- Totally get where you’re coming from.
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—yeah, but sometimes it’s just *too* much maintenance, right?“a little more maintenance for more flexibility”
- I’ve lost a couple bulbs to rain too.
- When it works, it’s awesome, but the constant fiddling can be a drag.
- Lately leaning more toward hardwired options for outdoors—less fuss, more peace of mind.
- No shame in wanting to spend your time on projects that inspire you instead of troubleshooting tech.
Honestly, I get the appeal of hardwired for outdoors—less hassle, sure. But I still think smart bulbs have their place, especially if you want to play with color or mood for different occasions. Yeah, they need more babysitting, but sometimes that flexibility is worth it. I’ve had a few setups where swapping out a bulb was way easier than rewiring anything. Just depends how much you want to tinker, I guess.
Title: Smart switches just make more sense long-term
I get the appeal of smart bulbs for color and mood, but honestly, I’ve found them to be more trouble than they’re worth outdoors. The flexibility is nice until you have to replace a bulb every time one fails or loses connection—especially if you’ve got fixtures up high or in awkward spots. With smart switches, you set it up once and you’re done. Everything on the circuit gets controlled, and you don’t have to worry about compatibility or whether someone accidentally flipped the physical switch and killed your automation.
I tried the “swap a bulb” route for my patio string lights and it turned into a constant game of whack-a-mole with connectivity issues. Maybe if you’re really into changing colors for every BBQ or holiday, bulbs make sense, but for most folks who just want reliable lighting, switches are way less hassle. Plus, you can still use whatever bulbs you want—no being locked into a specific brand or ecosystem. Just my two cents after a few years of tinkering...
Totally get where you’re coming from. I ran into the same headache with smart bulbs—especially when someone would flip the wall switch and suddenly nothing worked.
- Agree on the “set it and forget it” aspect of switches.
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This is huge for long-term sanity.“With smart switches, you set it up once and you’re done.”
- Only thing I’d add: if you ever want dimming or scene control, just double-check your switch supports it. Some cheaper ones don’t play nice with all bulb types.
Your experience lines up with what I’ve seen so far. Thanks for sharing—it’s reassuring to know I’m not the only one who found bulbs a pain.
I’ve definitely run into that “someone flips the switch, now nothing works” issue too—especially with guests or kids around. Smart switches have been way more reliable for me, but I do miss some of the color and scene options you get with bulbs. Has anyone tried combining both? Like, using smart switches for the main control but still putting in a couple of smart bulbs for accent lighting? Wondering if that’s overkill or actually useful for a yard setup...
