exterior porch install

[mrdrew]

I'm going to install power outside for my front porch Arlo camera. I do have power out there in the form of two deck lights, but they're both on a switch. Anyone have any suave solutions for porch light, and micro-usb power out to a nearby Arlo camera?

I'm thinking there's probably a hot/neutral/ground at the light fixture, with a marked black/black wire going to the switch. I could wire in an outlet, but it would be so janky looking.

I think the best looking solution would be to wire up an outlet similar to the one below into the overhang of the roof, the soffit area. But that's not a great solution. My house has aluminum siding... but it is a possibility I suppose.

20' black micro usb cable

weather proof plug cover

[michaelkenward]

Call in an electrician. Electricity is dangerous. Arlo is expensive.

[TomMac]

I was able to fit the indoor adapter inside of my outdoor wall mounted light ( light over elec box )...warm and dry in there.

No rain as covered.

You sometimes have to think outside te box, but make sure it will not get wet in any conditions

PS the indoor adapter as you know is not approved for outside

[RVP]

Sorry for the blank post!  This is what I plan to do. You and buy this from Home Depot. 

[Paul_FCCL]

Tom:

that would still be a switched light.........right? Unless you had permanent power feed in the fixture. So all you need is to make sure switch is always on and it works fine.

I had similar problem, but my indoor switch controlled four outside lights, two on garage front and two on porch. I could do without one of the lights on porch, removed light bulb and used fixture to plug in usb adapter. Other three light bulbs were replaced with Philips Hue WIFI bulbs, allowing me to control them individually or as a group. I also need to leave switch always on but have the three bulbs on Hue timer option.

[Paul_FCCL]

........also added a Philips Hue motion sensor (recommend for indoor use, but works fine outdoor too) to automatically turn on all outside lights when motion is detected at night time. That turned out to be a big bonus feature as it completely resolves the Arlo night vision problem. Looks pretty bright with lights on! 😄

[mrdrew]

@RVP Looks like that link was removed for some reason.

@Paul_FCCL It is a switched light, but frequently that light has both the hot, and the switched leg. So I can add a hot plug right there, and still run the switched leg after the new plug to the light: always on plug (on the lighting circuit). Dollars to doughnuts my wife is going to try and plug in Christmas lights and be like: wtf husband? No switch? I wonder what that's an indicator of if I'm already having this conversation in my head at this stage in my project...

Well folks, I think I'm going to go exterior plug route perhaps from the attic void space (between finished upstairs and triangle shaped area out to the eve. I'll take pics and post here when I'm done. Maybe in 2019.

[Paul_FCCL]

mrdrew:

I wasn’t so lucky, my light fixture is at end of power line.....no hot wire there, just switched. Had no other choice, wouldn’t want to pay $200.+ for an electrician to install a power outlet (I wouldn’t even try doing it myself). This way it cost me less than half as much, for Hue system with white bulbs and motion sensor.

[RVP · Accepted solution]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-Mission-Style-Black-with-Bronze-Highlight-Outdoor-Wall-Lante...

[TomMac]

---

Paul_FCCL wrote:

Tom:

that would still be a switched light.........right? Unless you had permanent power feed in the fixture. So all you need is to make sure switch is always on and it works fine.

---

Yes... it is a switched light, but the switch is always on and I put a solar switch into the light itself ( so the light goes on at dark ).  The box under the light and the light box itself allowed plenty of room.

[Paul_FCCL]

---

TomMac wrote:

Yes... it is a switched light, but the switch is always on and I put a solar switch into the light itself ( so the light goes on at dark ).  The box under the light and the light box itself allowed plenty of room.

---

Setup should be safe, in a light fixture (recessed type) with no possibility of water getting into it......not worried about the weatherproofing issue. Added feature of motion sensor to turn on lights at night as camera activates.

[RVP]

How can I accomplish this?

[michaelkenward]

That's a kind of vague request.

If you read the messages so far in this conversation, you'll see some thoughts.

Say a bit more about your circumstances – and why the earlier stuff isn't enough to go on – and perhaps you'll get more detailed ideas.