These DIY RGB LED Stakes Will Light Up Your Yard

Add some real flair to that lawn you work so hard on.

Cameron Coward
4 years agoLights / Garden

If you’re a homeowner — or even house renter — then you probably take some pride in your front yard. You likely put some effort into keeping your grass green and manicured, your hedges neatly trimmed, and your trees tastefully pruned. If you want to keep up the ambiance when the sun goes down, you can put some of those nifty stake lights outside to ensure that your hard work remains illuminated. And, if you want to take that up an extra few notches on the cool scale, you can follow AlexanduhHi’s tutorial to make a set of RGB LEDs stake lights that will make your yard truly stand out.

Each of the stake lights is made up of strip of WS2812B individually-addressable RGB LEDs. Each and every LED on those strips can be set to a unique color and brightness, so you have virtually unlimited effects options. Those effects can be coordinated across all of the stake lights, so your light shows will extend across your entire lawn. The lighting effects can be controlled by free software called Vixen Lights, which will even let you set a light show to music to make you the talk of the neighborhood.

The LED strips are controlled by an ESP8266 board, such as the Wemos D1 Mini. That has built-in WiFi, so you can send commands wirelessly from your home network. Those LEDs do consume a lot of power, so you’ll need a beefy power supply. The specs of that power supply depend on how many LED light stakes you plan to build, and the general rule seems to be 60mA per LED. You will also need to ensure that everything is waterproof, of course. AlexanduhHi provides instructions on how to do that, but you’ll want to make sure your LED strip is made for outdoor use. AlexanduhHi used PVC pipe for the stakes, but you could always use wood stakes if you want a more elegant aesthetic. Once finished, these LED stakes will add some real flair to that lawn you work so hard on.

Cameron Coward
Writer for Hackster News. Proud husband and dog dad. Maker and serial hobbyist.
Latest articles
Sponsored articles
Related articles
Latest articles
Read more
Related articles