Here are just a few landscape lighting controls to consider

Thankfully, the technology innovators have blessed all of us control freaks with a plethora of choices for controlling many of our home’s systems – including outdoor lighting. All you have to decide is exactly how much control you really want. Here are a few landscape lighting controls to consider:

Wrong timer for landscape lighting controls
Typical mechanical timers are unreliable

All too often when we are servicing a lighting system that we did not install, we come across the typical plug-in mechanical timer. You know the one I’m talking about, with the red and green pins that allow the system to turn on and off. Simple, but problematic. The biggest drawback with these cheap timers is that whenever the power goes out for a few minutes, the timer stops working; and if the power is out for a couple of hours, the timer is a couple of hours off. This means that your landscape lighting is now turning on and off two hours late. Also, since sunrise and sunset change every day, you really need to reset the on and off times about once a month to keep the system from operating during the daylight hours. Hardly a convenience when it comes to landscape lighting controls.

You can add a photo cell to the timer so the timer turns the system on before dusk, and the photocell then over-rides the system “on/off” timer until it gets dark enough for the lighting to come on. Then the timer can turn the system back off at whatever time you like – midnight, perhaps. But you still have the problem of the timer constantly getting fouled up by power outages.

  • We prefer to use an astronomical timer with a lithium battery backup. This little gadget allows us to put in the location longitude and latitude so it knows when sunset and sunrise are at your location. We can then tell the timer to come on at sunset and turn off at whatever time you like, and it does just that! If the power goes out, the battery allows the timer to continue working and makes sure the timer keeps the programming intact. Then when the power comes back on, everything is right back to normal. We can even program this timer to come back on at 5 am and turn off at dawn for you early risers! This is a great option for those who don’t want to have manual landscape lighting controls, and just want your system to operate automatically and reliably.

Now let’s talk about a little more control. Your first option would be a regular remote control that uses RF (radio frequency), just like most other remote controls that you’re used to. This is basically a switch that you hold in your hand, allowing you to turn the system on when you want it on, and off when you don’t. Simple, but powerful. You are in command – if you don’t push the button, nothing changes.

  • Here is another of our favorites: the phone controlled system. This one allows us to program the landscape lighting controls and the exterior lights of your home to operate together automatically, but also gives you complete control from your Wi-Fi enabled smartphone! This is becoming a very popular option for our clients because not only can they operate their lighting using their phones, they can control just about any other electronic device in or around your home. The beauty of this alternative is that you can monitor your home operations, and turn stuff on or off, from anywhere there is a Wi-Fi connection. This cool system is also very affordable! All the control you want in the device you always have with you. Very handy!

For the more gadget/control obsessed we could also talk about color changing controls and zone specific control options that can pinpoint specific lighting fixtures in your landscape, but that is for another blog. If you are constantly dealing with unreliable timer problems, or would like more control over your outdoor lighting, please contact us here and we’ll take care of you.