Getting the Most from Your Outdoor Security Lighting and Decorative Lighting

We’ve all seen outdoor landscape lighting and outdoor security lighting that turns on at dusk and off at sunrise. It’s practical, efficient and convenient, but there’s so much more you can do with your home’s outdoor lighting fixtures to make your home safer and more attractive. And the best way to do it is by tying them to a lighting control or home automation system.

These processor-driven systems allow you to get creative with how the lights around your house operate. You’ll be able to have your home systems installer program them to beautifully accentuate special areas of the yard, to brighten automatically based on conditions other than the time of day and to work in concert with other electronic systems, such as a music system that pipes tune to the outdoor speakers.

Here are a few ideas to consider when automating your outdoor security lighting and decorative light fixtures:

Safety & Security
In addition to enhanced the outdoor ambiance, outdoor security lighting and automated exterior fixtures can provide valuable piece of mind. Those same landscape lights that looked so stunning during an evening cocktail party on the deck can also be used to deter intruders. Motion sensors, programmed to activate after midnight, can trigger certain lights, or you can ask your lighting installer to add a keypad by the nightstand where one button signals every light in the backyard to snap on.

Pathway Lighting
You may already have landscape lighting fixtures lining the walkway from the driveway to the front door; there may even be some lights that lead to the shed, a patio or a garden. For greater visual impact, trigger them with motion sensors planted strategically throughout the yard. This way, the lights will activate sequentially as a person strolls along the path rather than popping on all at once.

Scenes
Think about the activities that commonly take place outdoors. Maybe you entertain by the pool frequently or like to have dinner on the patio. Perhaps you like to relax on a lounger and stargaze. Outdoor lighting can be grouped into “scenes” that will create the ideal illumination for each occasion; for example, activating only the gas Tiki torches around the swimming pool when you tap a POOL button on a keypad, smartphone or tablet, but adding the floodlights when you engage the BUG button.

Accentuate
Just as indoor lighting can be set up to accentuate certain elements of a home’s design and architecture, outdoor lighting be used showcase eye-appealing parts of the yard, such as an elegant doorway, a lush flower garden and the shimming water of a swimming pool. Outdoor LED lights can accentuate the textures of stonework or an ornamental tree.