Master Your Home Lighting: How I Use Home Assistant to Run Light Shows Indoors & Outdoors

Master Your Home Lighting with Home Assistant:
How to Build Indoor & Outdoor Light Shows Like a Pro

When you wire your home like a cockpit, every switch becomes a runway light.
Home Assistant gives you the power to orchestrate your indoor and outdoor lighting like a full-scale production — from nightly security sweeps to full “show mode” sequences that make your house look alive.
I use it for my front-yard display, backyard UAP LEDs, whole-home scenes, and daily wellness lighting. And you can too.

Why Smart Lighting + Home Assistant Is a Game Changer

This isn’t just “turn on a lamp.”
This is automated mood control, security, presence simulation, wellness, convenience, and style.
With Home Assistant, you can:

• Run color-shifting light shows
• Trigger lights based on presence, motion, sunrise, door sensors, or conditions
• Create “scenes” that instantly shift your whole home
• Sync indoor and outdoor lighting for a unified aesthetic
• Build special-event lighting for holidays, parties, or show nights
• Schedule lighting for security while you’re away

You’re building an environment — not flipping a switch.

What You Need to Get Started

• Home Assistant running on a Raspberry Pi, VM, or your Proxmox cluster
• Smart lights (Hue, LIFX, Nanoleaf, Govee, ZHA Zigbee bulbs, LED strips, or UniFi LEDs)
• A few entities: light.your_light_name
• A willingness to tinker and have fun

Step 1 — Build Your First Light Script (Base Template)

A script is a sequence of lighting actions.
Here’s a clean template to start with:

light_show_test:
  alias: "CWPX Test Light Show"
  sequence:
    - service: light.turn_on
      target:
        entity_id: light.living_room
      data:
        brightness: 255
        color_name: "teal"
    - delay: "00:00:02"

    - service: light.turn_on
      target:
        entity_id: light.living_room
      data:
        color_name: "blue"
    - delay: "00:00:02"

    - service: light.turn_on
      target:
        entity_id: light.living_room
      data:
        color_name: "white"
    - delay: "00:00:02"
  mode: restart
  

This cycles your lights through teal → blue → white.
Already feels like show mode.

Step 2 — Add Outdoor Lighting (Front Yard, Driveway, UAP LEDs)

Outdoor lighting sets your home’s presence and security.
Home Assistant lets you control:

• Driveway LEDs
• Side yard lighting
• Backyard LED strips
• Roofline LEDs
• Front show lights (holidays, color cycles, etc.)

Here’s a unified script for your exterior vibes:

front_show_cycle:
  alias: "CWPX Front Show — Teal/Blue Pulse"
  sequence:
    - service: light.turn_on
      target:
        entity_id:
          - light.driveway_light
          - light.side_light
          - light.backyard_uap_led
      data:
        brightness: 255
        color_temp: 300
    - delay: "00:00:02"

    - service: light.turn_on
      target:
        entity_id:
          - light.driveway_light
          - light.side_light
          - light.backyard_uap_led
      data:
        color_name: teal
    - delay: "00:00:01"

    - service: light.turn_on
      target:
        entity_id:
          - light.driveway_light
          - light.side_light
          - light.backyard_uap_led
      data:
        color_name: blue
    - delay: "00:00:01"
  mode: restart
  

Step 3 — Turn the Script Into an Automation

Scripts don’t run unless you tell them to.
Automations make your house respond automatically.

alias: "CWPX Front Show — Sunset Activation"
trigger:
  - platform: sun
    event: sunset
    offset: "-00:10:00"
action:
  - service: script.front_show_cycle
mode: single
  

When the sun dips, your house wakes up.

Step 4 — Build Advanced Light Shows (Party Mode, Holiday Mode, Phoenix Mode)

Once you get comfortable, level up.
Here are ideas you can create:

• Phoenix Rising Mode: fiery reds → gold → white burst
• Holiday Mode: red/green cycle or icy blues/whites
• Party Mode: fast color swaps + LED strip pulses
• Zen Mode: muted breathing effect with soft whites

You have full creative control — that’s the fun.

Step-by-Step: How to Build This From Scratch

1. Install Home Assistant (Raspberry Pi, VM, or Proxmox)
2. Add your lights via integrations (Hue, ZHA, Govee, etc.)
3. Confirm your entities in Developer Tools → States
4. Create a new script in Settings → Automations & Scenes → Scripts
5. Paste the YAML examples above
6. Test your script using the “Run” button
7. Create a new automation to trigger the script
8. Set your trigger (sunset, motion, schedule, party button, etc.)
9. Deploy. Watch your home light up like a coordinated system.

Final Thoughts — Light Is Power

Light changes everything — your mood, your home’s energy, your security, your vibe.
With Home Assistant, you’re not just automating lights…
you’re choreographing an experience.

Build, experiment, and have fun.
And if you want this fully set up for your home, I handle installations, configurations, and custom lighting scripts for clients across North County San Diego.