I have a fancy new outdoor lighting controller, the FX Luminaire "Luxor". It has all kinds of timing and dimming capabilities. Right now I have 4 light groups in the front yard and will eventually have more in the back yard.

The 4 groups are up lights, down lights, stair lights, and path lights. All monochrome; we thought colored lights would be gaudy and no one in our neighborhood has colored lights. The main purpose in front was to light the stairs & paths better so guests wouldn't stumble & fall. But appearance is also a consideration.

Right now, I just have all the lights coming on 15 minutes after sunset and off at 11:45 7 days a week. (Separately timed driveway lights stay on later in case we come home late.) In other words, I'm using this fancy computer as a single on/off timer. Boring. Do any of you have similar programmable outdoor lights and are creative with light scheduling & bright/dimming? I feel like I'm not using my system to its capabilities.

 

What specific model number do you have ?

 

It's a LUX 300.

I imagine I can get creative when we light the back yard. "Pool party", "BBQ", "Intimate evening" what have you. That will be months in the future, hopefully by summer. Just don't have any ideas about the front other than simple timed on/off.

In this shot of the front, the pier lights by the street and the lights right at the white front door are original to the house and on separate timers. The stair lights are new, as are the path lights and up & down lights you can't really see. Those are connected to the Luxor. The stairs were dangerously dark before.

 

Think about the purpose of the lighting and program accordingly.

I do not have a fancy controller but control my front lights and driveway with a timer, photocell, motion detector, contractor and override switches (and LOTS of wires!). This has been created over many years and before smart switches were available. Smart switches can be programmed to perform most of these functions with a lot less wiring.

Front porch, vestibule, and driveway post light:
By time clock/photocell--ON at sunset, OFF at 9 or 10 PM (do not reset for DST.)
By motion detector--ON for 5 minutes at any time after dark. (Like arriving home after 10 PM.)
By timed switch in driveway--ON for 5 minutes. (If motion detector does not activate--it is sometimes blocked by leaves. Also the switch was installed many years before the motion detector.)
By contactor controlled by in-house security system--ON when system goes into alarm.
By contactor when "All Lights ON" switch in house is activated. (Also turns on back and side lights.)
By override switch inside front door--ON until turned OFF. (Like when visitors are leaving after 9/10 PM.)

Driveway step lights and address number at street:
ON dusk-to-dawn with internal photocells. (These LEDs were added recently and power source from above system was not available.

Floodlight outside kitchen window (Illuminates a stained glass window from outside and exterior walkway below):
ON by smart switch/Alexa from sunset to 8 PM.

Just some examples.

 

Thanks for the reply, John. Sounds like your Frankensystem evolved over time to do exactly what you want; nice. I'll have that to a certain extent, too, but want to work with my contractor to see whether any existing back yard lights can be controlled by the Luxor instead of timers & manual switches.

The Luxor could control a hotel. It more light groups, themes, and schedules than I will ever use, and is, of course, controlled by a mobile app. Sitting in the yard on a warm summer evening, I could brighten selected lights from my phone as the sun goes down. (The one thing it lacks is photocell capability.)

So it would be nice to get my existing back yard lights off their individual transformers & Intermatic digital timer (on/off only) and onto the Luxor. I'm pretty sure it can be done; the question, as always with such projects, is at what cost. My front yard went over budget and past deadline (insert shocked face here).

 

on edit:The Luxor lighting controller manages groups of lights and light intensity at desired times.
Two-wire connections power and communicate with all lights in a system.

I'm trying to figure out how this system works on TWO wires.
It's easy to program but how does it communicate ?
You can't address lights remotely unless they have some kind of addressable setup module either inline or internally.

on edit:
Ok....this controller works with Luxor fixtures that have an address module inside them or you can use an external setable assignment module. I haven't priced it out but this appears to be an expensive lighting system probably out of most peoples reach. Each fixture is addressed separately in programming.

 

After the lights were installed, my contractor visited each one with a Luxor light assignment module plugged into the headphone Jack of his iPhone and told each wirelessly which group it belonged to. Took about a minute per light. We're in Jetsons territory now.

 

I'd consider leaving some of the lights on (maybe at 50%) all night. The step lights or the post lights might look nice staying on all night while the remainder of the lights are off.

You can also change the colors of some of them for holidays. That always adds a nice festive touch!