Best Smart Outdoor Lights [UK Guide]

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Your garden can now be part of your smart home setup thanks to a growing range of outdoor smart devices including a huge range of garden lights.

In this guide, we’ll share the best outdoor lights to create the perfect smart garden that can be controlled from your phone, and in most cases via Alexa or Google Home.

Phillips was first to the game with Hue products suitable for outdoors, but more and more manufacturers from the UK and beyond are now turning their attention to the exterior of our homes. We’ll keep this list up to date as we see new releases.

Quick Summary

In a rush? The best smart garden lights available in the UK are:

Product Image Overview  
Best Spotlights: Innr Spotlights
• Work with Alexa and Google Assistant
• Budget friendly
• Full colour spectrum to create beautiful garden light effects
Best Wall Light: Philips Hue Discover
• Stylish look with different casings available
• Work with Alexa, Google Assistant and HomeKit
• Require a Philips Hue bridge

Best Floodlight: Novostello
• Bright 2,000 lumen with full colour spectrum
• IP66 waterproof rating makes them suitable for all parts of the garden
• No hub required
Best Smart Lightstrip: Philips Hue
• Connect with your other Philips Hue outdoor lights to create a scene
• IP66 waterproof rating
• Choose from 2m or 5m length

*Bonus: At the end are two DIY hacks for cheap smart garden lights if you’re willing to get stuck in with some wiring.


Benefits of Smart Outdoor Lights

Smart lights are a great way to modernise your garden, but don’t take our word for it, here are three great benefits of adding smart lights to your garden:

Add outdoor lights to your routines – Some smart home devices call them routines, others call them schedules, either way it’s about making your outdoor lights do certain things at certain times. This could be a certain time of day or after a trigger such as geolocation, weather or sunrise.

Voice control – When your outdoor lights are integrated as part of your smart home, you’ll benefit from the ability to control them using your voice assistant such as Alexa.

Extra security – Most devices support remote usage, if used in conjunction with smart outdoor cameras or a video doorbell, you can add extra protection to your home even when you’re not around.


Best Smart Garden Spotlights

Our recommended smart spotlights for your garden are:

Below are our full reviews of each spotlight so you can see why we’ve chosen it.

Innr Smart Outdoor Spotlight – Out Top Pick

Innr spotlights provide all the features of other outdoor smart lights, only at a fraction of the price.

Good value for money
Up to 5 spotlights on one power adaptor
Control with Alexa and Google Home
Does not work with HomeKit
Requires a hub
Lights can’t be set individually – must have the same settings

Innr is one of the few smart home manufacturers that is doing a great job rivalling Phillips Hue when it comes to smart garden lights in the UK. With the Innr, you get 3 lights for a similar price as you’d pay for one Phillips Hue Lily so it’s definitely better value.

The initial set includes 3 spotlights, but you can connect up to 5 on the same power adapter. They can be hung on the wall or pushed into the ground via the included ground pin.

Innr smart lights also run off the Zigbee wireless protocol, this means they will connect to any Zigbee hub which means they are compatible with Philips Hue, Smart Things, and the Amazon Echo (Show or Plus Editions only).

The compromise of the Innr garden lights is that they must all be controlled as one light whereas Phillips Hue Lily Spotlights all act independently.  But as far as brightness and colour depth, they are just as strong.


Phillips Hue Lily – Runner Up

These Lily spotlights from the Phillips Hue range make great feature lighting and can be set individually, or as a scene.

Work with Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit
Mix and match up to 5 hue outdoor lights on one power supply
Expensive
Requires a hub

As you’ll see wen reading this guide, Phillips have really focused on expanding their outdoor Hue lighting with many different styles. You can mix and match up to five on the same power supply, and they will all still be able to function independently.

Phillips Hue smart lights require the Phillips Bridge Hub in order to function but as they operate via the Zigbee protocol which is a mesh network, you should be able to reach the furthest corners of the garden provided you spread them out well.

Integration with other service has been a key selling point for the Hue lights, they support all of the main voice assistants and have a huge array of third party apps and integrations, many of which are a novelty such as disco lighting but some providing a useful function such as working with security systems to come on if there is a problem.

The downside of the Hue Lilly Spotlights is undoubtedly the price point which will set you back three figures for one light.


Indarun Recess Spotlights – Ideal for Decking

Floor recessed smart lights for great feature lighting that looks great on decking or flower beds.

Works with Google Home and Alexa
Up to 30 lights
WiFi controller integrates with your smart home without need for additional hub
Does not work with HomeKit

These WiFi connected lights are designed to be recessed into the ground or decking to light up walkways, flowerbeds, stairs, entrances or any other outdoor area.

They are really durable with an IP67 rating and contain LED bulbs with 16 million colours to choose from. Choose between 6 and 30 individual lights, these will all be controlled from one main controller which connects to your WiFi.

You can then control them via the free app or link them up to Alexa and use your voice. The lights can sync to music, match scenes or be set on a timer. These will add really great feature lighting to your outdoor areas.


Best Smart Outdoor Wall Lights

If you’re in search of more ambient lighting, here are some great smart wall lights for your garden or driveway:

Below are our full reviews of each product we’ve recommended with the pros and cons of each.

Phillips Hue Discover

The Hue Discover outdoor light is our best pick, its a powerful 2,300 lumen LED smart light with 16 million colours and 50,000 shades of white.

Bright at equivalent to 2,300 lumen (80W equivalent)
Connect to 5 other Hue outdoor lights
Works with Alexa, HomeKit and Google Home
Choose from 16 million colours
Unlike most dumb floodlights, this requires additional sensor for motion activation
Hub required

This is the brightest light in the Philips Hue range at 2300 lumen which is equivalent to 80W and more than enough to provide a guiding light and deter any unwanted visitors. It’s fully weatherproof with IP44 certification and has a colour spectrum of 16 million colours.

