Outdoor lighting with smart auto mode and manual override

HopelessJoe

Hi all,

I’m looking for advice on whether there’s an off-the-shelf solution for controlling external lights at the main entrance of a house.

The lights should have a default Automatic (Smart) mode, with the ability for the user to override it to either Always ON or Always OFF when needed.

In Automatic (Smart) mode, the behaviour should be:

• Lights turn on automatically when it gets dark, with adjustable light sensitivity

• After switching on at dusk, the lights stay on until a set clock time (e.g. 11pm), rather than for a fixed number of hours, so they stay on longer in winter and shorter in summer

• After that off time, if motion is detected, the lights come on again and then turn off shortly after movement stops

As this is for the front entrance, the controls need to be simple and user-friendly for everyday use, without relying heavily on apps or complex settings.

Does a product like this already exist, or is this normally done by combining separate devices (light sensor, timer, motion sensor, etc.)?

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

Chickereeeee

I don't know of one product so you may need to combine two.

Which is not necessarily a bad thing. Normally, in the evening, you want a well-illuminated, welcoming porch (for example). But if this is switching on and off all night (due to foxes, wind, leaves etc etc) it can be .... irritating to neighbours. A separate  smaller, less bright, motion activated light would be a better solution

MyRealNameToo

HopelessJoe said:

Hi all,

I’m looking for advice on whether there’s an off-the-shelf solution for controlling external lights at the main entrance of a house.

The lights should have a default Automatic (Smart) mode, with the ability for the user to override it to either Always ON or Always OFF when needed.

In Automatic (Smart) mode, the behaviour should be:

• Lights turn on automatically when it gets dark, with adjustable light sensitivity

• After switching on at dusk, the lights stay on until a set clock time (e.g. 11pm), rather than for a fixed number of hours, so they stay on longer in winter and shorter in summer

• After that off time, if motion is detected, the lights come on again and then turn off shortly after movement stops

As this is for the front entrance, the controls need to be simple and user-friendly for everyday use, without relying heavily on apps or complex settings.

Does a product like this already exist, or is this normally done by combining separate devices (light sensor, timer, motion sensor, etc.)?

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

What sort of light are you hoping for? The normal kind of welcoming front porch light or the floodlight type security lights? Are you picky as to what they look like? 

I have seen some non-smart lights that are basically dusk to dawn at say 50% brightness but then come onto 100% brightness if they detect motion for X seconds. They won't do things like turn off at a set time or such though. 

For smart solutions, if you dont want floodlights, then you are likely needing two parts, a smart bulb in a non-smart outside lamp holder and a smart PIR sensor that includes a photosensor. Whilst programming it to do what you want may be an initial pain once its set up it should be pretty much fire and forget unless the PIR is battery powered then its the occasional battery change. Will need to make sure your wifi or smart hub can communicate with where the light and sensor is going to be depending on which technologies they use.