There are a lot of reasons why smart outdoor lighting is a bright idea (who doesn’t like a great pun?). Beyond the convenience of lighting dark areas around your home, they also provide a layer of home security and give the illusion that someone is home, even if your house may be empty.
Plus, there’s no bigger pain in the neck than tripping over a toy your kid left in the walkway in the middle of the night or wading through your keys on a dark porch trying to find the one that will open your front door. Outdoor smart lights give you the power to turn on your outdoor lighting with your phone and voice.
Outdoor lighting can also add that desired and modern ambiance to a backyard deck or patio. There are few things that are more inviting than an ambiently lit deck on a warm summer night or warm string lighting throughout a backyard.
Whether you want outdoor lighting for convenience, security, to set the mood or all of the above, we’ve found the best ones to achieve your outdoor lighting goals.
Here are our recommendations for the best smart outdoor lights in 2022.
1. Ring Smart Lighting Pathlight
These lights are great for poorly lit walkways and require little to no maintenance. Using solar-powered rechargeable batteries, they soak up the sun all day and light dark pathways at night. Using the app, you can enable the motion sensor to turn the light on and off at night as well as directly control the light from your phone. It’s a pretty nifty and efficient way to add a little light to the walking areas around your home.
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2. Philips Hue Lily White & Color Outdoor Smart Spotlight
When you connect this smart outdoor light to the Hue Smart Hub, you can take full advantage of all the colors and voice control features the Philips Hue Lily Spotlight has to offer. You have full control of the lighting from your phone, or with your voice thanks to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. It is even compatible with Apple HomeKit. Not only can you control the power, but also the colors it illuminates. This spotlight is weatherproof and has a 25,000-hour lifespan.
3. Dusk to Dawn Outdoor Smart LED Bulbs
A low-maintenance option to light up dark areas around your home, all you need to do is screw these bulbs in and walk away. They have sensors built-in that detects when the sun is going down and will automatically turn on at dusk and back off when the sun rises. This also helps increase your home’s security to make it look like someone is home at night. A three-pack of these lights is just above $20, making this a small, yet smart investment for outdoor lighting.
4. Philips Hue Discover Ambiance Smart Floodlight
This is a great outdoor smart light to illuminate a large area like a driveway, porch or patio with a single light. When connected to the Philips Hue Smart Hub, you can control the light directly from the app. You can turn the light on and off, but also change its colors. And when combined with an Alexa, HomeKit or Google Assistant device, you can control the light with your voice. This is a bright and durable outdoor smart light.
5. Govee Outdoor String Lights
The best smart lights are the kind that can be used all year long. Sure, you’ll have some seasonal stuff, but the Govee Outdoor String Lights can be used throughout the year. Whether you prefer those warmer tones during those lazy summer evenings, or perhaps something attention-grabbing for the holidays, the Govee Outdoor String Lights can be tuned for any occasion. With WiFi connectivity, you can also schedule timers to have the lights automatically turn on/off. Finally, they have the ability to do turn on/off with voice control from Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.
6. Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus
Serving double duty as a powerful floodlight and sensitive security camera to capture suspicious movement outdoors, the Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus can sit by itself on a corner somewhere to offer peace of mind. Even when the floodlights aren’t on, it’ll still continue to monitor what’s going on — so if it does detect motion, the floodlights can shed some light. Of course, you also get all the benefits of Ring’s security cameras, such as two-way communication, 1080p video recording, and a 105 dB siren to help ward off intruders.
7. Sengled Flood Light with Motion Sensor
It looks simple, but there is plenty going on inside this smart outdoor light. It has a built-in motion sensor for those who want outdoor smart lighting for security. When connected to the Sengled Smart Hub or a Zigbee enabled hub, you can control the level of light (it can get bright enough to light up an entire driveway) as well as schedule when and how bright you want the light to shine. Not so simple after all.
8. Aootek New Solar Lights
This four-pack of smart solar lights is great for walkways, driveways and the side of your home. They are solar-powered, so no charging or plugs are necessary. You can choose to have them turn on for 15 seconds after motion is detected, keep them on all night after the sun goes down. They are weather and heatproof, low-maintenance, and affordable considering you get four lights for less than $10 a light.
9. LIFX Nightvision A19
There are smart LED light bulbs that can change colors, then there’s the Lifx Nightvision A19 bulb that helps out your outdoor security cameras to see better in the dark. That’s because this smart light bulb uses infrared light to enhance the night vision in many security cameras. Not only would dark areas be better illuminated when seen through a night vision camera, but you’ll also be able to make out more details. This comes in handy if you have wildlife that comes through, so you can see exactly what they are. It’s worth pointing out that this smart LED light bulb can change colors, as well as connect directly to your home’s WiFi network — so there’s no bridge needed to connect it.
10. Ring Wall Light Solar
Garage areas and driveways are often neglected, which is why the Ring Wall Light Solar makes for a great addition. This wall-mounted smart light is sure to provide ample lighting thanks to the 800 lumens of white light it emits, perfect for when you’re carrying groceries to and from the car. Since this is part of the Ring ecosystem, you can conveniently automate it to work with many other Ring products. There’s a motion sensor built-in to automatically turn on whenever motion is detected but can be tweaked for fewer false alerts. Best of all, it doesn’t need to be wired for power because of its rechargeable battery which can be charged with the embedded solar panel.