The light is sold as a flood light; however, you will need to get the motion detector if you want it to come on when it detects motion.


Phillips Hue Turaco

A little easier on the eye, the Phillips Hue Turaco will provide ambient outdoor lighting whilst still looking decorative.

Connect to 5 other Hue outdoor lights
Same smart features as other Phillips Hue outdoor lights
Stylish design
Does not work with HomeKit

If you’d like a more stylish way to light up your garden walls than the bright flood light, this Turaco smart garden light is just what you need.

The Turaco light is 800 lumen which isn’t as bright as the Discover, but this makes it ideal as a decorative light. With access to Hues 16 million colour choices you can find the perfect look for your garden and by connecting up to 5 other Hue lights on the same power cable, you can add scenes via the Hue app or Alexa to really set the mood.

Even when connected together via the power cable, each outdoor Hue light can be controlled individually so there are no limitations on what you can do.


Novostello Smart Flood Lights

A more budget friendly smart floodlight that’s ideal for lighting up yards, walkways or outdoor eating areas.

No hub required
Budget friendly
Bright 2,000 lumen
Works with Alexa and Google Assistant
Must be in range of a WiFi router
Does not work with HomeKit

With the Novostello flood lights you have access to a full range of smart functions including schedules, timers, scenes and voice control via Alexa and Google Assistant.

This device runs off WiFi as opposed to many of the other devices which use Zigbee, whilst this negates the need for a hub which may entice those new to the smart home game, it does mean that all lights must be in range of a WiFi router in order to function.

It also features an IP66 waterproof rating which makes it more weatherproof than the Hue bulbs.


Netatmo Integrated Floodlight – Security Pick

An integrated camera makes the Netatmo our recommended security lighting to check in on your garden whenever you need to.

Built in camera and motion detector
Livestream the camera from anywhere
Integrates with Alexa, Google Home and HomeKit
Expensive

If security and visibility are your main concerns, this Netatmo light is bright, has motion detection and includes an integrated camera that you can access anytime, anywhere.

The motion detector will trigger the light, but also give you real tie alerts to your phone so that you can check the camera.

Of course, it integrates with the rest of your garden lighting so you can set scenes and control it via Alexa, HomeKit or Google Home.

It’s easily installed and can replace the wiring of your existing floodlights; however, it will need to be in range of your WiFi router.


Smart Outdoor Strip Lighting

Phillips Hue Outdoor Strip Light

Create the ultimate atmosphere for your garden parties with the use of Phillips Outdoor Light Strip and it’s IP67 rating.

Reliable and durable
Integrates with Alexa, Google Home and HomeKit
IP67 rating
Can’t cut or extend the strips as with the indoor strips

Phillips Hue have smashed it out of the park with their outdoor smart lights and this strip is no different. It’s reliable, durable and will give a great ambiance to any area of your garden.

These outdoor lights are compatible with all three of the major smart assistants; Alexa, Google Home and Apple HomeKit.

The strips have a similar look to the indoor version, however they have a strong silicon coating to protect them from the elements and benefit from an impressive IP67 rating which means they could be dropped in 1m of water for an hour and still work perfectly fine. Don’t just take Philips word for it, they come with a 2-year warranty as well.

Unlike the indoor version, you can’t cut or extend the strip to meet your size requirements, so you’ll have to choose either the 2m or 5m version and stick with that.


Best Alexa Controlled Garden Lights

All of the garden lights we’ve recommended here are compatible with Alexa. If you have an Echo Plus or Echo Show, we recommend getting Zigbee lights, you can connect these directly to the device and ensure they work offline.

Our top recommendation for Alexa compatible garden lighting is the Phillips Hue Lily, or if you’re on a budget, the Innr outdoor spotlights. Both of these will do a great job of adding feature lighting to your garden and they integrate well with Alexa.


DIY Outdoor Smart Lights Hack

Smart garden lights are a great way to create automated scenes and have full control via voice. But, if you’re looking for a cheaper way to add your garden to your smart home and are happy with just basic functionality, here are two DIY hacks.

Note: these will involve some basic electrical and DIY work

1. Use an indoor smart bulb with a weatherproof casing

It’s not unusual to use indoor bulbs outside, this has been happening for years with regular incandescent bulbs thanks to weatherproof outdoor cases.

Purchase this Phillips Outdoor Lantern Case which has been specifically designed for outdoor use and has an IP44 rating. It has an E27 light fitting so you could pair it with the Phillips Hue E27 smart bulb, as long as the light is in range of another Phillips Hue device or the hub. Here is a guide to installing an outdoor light yourself.

Products you’ll need:


2. Use outdoor lights with a smart plug

If you’re willing to drill a hole in the corner of your door or window and don’t mind wiring a plug, you could run some regular outdoor string lights from a nearby indoor plug socket. You could then use a smart plug in the socket to add smart functionality.

In order to do this, you’ll need to ensure the lights are simple on/off lights without different flashing modes. We recommend these outdoor LED string lights that look fantastic and you could pair them with this TP link smart plug. There is 2m between the plug and the first bulb so the lights will have to start fairly close to the house.

Products you’ll need:


Kieren

I have been building up my smart home since 2016 so I'm a bit of a smart home expert by now. On this blog, I share my favourite smart home devices that I've tested along with tips and tricks I learn by watching countless YouTube videos, scrolling through forums, and tinkering around with my own smart devices. I've always been a Google Home user but I'm starting to think Alexa might have the edge, what do you think?