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Sep 18, 2023

Best smart outdoor floodlights

Having big, powerful lights outside your home is great for security and makes

Having big, powerful lights outside your home is great for security and makes your larger spaces usable at night. Add in some connectivity, and you can have those lights flipping on just when you need them, and pull off a few other cool tricks. Here are our picks for some energy-efficient smart floodlights that check all the boxes.

Philips Hue remains one of the biggest players in the smart lighting space with good reason. A steady stream of new software features, a wide range of form factors, and consistent performance puts them among the best options available.

The base model of the Welcome Outdoor Floodlight comes in a warm 2700K white, but there's a Discovery model that has all of the snazzy colors you've come to expect from smart lights. That color model can pump out 2,250 lumens at 4,000K, which should be plenty to cover your yard. A separate motion sensor accessory can help automate the lights triggering, though the mobile app has geofencing as an alternative. The usual connections to Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant are intact for hands-free activation. The IP44 water protection should keep it safe from rainfall and other weather.

For those concerned primarily about security, Ring has a floodlight with a built-in camera and motion detector.

A special "3D" motion detection feature helps you monitor visitors from a bird's eye view of your property, and two-way audio gives you the chance to say "hi" if you want. The robust mobile app provides live notifications when motion is detected and for a small monthly fee, Ring can save your footage in the cloud. The lights themselves are ample for just about any large area around the home. They operate at 3,000K and produce 2,000 lumens of brightness.

The Eufy Floodlight Cam 2 Pro gets big points for having three bright panels and a 360-degree camera. This design provides a broad view of everything that's happening nearby.

Once you've set up the Floodlight Cam 2 Pro from Eufy, the light panels collectively blast out 3,000 lumens. It boasts IP65 weatherproofing to deal with cold, dust, and rain. The camera won't record all day but will kick in with motion detection, then it can save the footage locally or to network-attached storage. On the smart assistant side, Alexa and Google platforms are both supported, but no love for Apple HomeKit just yet.

The Arlo Pro 3 is another floodlight with an integrated camera system but is set apart with an 80dB siren system.

The light emits 2,000 lumens which can be bumped up to 3,000 with the optional magnetic charging cable. It's otherwise designed to be totally wire-free for easy installation. Without the cable, the battery is able to last six months on a single charge. All of the major smart assistants are supported, so you can toggle the lights at a moment's notice.

For those looking to save a few bucks and who don't need a full camera system built in, the Ustellar Smart Outdoor LED Security Light covers all the basics.

Three adjustable panels provide 5,000 lumens of light, tunable in light to warm color range. The motion sensor can trigger from action out to 60 feet An IP65 waterproof rating ensures it can handle the outdoors, while a mobile app and voice assistant compatibility gives you access to functions easily.