Residential Exterior Lighting...what do you recommend?

Enchanter

Ghost in The Machine
Staff member
Time to upgrade / update the exterior security lighting on the Fortress of E. The lights I've got now were likely installed when the place was built in the 70's, and they are dim, not motion sensing, and really ugly looking.

I want lot's-o-lumens, LED, motion sensing (with adjustable sensitivity), adjustable 'on' time, and wifi control would be nice.

I need one battery powered w/solar charging for the furthest corner of the property. It would be nice if it was from the same manufacturer as the wired versions.

I've seem to remember seeing a brand that connected multiple fixtures. When one sensed motion, it was able to turn on one or more of the others.

What advice does BARF have to offer? Bonus points to those with personal experience with the brand and model they recommend.
 

auntiebling

megalomaniacal troglodyte
Staff member
It's all LED these days, building codes have effectively killed all others. So at least that part will be easy
 

mlm

Contrarian
Really happy with the Ring floodlights. Aside from that we have smart switches and motion detectors. Migrating from Wink to Hubitat at the moment and still configuring
 

insyder

Like a Boss.
Staff member
Here's a fixture I have covering our side garage door. It throws plenty of lumens for a good 30 yards or so.

It's really a matter of what you like from a design standpoint and how it works for your house's design cues.

I shopped Lowes/Home Depot and found better choices on Amazon.

For control/remote control:
I've done a full Samsung Smarthings implementation on our home.

For exterior lights, I find it best to deploy a Z-wave powered switch(Link). This is to keep the cost (relatively) low for the use case in lieu of expensive fixtures like Ring Spotlights. I don't do motion, I have the lights turn on in the evening and run all night until morning. The cost of running LED is low enough not to care, and if it matters that much to you, you can program shorter run times over night.

Because you mentioned "WiFi control"
Consider setting up a hub-based Smart Home of some sort. I like both SmartThings and Hubitat. Research each one and determine on your needs. The big difference I see between the two is that Hubitat doesn't require the cloud for processing, while SmartThings does. Hubitat is also quite a bit more "tinkerable" than SmartThings, while SmartThings is pretty straightforward and keeps you out of trouble. Both are quite reliable foundations for home automation. It might even boil down to which mobile app you like better in regards to choice. Eventually, you might look at voice assisant(Google/Alexa) integration, which would kind of make the hub software less important.

With a hub, you can deploy devices like light switches, bulbs, door locks, door and window sensors, etc. A hub allows you to use wi-fi, Z-wave, and zigbee network based devices and get them all wrangled in and managed by a single app platform. On this platform, you can schedule on/off routines, monitor security of doors and windows, and even unlock doors for a visitor while on vacation.

I prefer Z-Wave/Zigbee devices as I prefer to keep the IOT stuff off my Wi-Fi network as much as possible, keeping it all on it's own Z-Wave/Zigbee network. Some things like cameras, you're stuck with using wifi, but there are methods to segregate that traffic too if you desire.

I acknowledge that setting up a smart home system requires a little more initial cost and setup than simply slapping up a few Ring spotlights, paying the monthly subscription and using their app for control. But if you consider a deeper "smart home" deployment, using a hub is considerably more scalable. A lot of our interior lights are "controlled" and the family appreciate that the heat turns on shortly before everyone wakes up for comfort, we can use voice commands to turn on/off lights or start music or fire up Netflix. So now's a good time to consider the option.

...I need one battery powered w/solar charging for the furthest corner of the property. It would be nice if it was from the same manufacturer as the wired versions.

I've seem to remember seeing a brand that connected multiple fixtures. When one sensed motion, it was able to turn on one or more of the others...
The previous owner of our home installed these. Mr. Beams is the brand. I'm not a fan. Powered by "D" batteries, they yield poor light and the "linked" connection is not very reliable. I'd probably just look at a solar powered LED spotlight for the far corner light.

I've been doing the home automation thing for a few years now. Feel free to ask away.
 

insyder

Like a Boss.
Staff member
Really happy with the Ring floodlights. Aside from that we have smart switches and motion detectors. Migrating from Wink to Hubitat at the moment and still configuring
I like their product features, especially the flood light cameras. Not a fan of their police partnerships though. But hey, everyone has their comfort levels in regards to personal privacy and corporate ethics.

In case you're not aware:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/06/amazon-ring-must-end-its-dangerous-partnerships-police

"Even if the camera owner refuses to voluntarily share footage of a protest with police, law enforcement can go straight to Amazon with a warrant and thereby circumvent the camera’s owner. "

https://www.eff.org/press/releases/...g-cameras-monitor-black-lives-matter-protests
 

dravnx

Well-known member
You don't have to pay a subscription with Ring if you don't want them to monitor your system. I have the system installed at my office/shop. Lets me know when someone opens my office or shop door, motion detected camera and lights, remote monitoring and control, all without a subscription. They have remote controlled switches and outlets so you can use the remote motion sensors to control a spot light or anything else you desire.
 
