Looking for some floodlights I can use outside (exterior but covered from rain) with ST. I have found several on amazon but searching the reviews, I can’t seem to find any that are compatable with ST. If I have to use another app, I guess that’s ok, but would really just prefer everything to be in ST.
I’ve also seen some GE Cync bulbs but don’t think there’s ST integration. Are these the best option?
Ideally, bulb would be zwave as I have switches around the house and can easily buy expanders. Wifi would be doable, probably, but a few of the locations are probably on the outside of my wifi range so I could see that as problematic.
Any suggestions for anything you are using? If there’s no good ST integration, what’s the next best option? I guess that would be the best bulbs with the best app and we’ll just have to be ok with using 2 separate apps.
What country are you in? The device selection does vary.
GE Cync devices do not presently have direct integration with SmartThings. Maybe some day, if Matter takes off, but we’re not there yet.
It’s hard to imagine that WiFi bulbs would be out of range if they’re on the same building unless the architecture is unusual, like a cement or stucco building. How far away are the bulb locations from the WiFi router?
Would you consider Zigbee? For various reasons, there are a lot more zigbee devices in this class than zwave.
Also, could you use BR30 or does it have to be PAR38? (You may already know this, but BR30’s have a wider beam angle so they cover a larger area, making them popular for outdoor floodlights and security lighting. PAR38 are a more directed beam, making them preferable for spotlights that illuminate design features.)
we have a 3 story house with detached garage. I have 3 Ubiquiti AP’s around but up on the 3rd story where the flood lights are, the wifi can get spotty. House is stucco so wifi will have to go thru that for sure to get to the bulbs under the eaves. Worst case I suppose I can put another AP up there.
I’m open to anything that makes sense. I have not tried Br30 bulbs. I suppose I should go get one to test. Just trying to light up the front and back yards from the 3rd story and I’ve always just stuck with the Par38 looking bulbs. I also wasn’t sure if the Br30 was too wide to make any impact down on the ground from so high up.
Also I’m ok with zigbee but AFAIK, I don’t have any devices (thus no mesh network) so I’d have to start building that out to get from my ST hub to the furthest bulb. I will look more into Zigbee, maybe there are some repeaters I can put around that would help.
My house is also mostly stucco. You’ll almost certainly need an additional Ubiquiti to push signal thru the wire mesh. I have ongoing issues with Wi-Fi cams having poor signal strength from my first-gen eero system.
The easiest thing for Zigbee repeaters is what folks on here call “pocket sockets”, plug in smart outlets. Personally I find them ugly. Once you figure out where you need repeaters you can always replace them with Zigbee in-wall smart outlets.
yeah, now that you mention it, I had been dealing with this but didn’t know why I was having such problems. When I was setting up a bunch of zwave light switches, I started close to my hub and worked my way out. The very first switch I was trying to add was probably only 20’ away from my hub and would not connect. However, I was going from the detached garage (where my office and the hub is) to the house (where the closest switch was). I realize now it was probably the stucco (on both buildings) that wasn’t helping. I added a zwave range extended right by the switch which solved the issue.
