We’re building a fixed pergola over our outdoor kitchen area. This coming week we’re meeting with the electrician to discuss lighting, power, etc. Of course I want automation to be part of the design.
For lighting we’re thinking of the following:
- 3 zones of 6 inch cans (LED) in the main area.
- 3 zones of 4 inch cans (LED) over the counter tops.
- LED uplighting for the skylight.
- Fairy lights on the perimeter.
For the can lights I’m thinking about 3 position retractive switches with Shelly Dimmer 2’s. This would give us physical control and automation, plus our own choice of switches.
Z-wave is also an option, if it’s safe to install outside but under cover. I don’t have Zigbee (and don’t want to add it at this stage).
For the skylight I’m thinking WLED and an RGBW strip. I might go with one of the new Dig2Go bundles. Sure I can make my own, but that seems to be a nice offering that would just work out of the box, and it’s not expensive.
The fairy lights will probably be just powered with switched outlets (my wife doesn’t care if they are dimmable).
For the motion sensor I already have some Everything Presence One units on hand. Hopefully it’s safe to use outside but under cover. I have a 3D printer so I can make a custom case as needed.
I’ll probably also add a hand built ESP8266 air quality sensor. So I’ll make sure that I have a non-switchable outlet nearby all the sensor positions (probably with built in USB power).
For music I’m just thinking about portable smart speakers, like the Sonos One. I don’t think I want to mount speakers in the ceiling.
We have WiFi access out there already, But I’d like a stronger signal and more range so I’ll probably add another UniFi 6 and mount it on the ceiling. Should be OK with its IP54 rating.
We have some Nest cameras that I’m not using, so I’ll add one out there.
We’ve got a switch for our pool cover, but I don’t want to automate that. Not sure that that’s even legal.
Am I missing anything? Any thoughts or suggestions?