Hi, I am looking at a way of switching on a light when somebody arrives home in the dark. Therefore I need a light level detector and of course the method to switch the light. The light switching i have covered but does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on what I could use to detect light level.
It would be really nice if the motion detectors could do this ?
Fibaro Motion Sensors have Lux level indicators that can be used as a trigger for lights along with motion.
I do mine this way already.
You could also download the ‘Weather Station 2’ smartapp as a lux reading device. I run this in parralel to my Fibaro in case the battery goes when I’m away and the Fibaro sensor dies.
While not all motion sensors sense lux, you can setup a Smart App that turns on the light when it senses motion 1 hour prior to sunset and 1 hour following sunrise. You can adjust the time to meet your needs but where I live, I found 1 hour works well. This is a way to solve the problem without a lux sensor.
As an alternate solution for my garages, I put a aeon labs micro switch in an inexpensive outdoor motion sensing flood light overlooking my driveway. As the outdoor motion sensing flood only works with low light levels, I now have a hard wired motion sensing light that can be controlled by SmartThings. I have a Smart App that turns on a light in my mud room when micro switch is activated. This setup ensures that my family does not walk into a dark house. Other lights could easily be added to this Smart App to increase the functionality.