Cam and Freddie, the owners of this unique Victorian property, are not entirely new to smart home technology. Their home is filled with various Google smart devices, from the Nest smoke alarms to smart security cameras. They decided to delve deeper into smart home technology because they wanted to achieve something truly special for the centre of their home, (Freddie’s self-proclaimed geekiness may have weighed in on the decision). The conservatory connected the entire house and was the main exit into the garden, giving room to huge lighting potential. Creating a Lightwave system to control their lighting was their first proper encounter with smart home automation, let’s see how it went

Where Did The Idea Come From?

The original idea started when Freddie and Cam wanted to do up the garden, they saw so much potential in that greenery for hosting their friends, throwing soirees and having an elegant and natural space to enjoy their morning coffee in. They wanted to put lights in the driveway and walkway to guide friends when they came over and keep a nice, saultry low lighting in the garden. Since the conservatory is at the back of the house and serves as the main garden entrance/exit, it was decided the lighting controls will be installed there. 

The conservatory needed some love if it was to stand proudly as the main part of the house and be the control centre for their smart home system. From then on it was goodbye to the leaky, old, dark space and hello beautifully stylish and smart heart of the home.

Welcome to the World of Automation

We love that most of our users are self-professed geeks, loud and proud. Listening to your ideas and solutions keeps us inspired to engineer products that please. Freddie wanted to dabble in more advanced smart home technology than he had previously set up, so this renovation was his playground.

Client's Requirements

When it came to choosing which smart home system offered the best fit, having the ability to easily create mood-lighting scenes was a key priority. Another requirement was the ability to use timers to control the lights, allowing a convenient and carefree energy-saving solution. Lightwave fit the bill perfectly, and since their friends already had Lightwave devices in their homes and loved them, Freddie and Cam decided to go with it too! It helped that the Lightwave devices look so great also!

The Install

Freddie and Cam installed all the devices themselves, they had a vision, understood the problem and were able to fully execute the solution. They purchased dimmable light bulbs for the garden and are now able to dim lights manually through the app as they wish. Their garden lights have also been automated to switch off at 11 pm when they turn in for the night, that automation is overridden when they have guests around and require garden lighting for guiding guests from the driveway into the garden. Freddie and Cam have fallen in love with how easy it is to set up themes and scenes in their Lightwave app, they are big fans of mood lighting so they are always creating new lighting scenes to show off their beautiful home.

"This is where Lightwave really comes into its own" - Freddie & Cam

Problem solving

The one challenge they faced was figuring out how to control LED strips they got from Amazon with their Lightwave system. They weren’t dimmable or smart LEDs. This was solved with one quick call to our tech support team that walked Freddie and Cam through taking advantage of Lightwave’s ITTT (If This Then That) feature. The 3 sets of LEDs that are placed on the indoor bar are linked to one of the Lightwave’s switches in the what-used-to-be-a-conservatory. ITTT is used to power ON the 3 drivers that turn on the bar lighting. 

The Future for This Victorian House

Freddie and Cam were so happy with their renovation that the next phase is redoing the loft. They were intrigued by our newly released bespoke Avalon Collection, and the possibility of using them as colour accents for their home. For now, we will let them rest, so they can enjoy their outdoor parties and their peaceful days in the garden. We hope to hear from them again soon to see more of their indoor bar, so wait patiently with us for updates on socials!