As smartphones become increasingly powerful and ubiquitous, integrating them into intelligent lighting systems can boost both convenience and energy efficiency. This paper presents an intelligent lighting system prototype with enhanced security features for smart homes. The custom-built Android mobile application made use of the onboard ambient light sensor to run a novel closed-loop feedback algorithm to implement daylight harvesting. A cost analysis shows that the whole system setup is slightly cheaper than commercial products and due to its daylight harvesting capabilities, has potential for monetary savings in the long run, outperforming current commercial products. 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.