Hello everyone,
I’m finding it more challenging than expected to decide on the outdoor lighting electrical setup and would appreciate your input on how you implemented yours and whether you’re satisfied with your decisions.
It concerns which outdoor lights should be controlled manually or automatically.
The property is a detached house. The street view shows the entrance with a canopy in the middle of the left side of the house, a small front garden with a path on the left and right, a carport with an additional parking space in front on the right side of the house, and a larger terrace with stairs leading to the garden at the back.
I have planned one light under the entrance canopy, controlled manually from inside.
In the front left corner, a motion sensor light, not manually switchable.
In the front right corner (in front of the carport), another motion sensor light, also not manually switchable.
Here is the question whether fully automatic control makes sense, or if it might be better to have an option for manual switching as well.
Under the carport, I plan a separate manually controlled light (because the motion sensor probably won’t work there) in case you need to load or unload the car in the dark.
The question here is whether it would be better to link this to a motion sensor with a long delay timer?
On the terrace at the back, there are three lights on the house wall, currently only manually controlled. I’d like to convert them to include motion sensors to deter burglars. What do you think, would that be sensible?
I’m also considering adding an automatic dusk sensor. Does that make sense? I often travel for work, so it might make the house appear more occupied.
There are also two small step lights on the stairs to the garden, manually switchable only.
Additionally, wiring for perimeter spotlights in the fascia board is planned, though I’m now questioning whether I will actually install them. Probably not.
It has also been agreed to lay underground cables in the front garden and behind the house, in case there is a future need to light pathways.
Would the front cable then be connected to both motion sensors depending on which direction you want to illuminate in front of the house? Is that even possible? How did you implement this?
Regards
I’m finding it more challenging than expected to decide on the outdoor lighting electrical setup and would appreciate your input on how you implemented yours and whether you’re satisfied with your decisions.
It concerns which outdoor lights should be controlled manually or automatically.
The property is a detached house. The street view shows the entrance with a canopy in the middle of the left side of the house, a small front garden with a path on the left and right, a carport with an additional parking space in front on the right side of the house, and a larger terrace with stairs leading to the garden at the back.
I have planned one light under the entrance canopy, controlled manually from inside.
In the front left corner, a motion sensor light, not manually switchable.
In the front right corner (in front of the carport), another motion sensor light, also not manually switchable.
Here is the question whether fully automatic control makes sense, or if it might be better to have an option for manual switching as well.
Under the carport, I plan a separate manually controlled light (because the motion sensor probably won’t work there) in case you need to load or unload the car in the dark.
The question here is whether it would be better to link this to a motion sensor with a long delay timer?
On the terrace at the back, there are three lights on the house wall, currently only manually controlled. I’d like to convert them to include motion sensors to deter burglars. What do you think, would that be sensible?
I’m also considering adding an automatic dusk sensor. Does that make sense? I often travel for work, so it might make the house appear more occupied.
There are also two small step lights on the stairs to the garden, manually switchable only.
Additionally, wiring for perimeter spotlights in the fascia board is planned, though I’m now questioning whether I will actually install them. Probably not.
It has also been agreed to lay underground cables in the front garden and behind the house, in case there is a future need to light pathways.
Would the front cable then be connected to both motion sensors depending on which direction you want to illuminate in front of the house? Is that even possible? How did you implement this?
Regards
Please also consider the environment in your lighting design. I am not referring to energy or electricity here, but the light pollution I notice at many, especially expensive, new houses. They often leave (sometimes pretty) lights on all night. This causes major problems for many nocturnal insects. Therefore, try to follow these “Recommendations for outdoor lighting” (copied from bienenretter punkt de).
Artificial light only
Artificial light only
- when it is needed: night shutoff, motion sensor,
- where it is necessary for safety: hazardous areas like stair steps, but not on house walls or fences,
- at the required intensity: low lumen output and avoiding light spill,
- no illumination of habitats such as trees and shrubs,
- use shielded fixtures with enclosed housings (below 60°C (140°F)),
- lamps with low UV content: LED warm white under 3,000 K,
- with low mounting height to reduce distant lighting impact,
- use directional light, so-called “full cut-off” fixtures.
JaiBee07 schrieb:
Under the carport (because the motion sensor probably doesn’t work there) a separate manually controlled lighting (in case you need to load or unload the car in the dark).
The question here is whether it would be better to have it connected to the motion sensor but with a long delay timer?
I solved it as follows:
The carport has two LED tubes, one on the left and one on the right side, plus a motion sensor. The right LED tube is connected to the motion sensor, all controlled by an “Arnold switch.” A developer from Nuremberg designed it. The switch controls the motion sensor, or only the one light on the right side (default). With the switch, I can set both lights to stay on permanently or off permanently. I find this a perfect solution. The developer also sent me a wiring diagram on request to control both LED tubes. The electrician just had to implement it.
We have motion sensor lights all around the house (manual control is not possible), which are really annoying. When they turn off, they flash for a while. And as soon as there is wind outside, they keep turning on repeatedly. We have even had to turn off the circuit breaker because of this. I wouldn’t do it that way again.
JaiBee07 schrieb:
So far, I have planned lighting in the entrance canopy that is manually operated from inside.And who is going to turn on the entrance lighting when you get home? 🙄 Definitely, it should be controlled by a motion detector. Overall, there are too many light points around the house for my taste. There are also fixtures that can be switched from motion detector mode to constant on using a manual switch. But in general, as few lights as possible, and they should be automatic…Similar topics