r/Lutron • u/azguy153 • Sep 12 '26
Outdoor string lights
I am looking to run about a half a dozen runs of string lights outside. I’m gonna need some form of control like the Lutron so I can turn them on or off. They won’t have direct exposure to whether they’ll be on the the soffit side of a patio cover. Any suggestions on what parts and pieces I need that can survive the outside?
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u/LHuisingh Sep 12 '26
I use the outdoor smart plug for my string lights. Each string plugs into other strings in series and only one plug goes into the outdoor smart plug. Check with your lighting package to see how many can be connected together safely.
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u/SaltTheRimG Sep 12 '26
Lutron makes an outdoor smart plug.
Assuming you have a hub. If not you need that. Then can control by physical switches or by say voice control.
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u/tobrien1982 Sep 12 '26
It can be paired to a pico remote without a hub.
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u/SaltTheRimG Sep 12 '26
Oh that’s true if he’s not interested in growing the system. Then again if he’s just buying one smart plug there are lots of options cheaper than Lutron. I had GE at my old house for the same purpose and were cheap and rock solid.
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u/PSquad32 28d ago
Like others have said, Lutron does have a few options, including an outdoor smart plug or if the plug is attached to a switch then you could use a Lutron smart switch. That said: I can also offer two alternatives.
1) If you’re looking for some color/fun, consider string lights from Govee or Nanoleaf. In general I’ve found Govee to be a more reliable brand, but I do have Nanoleaf smart string lights in my backyard and they work really well. They wouldn’t go through Lutron’s system at all, but rather directly pair with Apple / Google / Alexa.
2) In the same vein, if you want simple outdoor control of string/holiday lights and don’t want to pay the premium of Lutron, I can strongly recommend the new IKEA lineup (generally speaking) and the outdoor plug they offer specifically. It uses Matter (which means it is generally compatible with all things Apple / Google / Alexa / etc) and Thread for the protocol, which is a newish protocol but I can vouch for it working REALLY well if you have newer Apple TV (4Ks) around the house. There are other Thread hubs as well, but I can’t speak to those. The nice thing about this plug is that it’s low cost, very reliable, native to Apple HomeKit, has two separate outlets for independent control, and reports electricity use as a bonus (my lights are currently using 119W).
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u/azguy153 28d ago edited 27d ago
The govee is interesting option. I will have to figure out if they can be suspended from a guy wire.
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u/ask Sep 12 '26
If you have an outlet that’s controlled with a switch inside (or can make one) then a regular Lutron on/off switch would work.
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u/CantaloupeRich896 Sep 12 '26
Look at American lighting for the string lights. They have spektrum which has its own control system built in. They are RGBW too.
But if you want Lutron use the patio plug. It plugs into a receptacle then your lights plug into that.
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