Smart outdoor lighting: 5 tips for designing your yard and garden lighting

Great outdoor lighting is the crowning touch for your yard. But how do you get it right, and why are smart outdoor lights a good choice? Read our 5 tips for outdoor lighting, especially smart outdoor lights.

1. Smart outdoor lights are a smart idea

• Smart outdoor lights are a wise choice because they offer versatile control and scheduling options. This makes it easier to manage your yard's lighting more comprehensively.
• The versatile controls also enhance security and save energy.
• For example, you can schedule different lighting patterns for different days and times to improve security.
• Many smart outdoor lights also let you create groups. With grouping, you can set specific lights to activate from one motion sensor and different lights from another.
• Some smart outdoor lights even have a feature that turns on the lights when you approach your yard, for instance by car. This works by detecting your phone as it enters your home network range.

2. Plan your smart outdoor lighting carefully

Planning is essential when creating a balanced outdoor lighting setup. This applies to smart outdoor lighting as well.

• Start by considering your needs. Your lifestyle and yard will largely determine your lighting requirements.
• When purchasing smart outdoor lights, think about a few practical matters. If you already have other smart home products, consider whether you want the outdoor lights integrated into the same system or controlled separately through their own app. This decision may influence which manufacturer's lights you should buy, as the selection includes both lights that integrate with larger systems and standalone options.
• Another practical consideration is internet connectivity. Nearly all smart outdoor lights require an internet connection even when you're away. For example, cottages often rely on mobile internet that travels with the owners between the city and cottage, which means smart outdoor lighting won't work optimally.
• Your yard size also affects smart lighting. Small yards are generally compatible with all smart lights. However, if you have a large yard, pay attention to the range of the smart lights. By getting a Mesh network or lights that extend network coverage from one fixture to another, you can achieve better range for larger yards. Besides yard size, wall thickness also affects range—thick walls reduce coverage if the network device is located inside the house.