About Lighting Controls & Automation
Control is what makes a lighting design livable. It decides when the lighting comes on, how bright each area is, what changes late in the evening and whether any of it needs a thought from you.
Depending on the project, a system may use apps, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, remotes, timers and other controls, alone or together. We stay manufacturer-neutral on purpose: products and manufacturers change, and the right answer for one property is not the right answer for the next.
Zoning and dimming
Dividing a system into zones and being able to set their levels in relation to one another is where control earns its place in the design. It is how the entry, the garden and the outdoor living areas are balanced, and how a property can have a quieter late-night setting.
Integration with home automation
Where a home already has, or is getting, a home-automation system, the landscape lighting can be designed to work with it, so the outdoor lighting is part of the same scenes and keypads as the rest of the house. We work with the integrator where there is one.
“Smart” and “color” are not the same thing
A smart system is one you can schedule and control. Color-capable lighting is a separate capability, and many excellent controlled systems are white light only.
Color becomes particularly relevant with permanent roofline lighting, because some manufacturers also offer compatible landscape fixtures that can operate through the same ecosystem and app.
