But it would be very nice if we would have the possibility to switch the light on and of from a distance, of hang some rules on it, such as:
turn off after 30 minutes
turn on at 7pm
etc.
The only solutions for a battery powered light I found on this Community is the Philips HUE, but it will last only for 2 hours and its too big to fit in a birdhouse;)
Do you guys have any other options you know of?
I short, it would be nice to have a light that:
works on batteries
has a dim function
works with SmartThings
it not too big (although there is room to fit a lightbulb in there)
Thank you all in advanced for your ideas and reactions!
The question of a battery powered light comes up two or three times a year, and the short answer is there aren’t any because the light requires too much energy and you don’t have enough left to run a radio so it can talk to SmartThings.
The longer answer is that there is one, the Phillips hue go that you mentioned, but in order to save its own battery it turns itself off after about two hours when it’s not plugged in and then you can’t reach it from the network anymore until you plug it in again. So it’s a good party light, but not for the kind of situation you describe. Plus it’s really big, about the size of a popcorn bowl.
An alternative
My own solution for this kind of thing is simply to have another outlet installed high on the wall. People do something similar for wall sconces anyway. But that way you have all kinds of options, including adding a babycam. In my neighborhood the regular price to have an electrician do this is around $150. It might be less expensive in some places.
Then if you want to really simple solution for the device to plug into it, the Homeseer HSM 200 is a zwave nightlight with eight different possible colors that also has a light sensor, temperature sensor, and a motion sensor built-in. I know some people have put them in kids rooms and just put daisy petals around the light to make it look ornamental. Obviously your project is much more ambitious, but it might be a good fit.
Thank you very much for your help! I saw that solution on the forum indeed, but I think I will go with the suggestion to get power over there in a nice way:)