Smart Lighting and Motorized Shades: Where to Start

Smart lighting and motorized shades are some of the most-used upgrades in any home. You touch them every day, often without thinking about it. They also sound like a big project. The good news is that you can start with a room or two and add more later.

What smart lighting actually does

• Scenes: one button sets several lights at once, like "Dinner," "Movie" or "Good Night."
• Schedules: outdoor and entry lights turn on at sunset and off at bedtime, every day, with no timers to reset after a power outage.
• Away mode: lights turn on and off while you're traveling, so the house looks lived-in.
• Fewer switches: a single keypad can replace a row of switches on the wall.

What motorized shades add

Shades can open in the morning, close in the afternoon heat and drop for privacy at night, all on a schedule. They're especially useful for tall or hard-to-reach windows, rooms with a lot of glass, and media rooms where you want to block glare at the touch of a button.

Where to start

1. The main living area. This is where scenes get used most, especially in open floor plans with lots of fixtures.
2. Exterior and entry lights. Schedules and away mode make an immediate difference in convenience and security.
3. The room with the most glass. Great rooms and sunrooms benefit most from motorized shades.
4. The media room. One button to dim the lights and lower the shades makes movie night simple.

Plan for the whole house, even if you start small

The best approach is to plan the full system up front, then install it in phases. That way the first rooms work with everything you add later, and you only buy what you need now. If you're building or remodeling, have shade wiring run at the windows before the drywall goes up.

Learn more

See our smart lighting and motorized shades and smart home automation pages, or look through recent residential projects.