SMART LED LAMPS “You also must evaluate whether or not you can re-
With their range of colors,
brightness settings and programming options, smart LEDs provide a much greater degree of customization and control.
ceive Wi-Fi from inside the house outside,” he says. “Now, there’s some very strong routers that can really push out a big signal, but you also have blockages from cement walls, metal walls. Tere are some houses around the country that are thick adobe, too. You can’t always get the Wi-Fi to come outside with that.” To address this, Smith says it is worth connecting with
a Wi-Fi professional to understand the limitations of the current network and to learn more about routers as well as the smart LED lamps themselves. “It all comes down to educating yourself on those styles
of products,” he says. “Tey’ll do a lot of magical things, but they’re not magic.” Iynanda notes that the type of connectivity, whether Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, varies by lamp and manufacturer. He says Bluetooth offers a stronger connection than Wi-Fi.
PICK THE RIGHT LOCATION
Smart LED lamps excel when used for focal points, path lighting and even ambient lighting in your outdoor spac- es. Iynanda suggests a few different areas where smart LEDs can be deployed for the best effect in contractors’ designs:
• pathways • garden beds • deck/patio • water features • accent trees • architectural elements • outdoor dining areas • driveways • boundary and security • entertainment areas
TAKE A TYPICAL DESIGN TO A NEW LEVEL
Several specific facets of smart LED lamps can amplify an entire landscape lighting project in a few main ways, says Smith. Tose start with color customization, changing the color of the light to match the season, holiday or event. Remote control is another useful capability, allowing us- ers to manage lighting from anywhere, whether you’re in your living room or halfway across the world. Automation allows the user to set schedules or integrate with sensors to automate landscape lighting fully. Tey can be used to cre- ate dynamic environments by programming sequences or “light shows” for special occasions. Smith says oftentimes, color customization is just the first step in elevating designs by using smart LEDs. “I’ve had several customers in the past where it wasn’t a matter of having color; it was a matter of being able to work with the holidays and the moods they were in,” he says. Just like standard LED lamps, smart LED lamps offer
energy savings compared to their incandescent or halogen predecessors, Smith says. Further energy savings can come with smart LEDs, due to the fact they can be operated from anywhere. “Timing and dimming are everything,” Smith says. “So
you could actually have, for instance, some tall cypress trees in the background of your property. You could light those up really hard initially or just on the weekends. Maybe you just entertain on Friday night and Saturday night, and that’s when you want those lights on. Well, those lights can be timed to be at full brightness at a specific Kelvin tem- perature or a specific color when you want like that partic- ular day of the week.”
Luke Reynolds is the content editor for Irrigation & Lighting and can be reached at
luke@irrigation.org.
40
Irrigation & Lighting November 2023
irrigationandlighting.org
Photos: FX Luminaire
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