If I lived alone, I'd have the smartest home imaginable.

Depending on the time of day (or night) each room would light up as I entered. Music would start playing automatically. The temperature would always be 22°. At a single command, the lights would go down, my TV would turn on and my favourite show would start playing from where I left off.

I literally already have all the gear to make that a reality.

But alas... I'm not the only one who lives here. Not only are the other cohabitants unwilling to sit down and learn exactly how all these gadgets work so they can control them themselves, I'm not sure I have the patience or communication skills to teach them.

I get it. As it stands, I use three different virtual assistants to control dozens of devices, not to mention those that actually work better with their own apps or remotes. I have to admit, it's a bit of a nightmare really and I'm not sure why my family puts up with any of it.

So when Nanoleaf came up with a simple way for everyone to control the lights, I was definitely interested.

The Nanoleaf Sense+ - to put it simply - is just a switch.

Which means the next time Domestic Manager complains, "Why can't there just be a switch?" I'll be able to point to it. In fact, I'll be able to hand it to her.

That's because although the Sense+ looks a lot like any other wall-mounted light switch, it's only the mounting plate that's fixed to the wall; either screwed on or fixed in place using the less-permanent adhesive backing. The switch itself merely magnetises in place - in fact, it can stick to any metal surface that's magnet-friendly.

Being completely wireless means the Sense+ is perhaps more a remote control than a switch and as such, it'll do a lot more than just turn your lights on and off.

Although, let's not underestimate the elegant simplicity of two nice big buttons - one with a picture of an illuminated light bulb and one obviously unlit. No doubt at all what's going on there.

Then, in the middle of the matchbox-sized pull-out module you'll find a dimmer rocker. Again, no ambiguity - a simple plus or minus for brighter or darker. No instructions required.

Things get a little more complicated with the left and right-hand buttons though. These are fully programmable via the Nanoleaf app and can be assigned three different functions each, depending on what sort of lights you're controlling.

It's worth noting here that not all Nanoleaf smart lights are compatible with the Sense+, so you'll probably want to do a bit of Googling before you purchase, just to make sure all your lights are going to play nicely together. I've found results can be a bit inconsistent when you group older generation lights with the newer, Matter-over-Thread-enabled models so you're better off upgrading anyway.

Regardless, it's important to update the firmware on any Nanoleaf devices you want to pair with the Sense+ before you start. This is, unfortunately, a torturously long process which often doesn't work first time. Even if you've set up your lights using Apple's Home app on an iOS device, you'll still be directed to the Nanoleaf app for the firmware update. And while, in theory, you can queue several several lights for updating simultaneously, I'd advise against it, because if something goes wrong halfway through, you may have to factory reset the light completely and start from scratch.

As you will have gathered, this is not the part of the process every member of the household should get involved in.

However, once everything is updated, you've paired the Sense+ and created a "Control Group" for it to link with, it's then a very easy process to assign functions for single clicks, double clicks and long presses of the left and right buttons.

For example, a single click of the right-hand button cycles all the lights in my living room through a list of different colours. Meanwhile, a double click of the left-hand button sets them to warm white.

But the real beauty of Nanoleaf smart lights is their ability to show customisable scenes - changing patterns of colours you can select from a growing list of preset templates, or you can create your own. Once you've saved any of these scenes to your list of favourites, they too can be assigned to one of the buttons on the Sense+.

This has got to be great news for any long-suffering family members of a tech geek like me. Now there's an easy-to find, physical switch to control the lights with. Just like the old days.

But wait...

The Sense+ has two other hidden features that give it its name; a motion sensor and a daylight sensor. This means you may not need to use any of the buttons at all. You can set the Sense+ to turn on the lights when it gets dark or when someone enters the room. Or more usefully, a combination of the two; automatically light up the room when someone enters... but only at night.

Both motion and light sensitivity can be adjusted to your preference using the app and both sensors do the job perfectly.

And because Sense+ uses Matter-over-Thread rather than just simple bluetooth or potentially crowded Wi-Fi, the commands from the buttons are carried out pretty much instantly, with almost no lag whatsoever.

When it comes to summing up the Sense+, the word "simple" keeps coming to mind. It's simple to install (and looks just like any other light switch when magnetised in place). And it's simple to use - meaning the rest of the family are no longer living in the dark when it comes to the smart lights in your home. 

The update process should be simple too - unfortunately, this has always been an issue with Nanoleaf products and there's still a lot of room for improvement. But don't let that one gripe put you off setting up your own Sense+ system. If I had my way, I'd have one in every room of the house.