A search for controllable ourdoor lighting

Dont know if this is the best place to post this, but I'm trying to find some lighting to put in the garden for security purposes, plus to highlight the features and different plants and add some ambience.

I've searched a number of lighting suppliers but what is on offer tends to be fixed single colour lights and what I'm really hoping to find is something waterproof which can project light in a variety of colours in a variety of directions with a variable focused beam that can be computer controlled.

In a way these would be similar to disco or stage lights but smaller and for outdoor home use probably harnessing the illumination strength of led's, the rapid on/off time, and ability to provide a range of colours all on a small scale.

I've got pipework sunk into the garden to run Cat5/6 network cable down to the shed where CCTV fitted to the shed can be controlled and video footage captured, so the lighting would work with the cctv when certain security parameters have been met, like IR sensors being tripped to capture any wildlife in the garden (or unwanted human vistors), but at other times to have the lighting double up to add another dimension to the garden, like maybe uplighting plants and also able to project light across the garden when foggy even.

We've already got permission from a neighbour to project light to the underneath of their massive walnut tree that over hangs oneside of the garden, but I often think lighting is one area that could be developed more.

I'm not thinking Jean Michel Jarre here but having the ability to use the lighting maybe in time with some music when having a BBQ/party would also add to the ambiance when required.

So does anyone have any ideas where I might find something like this, little short of brushing up on some electronic skills to make my own computer controlled lighting devices?

TIA

 

Hi sounds like an interesting project, have a look at the helpful links at the bottom this page you might find some ideas.
Simply Automated -- Pre-Configured SimplySmart™ Landscape-Outdoor Lighting Control Series
X10 Automated Outdoor Lighting | HomeToys

 

Yeah quite useful, the x10 I'd looked into before as it was one of the first protocols for home automation to hit the market some years back but I found it a bit a expensive.

Unique Lighting looked promising, for some stationary lighting its thechangable direction lighting I'm finding harder to place. Still thanks for the links, its always good seeing what others have done.

 

I'm unsure if you already have CCTV ? CCTV cameras have a IR sensors you can see any wildlife without the need for lights coming on, if you want longer visibility you ad these,

 

x10 is a bit out of date these days. There are a number of z wave or zigbee controlled lights around - but most are for interior use - Philips and Samsung do a lot of Z wave stuff. I also have an external multicoloured mains LCD light controlled by a standard IR remote - they are quite cheap but I assume you want to automate the control more - maybe get the Z Wave products, and the interface unit, and use a Raspi for a cheap programmable controller

 

I have the above lights they work ok, I also have other types nothing computer controlled though.

 

For this I use pir sensor lights, I only have a small drive next to a road, I prefer lights here it sends a warning,

Without light,




When something goes past light is activated, in this instance a car,


For wildlife you don't really want to be shining lights on anything, IR is the way to go, here's a camera I use on my birdfeeders, you can see the mouse at the bottom,


More you pay for cameras better quality images you will get, my cameras are cheap ones.

 

Yeah I have a few Rpi's lined up but all going to be cabled no wifi/RF, its too easy to hack which is why I have been burying waterpipe around the garden for the cables to go in with a switch in the shed and then everything from the garden hooking into that, I just need to make sure there is enough bandwidth for the cctv's etc otherwise I might have to drop some fibre down. Looking at the Axis cams because they seem to have the best API's for controlling the cams, plus I can code some of the logic to control the cams myself. Got some other sensors lined up as well like temp, air quality and maybe a weather station as well as we can get some extreme weather temps here.

 

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I like the individual LED's are they all RGB colours or just a couple colours & can you dim those? They look more subtle than RGB coloured led light strips, the base of the chimera is something I had in mind for around the hottub here, and along the edges of the garden, but I need to find something which can point them in any direction. The sort of thing I had in mind and been looking for is like a CCTV dome but instead of a camera being inside, just have a coloured LED inside. Fairly easy to cannibalise and mod if I can find some cheap CCTV 360 dome units I would have thought, plus a little adjustable iris liek a camera shutter could help focus the beam as well.

How does it look on foggy nights? I bet your back garden could be a dance floor for a good outdoor Halloween party, if you can get those lights to switch on and off with music!

I've been looking at the Axis cams for control as they have some good programming interfaces which other software can control quite well, but I need to find out more and am waiting on someone to come back from holiday before I can get more info, but these cams would be used for catching all the wildlife in the back garden as we get all sorts here, including deer, but even the whole lawn swirling with so many worms one warm June night after it rained heavily and I had scalped the lawn in preparation of the heavy rain. Thats a sight I've never seen before in my life, truly amazing.

 

Lots of colours you can dim them have them flashing etc,

I've not really look tbh, you can buy mist machines to mimic fog various types available now days from ones that go in ponds maybe one that goes in hot tubes,

I'm 50 now not really into flashing lights with music , but I must admit something like this looks nice


Anything is possible it all depends on your budget.

 

I have sensor lights around my house. the good thing about it. as the cats roam around, they turn on and off a few times during the night. now a potential thief would not notice a cat walking past in the dark. so hoping he/she is thinking, ---what are those people up to at all hours of the night turning their lights on.

 

Hi @FlymoDM - oh, if you're wiring everything, then that's a much nicer situation. The Axis cameras look nice but quite expensive if you're going for a few of them... Are you going to fibre the whole setup? Or use the Power over ethernet option?