Light Level Detection

[andrew_newton]

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 ?

Thanks

Andy

[bobbles (Bob)]

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.

[andrew_newton]

Thanks, I like the idea of the weather app. I already have the Smart Weather App installed but I cant find anyway to use it in a routine.

Also can you tell me where you got the weather 2 app from as it does show up in my marketpace apps?

[bobbles (Bob)]

[Release] Weather Station Tile 2.0

This is pretty much the same thing as the Smart Weather station tile app but with more fields, nicer look using the mult-itile attribute and added a few more fields that i felt were missing. This was made for my account, i was showing my friend and he liked it so i am sharing it with you guys. Here are some screenshots: [image] [image] Here is the link for download (add to your device handlers) Weather Station Tile 2.0 I have added options under settings to change units. Enjoy UPDATE: Here is how it looks on android from users below: [image] To install follow these steps: There are 2 ways: 1) copy and paste , 2) update from repo This is easy but be careful when you copy the code because cut-and-paste breaks the ° symbol in the source and you end up with a q…

[thesohoguy]

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.

[JDRoberts]

There are several devices that include a lux meter.

However, I think most people just do this with a sunset range on the rule. Starting at maybe 15 minutes before sunset.

That’s how we do it at our house.

[andrew_newton]

Thanks for all the suggestions, going to have a play now and see what works best for me.

Will post when Ive done it

Once again thanks