Disclaimer: I received a Philips Hue Starter Kit as inspiration for this post. All opinions and writing are my own.
In our old neighborhood we lived directly under a street lamp. As a result our porch and house was always well lit.
We’ve been in our current house just over two years and with COVID keeping us home more, we are finally getting around to updating things around the house that really bug us, like how dark it is outside at night. Our neighborhood faces a semi-rural farm area, so outside of the handful of street lamps, it’s really dark.
Beyond simply being able to see outside, outdoor lighting is a good deterrent for crime. Lights make the entire street safer, and make it easier for home security camera’s to pick up anyone suspicious in the neighborhood. With Drew’s work schedule, being home alone is more of a rule than an exception, and adding small things that help me feel safe is important.
My solution up until now has been to just leave the lights on all the time. I’d turn them off in the morning, but that requires remembering to TURN OFF THE LIGHTS. After replacing the old fixtures to update the look, the next step to really improving the lighting situation was finding the perfect smart lights.
When I found Philips Hue, I knew it was the perfect solution to all of my problems. To get rolling quickly, I tried out the Philips Hue Starter Kit which included the Hue Bridge and 4 lights that go from both warm to cool white. Note: The bulbs included in the starter kit are not outdoor rated, but because our lights are protected from the weather I feel comfortable using them outside.
Without the requirement to purchase a subscription, Philip’s Hue uses the compact Hue Bridge to connect up to 50 lights and power the entire home all from my mobile phone. The Hue Bridge was super easy to set up, just plug into power and internet and we were in business.
Once plugged in the next step is switching out the regular build for Philips Hue Smart lights. It really is that simple and took only a couple of minutes to change out the entire front of the house. There was no need to scan a code or try and get each bulb to connect to internet individually. Once powered on the smart lights automatically pick up the Hue connection and appear on the phone app.
I couldn’t of asked for an easier project.
The way our lights are powered, one switch controls both the light on the front door, and the three lights on the garage. Before adding the Hue Bulbs if you wanted any lights on, they all needed to be on at once. Through the Hue App I was able to program the two areas separately allowing the door light to remain illuminated from sunset to sunrise, and keeping the garage lights off.
Our front door is set back on the side of the garage, so if anyone comes up to the front of the house from the driveway, we don’t know until they are almost at the door. Since the plan was to have the smart lights on the garage off most of the time, adding a Dusk-to-Dawn Outdoor Motion Sensor provides an additional level of security. If someone happens to walk up towards our door, the lights will automatically flip on and make it appear that we noticed them and changed the switch from inside. We could even trigger another set of lights inside, giving us additional peace of mind.
When we are allowed to travel again I’m looking forward to being able to control the entire smart lighting system from my phone. We can even add interior lights that turn on and off no matter where we are in the world [or just switching off lights without getting up from bed].
Interested in learning about other home security tips for law enforcement families?
Learn about Ring’s First Responder Discount in my post on Summer Home Safety
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