Smart Lighting Systems Add Brilliance To Your Landscape
How often have you looked into your dark yard and realized you forgot to turn the outdoor lights on, or come home from work to find you never turned the outside lights off? It happens to all of us, but it doesn’t have to.
At Landscape East & West, we’re seeing a trend in smart lighting systems for area landscapes. The combination of lighting solutions and technology like sensors, timers, and connectivity allows you to automatically control and optimize the illumination of your outdoor space with a set it and forget it concept. We can help you determine if this is the right option for your outdoor space.
Benefits
Smart lighting systems offer several benefits.
A primary benefit is that they can be programmed to perform how you want or need them to. Whether you want the lights to coincide with sunrise and sunset, come on when someone enters the space, or shut down when you go to sleep, the options are limitless.
The customization goes beyond scheduling. The brightness and color of the lights can be altered, allowing you to create different scenes for different moods or occasions. Dynamic lighting can enhance the beauty of your landscaping features: picture an up light to highlight a stately tree, a spotlight on a water feature, or fairy lights to add ambiance under your covered structure. The right lights can add a modern touch and boost curb appeal.
Smart lighting is a good choice for energy efficiency as it uses LEDs, and there is always an option to add motion sensors so lights only come on when movement is detected. The use of timers also prevents lights from staying on unnecessarily, although with today’s low voltage, there’s really little need to turn the lights off! We’ve come a long way from the days of incandescent bulbs.
Finally, smart lighting systems can add to the security of your home. With timers, motion sensors, and control from your phone, you’ll never leave your yard in the dark where intruders can hide in the shadows. Plus, lights help keep away pesky raccoons and neighborhood cats.
How To Choose a Smart Lighting System
If smart lighting seems to be the best choice for you, the next step is to choose what system is right for your landscape. It’s time to consider the space, the goals you have for your yard, and your budget.
Here are some guidelines for choosing the right smart lighting system for your outdoor space:
Prioritize Your Lighting Needs:
Is the goal for your yard added security, ambiance, practical needs, or a combination? Having lights for steps and pathways may be needed for safety, while a motion-detecting spotlight could keep intruders away.
Assess Your Yard:
How large is your outdoor space, and does it incorporate different uses that require different lighting? Is the yard so large that it will need multiple systems? Do you want some darker corners to maintain privacy for a hot tub or firepit? Or do you need to shine a light on the further reaches of your landscape? Typically, at Landscape East & West, we get requests for four main types of lights: ledge lights that tuck up on or in walls or steps, path lights for safety, up lights or down lights to highlight features, and spot lights or wash lights to illuminate a wider area.
Determine Your Power Source:
While solar power seems a sound environmental choice, the weather in the Pacific Northwest is not really conducive to going all solar. Our abundance of clouds could leave you in the dark. Battery-powered is simple to install, but may require frequent recharging and replacement. Low-voltage options, converting line voltage 120V to a 12V system, balance power and efficiency, and work well in most situations. The ultimate solution is hiring professionals like the ones at Landscape East & West to dig trenches and hardwire your outdoor lighting system.
Choose Your Features:
First, ensure the system and brand you choose will work with your existing smart home ecosystem if you have one. Next, determine if you want mobile app integration and/or voice assistant compatibility. Most systems work via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and can be paired so Alexa or Google can turn on your lights. For homes with Lutron or Savant home automation, there are outdoor lighting systems that provide seamless integration.
Look through the options for scheduling and automation to ensure the system can be set up how you’d like it to be. Finally, decide on added features like motion sensors or color control. You can even adjust the intensity of the lights, dialing it up or down to get exactly the light you want.
Budget:
The price for smart outdoor lighting systems varies tremendously depending on the number of fixtures, brand, and features. It’s good to have a budget in mind before you choose your system. Our experts are happy to provide a free consultation to help you get started.
Smart lighting is a trend that we see taking hold and soon becoming what everyone uses because it just makes sense. And now that outdoor lighting is so user-friendly, there’s no reason not to invest in improving your yard to have more time to look outside and appreciate your landscape. Check out some photos of our past lighting projects and get inspired, then contact us for a free consultation.
