Smart Outdoor Lighting for Structures, Landscaping, and More

The right lighting dramatically changes a photograph. It also dramatically changes your landscaping. You can enhance your outdoor space’s best features, create ambiance, improve safety and do so much more with outdoor lighting. Even better, with smart technology, you can automate the lights to turn on and off when it’s convenient for you. Even solar lights can be automated. Discover some great ideas for outdoor lighting and how to plan for your installation. 

Options for Smart Outdoor Lighting 

Here are some ways you can use smart outdoor lighting to make your home even better: 

• Floodlighting: Some lights connect with smart home security systems, to turn on when the system senses someone is nearby. This can increase safety for you too, as the light can prevent you from tripping. 
• Path lighting: Speaking of preventing tripping, pathway lighting helps people safely navigate your space. It can also create a charming atmosphere. For a modern look, consider path lighting built into the interlocking on your steps. 
• Pool lights: Ready for a dip? Place smart lighting near your pool for beauty and safety.
• Holiday lights: The best holiday light displays are on timers, to create flashing displays. Outdoor home automation tools can help you create these coordinated light shows.
• Lights for ambiance: Ever wanted dimming lights to set the mood in your backyard? You can use smart attachments at the switch to dim your lights. 

When you’re looking at making your outdoor lighting smart, you need to consider the bigger picture of the whole space, so you don’t run into issues when you want to add other smart features at a later date.  

Questions to Ask About Outdoor Lighting 

As with other outdoor home automation, you need to do a bit of planning to make the most of your lighting. Here are some questions you should consider: 

• Am I following local codes? Building codes regulate your electrical system and lighting options outside of your home as well as inside of it. If you don’t know building codes, you may want a professional’s help to make sure you’re following the law. 
• Will I hit a utility line? Many smart systems require that you poke holes in structures and dig into the ground. You’ll want to make sure that you don’t hit anything dangerous or harm your utility lines. 
• How will I know where the lines are? Once you’ve installed the lines, you’ll want to create a map to tell you where they are in the future. This is useful if the lines need repair or if you want to do other work in the yard later. 
• Is everything really weatherproof? It is of course very important that you’re using weatherproof products for your outdoor lighting. 

Automating your home doesn’t only have to happen inside your house. Bring your smart home outdoors by automating your landscape. Contact the professionals at Digital21 for all of your interior and exterior smart home automation needs. 

_Sources: 

_{https://www.cnet.com/news/smart-outdoor-lighting-options/} 

_{https://www.yellowpages.ca/tips/5-questions-to-ask-about-outdoor-wiring/} 

_{https://lazyadmin.nl/home-network/smart-outdoor-lights/} 

_{https://blog.constellation.com/2018/04/11/automated-outdoor-smart-home-ideas/}