Our users say that smart outdoor lighting improves their lives in small ways. These small benefits are often overlooked, but they can add up to make a huge impact. What does it look like to have smart outdoor lighting? And how do typical families use their smart lights?

To answer this question, we’ve invented a family to use as an example. Husband and wife duo Jason and Kate have a handful of kids, including younger kids and teenagers. Here’s how they use their smart outdoor lighting on a typical weekend at home.

Friday Evening: LED Smart Lights for a Warm Welcome Home

Jason’s family had a long week. With kids at after-school activities, parents at work, and the nights drawing in a little, it’s dark by the time everybody gets home. They decided to use the Gemstone Lights app’s timer function so the lights switch automatically while at work.

This means their home has a lovely, warm, welcoming glow when they pull up after a tough week. It’s these small things that make a big difference to your mindset. By the time they step through the door, they can feel themselves starting to unwind and relax, knowing their weekend is about to begin.

Plus, the timer is on significantly, which relieves Jason and Kate because sometimes their teens don’t get home until late. They know the kids will feel safer when they get home, with all the outdoor spaces well-lit. The adults can get into their pajamas and have an early night, which they need after a long week.

Friday Night: Smart Outdoor Lighting to Withstand a Storm

A storm is coming tonight, and Jason and Kate are prepared: everybody’s home, they have food in the house, and they’re ready to wait until it passes. Living by the coast means they must deal with rough weather, including storms and coastal solid winds that can be harsh on a building over time.

Our smart lights are designed to withstand any weather, so they don’t have to worry about them coming down. This means one less thing to bring inside from the yard before the storm kicks in.

Saturday Afternoon: Celebrating Game Day with Smart Lights

Saturday is game day at Jason and Kate’s house. They take football seriously, especially as the end of the season draws nearer. They have friends coming over with their kids, so they’re expecting a full house. The preparations—running to the store, prepping the food, tidying the house, cleaning up after the storm—take all day.

Before everybody arrives, Jason changes the color of their permanent track lights to their team colors. He creates a custom pattern using the app and saves it under their team name so they can easily find it when future games roll around.

The guests arrive at a home that is effortlessly themed (at least, on the outside) for the day. Everybody’s in a good mood and ready for the game. Although how long that good mood will last, of course, depends on the score…

Sunday: Time to Switch on the Holiday Lights

The home team lost, which is a letdown. Everyone in the family is a little tired and bummed out after a late night, and they’re at a loose end on a Sunday, which makes the younger ones restless and irritable. To make their Sunday more exciting, Kate allows the kids to switch on their holiday lighting earlier than usual.

This causes a lot of excitement in the house. Everybody gathers outside to join in, with the teens joining in using their phones, enjoying the creative process of making custom patterns.

There’s a lot of debate about which lights to go with. Kate wants soft, twinkly lights, while the younger kids have created a red, green, and gold pattern using the animation ‘Fireworks,’ which causes the colors to race around the edge of the roofline. The teens prefer the ‘Gradient’ pattern, which is more of a subtle fade from one color to the next.

To ensure everyone gets a turn, Kate schedules everybody’s lights to switch on every night over the next week. This means when they arrive home from school or work, they’ll be surprised with a new festive pattern to enjoy rather than their usual warm white architectural lighting. The whole family starts to anticipate the holiday season, and they decide that they’ll put more decorations up inside the house next weekend to match the outside.

Sunday Night: A Visit to Town

Jason and Kate are tired after entertaining yesterday, so they all visit a local restaurant in town for dinner. They’ve never been to this restaurant before, but they find it easily because the business has smart flood lights out front—this makes it easy to spot the signs from afar.

They have a relaxing meal on the patio area. Thanks to small heaters, flood lights, and commercial track lights, it’s warm and inviting. It’s nice to sit out under the soft glow and eat dinner, mainly because the restaurant has a stunning sea view.

They head home to their warm, cozy home, and because they’ve eaten out, they can spend time preparing the laundry, getting homework done, and packing bags for the week ahead.

Smart Outdoor Lighting FAQs

Question: Can I have the app on multiple devices?

Answer: Yes. You can sign into your account on multiple devices, so you’re not tied to one phone or smart device to control your lights.

You can even set up your lights to be connected to smart home devices like Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home, which allows you to switch the lights on and off using voice commands.

Question: Where can I find holiday lighting on the app?

Answer: You can find Christmas lighting by going to ‘Downloads’ and scrolling to ‘Christmas.’ Once you’ve found a pattern, you can download it and try it out.

Question: Can I set multiple timers for different custom patterns?

Answer: Yes, you can have multiple daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly timers running at once. This means you can have different patterns pre-set for different days, for example.

Make Your Home Life Easier With Smart Outdoor Lighting

Permanent outdoor lights controlled by a smart device can make your life at home easier, more comfortable, and more convenient. If you’re considering getting smart outdoor lighting, contact one of our Authorized Dealers for a quote.