Am I missing something really obvious in ST?? I have a multi-sensor by zoOZ and I’m not finding a way in ST to perform an action based solely on light levels. Everything I see goes through the motion sensor and then there’s a secondary condition based on light. I need to change a mode based completely on the light level in the room. Is there a way to do that?
I’m not sure of your experience with ST but there is an app called webCoRE that can do this.
Here is mine to change to and from night mode at certain times.
You can change the time based trigger to use a lux based trigger.
2 Likes
I just got started with ST just over a week ago. It seems pretty straight forward when it comes to adding smart apps and device handlers. What I just saw at glance while looking up webCoRE is daunting! LOLOL!! Is there an easy tutorial that I can check out? I’m currently on the WebCoRE wiki page and so far it looks ALMOST like SmartRules. I tried SmartRules to do this, but it never worked. I was using the free version that only allowed one rule and since I couldn’t get my one rule to work, I deleted it.
I’ll keep looking into thewebCoRE info. Thanks for the lead.
Load the webCoRE apps and then define your devices in the app.
When you have done that you can import my piston using the code that is at the top.
When you have done that, you can then change it to trigger by lux value.
When you get into webCoRE you will find that virtually anything is possible.
2 Likes
WebCore is A new version of core, but since it’s still early development you might want to look at Core instead, as it should also be able to handle luminance triggers.
I’d also definitely get in touch with smartrules support through their website. The developer is very active in this forum and i’m sure he’d want to know about any problem you’ve run into.
Finally, any reason you’re not just using the official smartlighting feature? It should be the simplest of all of these. There’s a trigger for “illuminance” and then you can choose the device that is monitoring lux levels and The specific level to trigger at. This feature was added in a later update so it’s not listed in the official knowledgebase article, but it’s definitely there.
https://support.smartthings.com/hc/en-us/articles/205380404-Smart-Lights
The only thing with that one is instead of changing the Mode directly, you’d have to turn on a virtual switch and then have a routine that changes the mode when that virtual switch goes on. So now that I write that out, that’s not the simplest option for your specific use, The third-party smartrules app would be. The official lighting feature would be the simplest if you just wanted to have a light come on based on luminance.
Welcome to SmartThings, where there are typically four or five different ways to do something, none of them intuitive. 
3 Likes
This is what I ended up going with for simplicity sake. I didn’t realize that the smart lighting routine could be used this way. Got the virtual switch created and it’s working just fine. Thanks!!
1 Like
Got it!! I can see that I’m going to most likely use this ALOT!! The possibilities seem to be endless. Thanks!!
1 Like
What is a reasonable illuminance to have lights trigger on?
It all depends on how much light is in the room and personal preference. I have mine turn on at 40 lux, but you might want more or less, you will have to play with it.