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Melissa

Peace,Love and Harmony
I have 2 Chihuahuas that act just like an alarm situation.
They are quite expensive however!
 

mlm

Contrarian
Good info (that I was too lazy to write) from insyder. :thumbup

We had Wink for a couple years till they started imploding (10 day service outage) Went with Hubitat because it allows non-cloud control through a local IP on your home network. The local controller also takes care of time schedule, motion triggers, etc. We already had all our outdoor lights on Z-Wave (better security) switches so it was easy to switch over although haven't set up the motion stuff yet. We did end up linking to Alexa so it's kind of nice just commanding "Backyard lights on" and everything lighting up (it's not a single switch otherwise)

Didn't catch the Solar part but have a few comments:
1) The stickup solar motion lights are pretty good if they'll have sun. Have these on the sides of the house along the fence and are great
2) We have one Ring cam on a solar panel for a spot I didn't want to wire. Their solar provides enough power to maintain "battery mode" indefinitely, but you still have limitations. It's on my to-do list to run a power cable
 

ctwo

Merely Rhetorical
Outdoor night lighting blinds me. I can see what's around much better without them, especially by moonlight or even starlight. All lighting I've seen just casts a dark curtain at their perimeter. Sure, I can see and avoid the snail on the walkway, but I won't see the boogie man lurking by the hedge. This is especially true if you install that "good neighbor" lighting. I think what's needed is stadium lighting on 40-foot poles.
 

dravnx

Well-known member
Outdoor night lighting blinds me. I can see what's around much better without them, especially by moonlight or even starlight. All lighting I've seen just casts a dark curtain at their perimeter. Sure, I can see and avoid the snail on the walkway, but I won't see the boogie man lurking by the hedge. This is especially true if you install that "good neighbor" lighting. I think what's needed is stadium lighting on 40-foot poles.

Sure if you're outside and your eyes are adapted but going from a well lit room to outside, you're essentially blind. Exterior lights also have a security layer that keeps the zombies at bay.
 

ctwo

Merely Rhetorical
Yeah, that's why most zombies break in during the day. And I still kind of like candle-lit rooms, but I don't work in a hospital.
 

mlm

Contrarian
You can do some pretty cool stuff with the smart lighting controllers. In addition to standard "dusk to dawn" you can control multiple lights with a single motion detector, you can stagger lights getting turned on (so it looks like a human turned them on). You can also use them to make sure lights get turned off. Also supplements cameras because the video quality is much better with actual lights vs the "night vision" mode
 
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Climber

Well-known member
I have several of these along my back wall that faces the sun:

51Jc-MW99IL.jpg


I have a ring doorbell (with video) and 3 ring cameras around the perimeter and an LED movement activated flood along the front of my house.

It all works great. Nobody can approach any window or door without our knowing it and we can walk around the back and have it lit up. Next to the hot ttub we have a light like above that has the mode button on the front (many have them on the back so you have to take them off the wall to change it) so that we can put it on stay on while we're in the hot tub at night.
 

insyder

Like a Boss.
Staff member
...Went with Hubitat because it allows non-cloud control through a local IP on your home network. The local controller also takes care of time schedule, motion triggers, etc. We already had all our outdoor lights on Z-Wave (better security) switches so it was easy to switch over although haven't set up the motion stuff yet. We did end up linking to Alexa so it's kind of nice just commanding "Backyard lights on" and everything lighting up (it's not a single switch otherwise)...
If I was to do it all over, I'd likely go with Hubitat. The local control is a pretty big deal. And I wouldn't mind tinkering around with it.

I went with Google assistant for voice control. You can have both in the same home, I just didn't want to bother. If each individual is part of your Google home, they get personalized services from Google based on its recognition of the voice. I find that "neat" so far, but haven't found a use case where that would make a difference. Though I have read that there a lot more things you can do with Alexa, so I might get around to doing it if Google doesn't start improving its featureset.

We're deviating from OP a bit but... I wanted to compare Nest Hello doorbell vs Ring doorbell. We had a 1st gen Ring doorbell and found it to be disappointing. It being motion activated, the only thing it tended to do was record people walking away after stopping at the door. I tried upgrading to a Ring Pro, but for whatever reason I couldn't get it to work on our wifi regardless of the amount of tinkering with network ports, etc.

I like the Nest Hello because its recording 24/7. The subscription is cheap and allows several days of look back. Also I love its seamless integration with the Google Home/Assistant. Saying "Hey Google, show me the front door" to our Nest Hub(or phones) is great!
 
A truck was stolen on Hihn Rd last night and there's lots of mtn lion activity in the neighborhood lately. No better time for a motion activated spotlight w/ camera and push notifications. The BL FB group now has pics of the stolen truck being used to steal tools from other locations in town.
 

tzrider

Write Only User
Staff member
"Even if the camera owner refuses to voluntarily share footage of a protest with police, law enforcement can go straight to Amazon with a warrant and thereby circumvent the camera’s owner. "

This is a bit misleading, as it overstates the exposure. Ring only stores data for those who pay for that service and every video expires and is automatically removed from the platform after 60 days. The account owner can delete videos at any time and those videos are gone; not accessible by anybody.

Most of the video sharing with police is done voluntarily by account owners. You don’t have to opt into that.

I’ve used Ring flood cameras for a few years. The light they throw is adequate but they now can integrate with other Ring lighting products to turn those lights on too. My system is integrated with Habitat, which controls most of the lighting in our home. I can make a Ring camera turn anything on in response to motion.

In my case, cameras turn on the landscape lighting if it isn’t already on and turn it off again after a predetermined interval. One camera near a back gate triggers our back patio lights after a short delay to give the impression that someone in the house turned those lights on shortly after the camera activated the food light.

I have a panic routine that will activate all exterior lights and sirens, as well as playing other siren sounds on outdoor sound systems in the front and back yards. This routine would be triggered by one of us, as it raises absolute hell.
 
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