I hear you on the smart bulbs—ran into the same problem at my place. They’re cool until someone hits the wall switch out of habit and suddenly you’re in the dark. For the yard, I actually prefer smart switches. Bit more work upfront, but once they’re in, anyone can use them like normal lights, and you still get app/voice control. Less chance of confusion when guests are around, too.
I’ve run into that “smart bulb blackout” more times than I care to admit—nothing like fumbling for your phone in the dark because someone flipped the switch. I lean toward smart switches too, especially outdoors where you want things simple for guests or, let’s be honest, your future self after a long day. Curious if you’ve had any issues with weatherproofing the switches outside? I’ve seen some setups where folks just slap a plastic cover on and call it good, but I’m not sure that’s always enough.
I’ve wondered about those plastic covers too—some of them look like they’d barely keep out a drizzle, let alone a real storm. I actually installed a smart switch on our back porch last fall, and I went with one of those weatherproof outdoor boxes with a gasketed cover. It’s a bit bulkier, but so far it’s held up through rain and a couple of surprise snow flurries. I’d rather go overboard than risk water getting in and frying the switch.
One thing I ran into was making sure the box was deep enough for the wiring and the smart switch itself—some of those switches are chunkier than regular ones. Have you had to deal with tight spaces or awkward mounting? I’m tempted to try some of the newer, slimmer models next time, but I’m not sure if they’re as reliable.
One thing I ran into was making sure the box was deep enough for the wiring and the smart switch itself—some of those switches are chunkier than regular ones.
Man, I hear you on the chunky switches. The first time I tried squeezing one into a standard outdoor box, it felt like playing Tetris with live wires. Have you ever tried using those extender rings? Not the prettiest, but they’ve saved my bacon when things got tight. I’m also curious about those slimmer models—sometimes “slim” just means “barely fits with a shoehorn.” Wondering if anyone’s found one that’s actually reliable and still fits in a shallow box...
Those extender rings have bailed me out more times than I can count, especially in older homes where the boxes are barely deep enough for standard switches, let alone smart ones. I’ve tried a couple of the “slim” models—Leviton’s Decora Smart comes to mind—but even those can be a squeeze if you’ve got a lot of wires or pigtails in there. Sometimes I end up re-routing or shortening wires just to make it all fit. Has anyone had luck with a particular brand that actually lives up to the slim label, or is it just marketing most of the time?
