Which Outdoor Lighting Fixtures Should Be Automated?

Buying the right outdoor light fixtures for your Houston, TX home –ones that offer the right kind of light while surviving the elements—is only the first step. You also need to ensure you have the right system in place to control them. Reaching for the nearest wall switch is often not an option when you're outdoors, which makes lighting control a challenge. With that in mind, our landscape lighting solutions let you manage lights from a waterproof remote, smartphone or dedicated touchpad. Many times outdoor fixtures can even be automated through the use of motion sensors or schedules scenes to give you truly hands-off control.

SEE MORE: 5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Landscape Lighting

Enhance Safety With Motion Sensors

The easiest way to automate control of your outdoor lighting is to install motion sensors. As soon as movement is detected in a given area, the surrounding lights turn on to give you better visibility. Having this type of automated system means lights are always there when you need them. Below are some of the most common ways that you can use motion sensors in your outdoor spaces.

•  Walkways: Having walkway lights on at all times can not only be a drain on your energy usage but also mess around with your lighting design. Instead, you can have motion sensors at the start of your main walkways so they only light up when someone is walking past to eliminate tripping hazards and lead the way to your driveway or front door.
• Perimeters: Your automated outdoor fixtures can also serve as the first line of defense in your home security system. Install motion sensors around your property’s perimeter, so the lights turn on when someone tries to enter. This can serve two purposes: it’ll let potential intruders know they’ve been spotter and result in better surveillance footage from your security cameras. 
• Pools: Many clients prefer to have manual control of their pool lights, only turning them on and off when needed. In some instances –if families have small kids or the area around your pool is too dark—we encourage you to link a few fixtures to motion sensors. This way you reduce the likelihood of someone accidently falling into the pool late at night. 

Think Ahead With Scheduled Scenes

When it comes to automated control, you’ll likely manage your outdoor lighting fixtures primarily through scheduled scenes. Once you’ve come up with the right lighting design for your outdoor spaces—choosing the fixtures you’d like to use and at what intensity you’d like them—you can save it as a scene within your lighting control system.

Schedule that scene to go on around the same time the sun sets to make sure you illuminate your home properly when it gets dark. You can then have the scene automatically turn off at the time the sun rises, so you're not wasting energy when there’s light out. It’s easy to adjust the time from your user interface, so you can make changes as sunset and sunrise times move from season to season.

Want to get the most out of your landscape lighting? Contact us to upgrade to a solution that lets you have automated control of your outdoor fixtures for a safer and more efficient home.