closer to the house or using a WiFi extender if needed.
Sound alerts can be overwhelming. Birds, squirrels, and every breeze can trigger them — thankfully, you can customize or turn them off.
Human body filtering helps a lot. Turning on this setting really reduced all the animal-related notifications and kept the important alerts coming through.
Start inside first. We had the most luck by plugging it into a lamp indoors to get everything configured before moving it outside.
We also discovered just how many critters and visitors wander around when you’re not looking. From birds flying by to the neighbor raising their garage door, it’s fascinating (and a little funny) to see what’s really happening around your property.
Would We Recommend It?
I’m so glad my mom called me with that gentle nudge. This camera has given us a new layer of peace of mind, and the sense of security is truly priceless.
If you’re looking for a simple, affordable, no-subscription option to monitor your yard, garage, or porch, this camera is worth considering. You can even use it inside your home by lamp, or overhead light, how convenient is that?
One of my favorite parts? The set from QVC actually came with two cameras, so we could cover more of our property right away. And thanks to their 30-day return policy, we knew we could try them without worry.
We’ll be installing our second camera soon, and we’re even considering going back for more so we can cover our entire property. Once you see how much these little cameras can do, it’s hard to stop at just one (or two!).
Pros & Cons
Pros
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Easy to set up and install
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No ongoing costs or subscriptions
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Clear video and audio, with date/time stamps
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Lots of customizable features
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Works with existing light fixtures
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Flexible return policy if you buy from QVC
Cons
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Needs strong WiFi signal
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Sound alerts can be overly sensitive (but fixable!)
Have more questions? Drop them in the comments below — I love chatting and would be happy to share more about our experience!
Ciao,
Cara
