2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

Posted on
Fri Nov 16, 2018 4:36 pm
mundmc offline
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2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

I like to think I assert dominance over my neighbors through my lawn, but that only works 8 months out of the year :) Enter- over the top yard automation!

I’ve read up on LED light strips and their controllers, but it seems fairly daunting and potentially buggy at present.

So, what is everybody doing?

Posted on
Sat Nov 17, 2018 8:37 am
roussell offline
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Re: 2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

Mine are pretty boring. I still have a box of old x10 appliance modules that I bring out every year to just control the traditional lights and a few inflatables. Every year I entertain the thought of doing more, and every year something happens that squashes that thought. Adam was looking for some light strip ideas a couple of weeks back. Maybe he’s figured out something by now.

Terry


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Posted on
Sat Nov 17, 2018 3:21 pm
mundmc offline
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Re: 2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

Thanks Terry- I gotta say I’m surprised not to hear more of a response from the masses! I’m gonna look into the hue light strip alternatives and see what I can cobble together this week.

Posted on
Sat Nov 17, 2018 3:46 pm
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Re: 2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

I'm in the same boat as Terry. I put some simple string lights on a few bushes and some lighted garland on the front porch. I control them with on/off commands from Indigo via Z-Wave modules. Hanging Christmas lights is one of my least favorite things to do. I love the way it looks, but I really hate doing it.

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Posted on
Sat Nov 17, 2018 4:51 pm
roussell offline
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Re: 2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

DaveL17 wrote:
...I love the way it looks, but I really hate doing it.


This. Exactly this. I love the idea of recessed, and permanent RGB lights that con be controlled through the year (like the Dr. Zzzs video I posted on Adam's thread) but I won't do that in this house. We want out of here so I'm cautious about doing too much that can't be quickly returned to stock. Our next house will likely be our forever-home though, so I'll go crazy on it.

Terry

Posted on
Sun Nov 18, 2018 3:31 am
mat offline
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Re: 2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

I live with the Christmas grinch. All year she’s an angel, just not keen on Christmas. We have a tree but no outside light. A real grinch.

So while the scaffold was up to paint the eaves in the summer someone brought, installed and added to indigo 40m of external leds. They are pinned to the inside of the bargeboard so totally invisible, and wash the front of the house in colour. Tested while the grinch was out.

Just wait until the indigo schedule kicks in at sunset on the 1st December. I’ve waited quietly since June!


She’s not really a grinch, just grown up.

Late 2018 mini 10.14

Posted on
Sun Nov 18, 2018 10:41 am
jay (support) offline
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Re: 2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

Video please.

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Posted on
Sun Nov 18, 2018 11:56 am
mundmc offline
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Re: 2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

mat wrote:
She’s not really a grinch, just grown up.


Ha- I also do all my HA labor while wife is not home.

Posted on
Sun Nov 18, 2018 1:29 pm
mat offline
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Re: 2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

Jay. Not sure I should be home or not! Thinking it may be more fun to wait for the call

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Posted on
Sun Nov 18, 2018 4:22 pm
noel1983 offline
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Re: 2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

mat wrote:
Jay. Not sure I should be home or not! Thinking it may be more fun to wait for the call


That is absolutely legendary!! Think you need to be hiding somewhere filming her reaction.

Bonus points if you make all the lights inside the house go out just at the point that the outside ones come on!!

I've got 12 days to get my stuff together for the first year and see what I can do.

Apparently it needs to be 'tasteful' ?!?! I'm not sure she gets the idea lol

LED strips are definitely part of the plan.

Has anyone got any kind of motion detection announcement wishing people merry christmas? Ideally just some simple all in one solution rather than sonos based solutions etc

Very keen to hear of other HA Christmas stuff!

Posted on
Mon Nov 19, 2018 7:47 am
rehafer offline
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Re: 2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

I have a string led Christmas lights with white wire permanently attached to the white siding half up the house (brink below), you can see them when off if you look but not really noticeable. They’re plugged into an Insteon outdoor switch that’s connected all year.
A few years back, I bought 60” wreath with led lights that a battery pack controller combo that was supposed to turn the lights on/off on a 24 timer an last all season. Both features failed, so I removed the battery pack and ran wires to a plastic box that contains a 3.3 v power supply and an Insteon Micro on/off module. I pay a neighbor kid $20 to hang because I’m not so good with ladders anymore.
Future plans may include a strip of addressable LEDs so I can different color schemes for different holidays.



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Posted on
Mon Nov 19, 2018 7:59 am
noel1983 offline
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Re: 2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

Any pics?!?! :)


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Posted on
Mon Nov 19, 2018 8:03 am
rehafer offline
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Re: 2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

noel1983 wrote:
Any pics?!?! :)



Have to wait until I track down the neighbor kid to get setup this year.



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Posted on
Mon Nov 19, 2018 9:01 am
siclark offline
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Re: 2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

I have a range of these series lights. https://www.lights4fun.co.uk/i/q/PR50WB ... -lights-5m

Ignore the name of the website, these are seriously tough heavy duty lights and some in my trees stay up all year. I have some that run back to a IP66 box that is powered on an external lighting circuit from the house, but this way I can split the feed using various fibaro relays to turn individual circuits on or off as I want)

I also have some strings and icicles on my porch that have to be put up each year that are wired into the same circuit as the porch light, and so piggy back off the existing automation. In both cases the original plug they came with was cut off and just wired directly into connector blocks.

I want to get some small battery powered nets as well for bushes.

Most excitingly though, we are about to redo our rear garden, and working with a lighting designer to come up with a plan. Need to be talking to vesternet about a bulk order of fibaro modules for that to get lots of fun control.

There will be lots of colour LED strips in the plan, but I am thinking of using Fibaro RGBW modules to control them, rather than paying the extra for Hue ones. So next year the show should be even better!

Posted on
Mon Nov 19, 2018 11:37 am
mat offline
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Re: 2018 What are y’all doing for Holiday lights?

Looking forward to watching a thread on your garden lighting. I have mine to do at the end of next year.

Late 2018 mini 10.14

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