Home Automation and Security Systems

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > Home Automation and Security Systems

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Yep, I bought the Hue 1 and 2 starter kits so I have 6 bulbs and am selling the old hub now. Used the first ones to set time-of-day and a "night mode" scene in the nursery, and now have other ones scattered through the house. It's great to make your house look like a rape dungeon too.

I'm trying to get away from Z-Wave lights and move to ZigBee (unlike most of this thread) but so far I've learned Hue isn't full ZigBee just ZLL so finding other lamp things like dimmers, etc. to work with the Hue system seems hard.

# ¿ Jul 1, 2016 21:04

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 17:05

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

What vendors should I look at for colored bulbs that will work with smart switches?

# ¿ Dec 28, 2016 02:51

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Dbhjed posted:

Here is the catch, Smart Bulbs need power all the time, but if they are connected to a smart switch they will have the power taken away when the smart switch is off, so the only way to control them in to turn the switch on, then change the color, doing this with automation sometimes results in the light missing the command since it isn't on yet.

Now I don't recommend this but....

You could tie the line and load together so the bulb is always powered, then use your smart home hub to turn off and on the bulb when the switch is turned off and on. That way you can still color the light. BUT that isn't up to code and changing the light mean you have to trip the breaker to kill the power.

That was kind of my point. I get that smart switches are great because physical controls are infinitely better than pulling out a smartphone but I would still like some way to signal to my bulb what color to be. The only "solutions" I've seen are the hue Tap, which I don't consider acceptable for a real setup. So really it sounds like there's no good way to have physical controls with presets for color or whatever and a colorized light bulb.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2016 16:19

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

FogHelmut posted:

I'm looking for a decent IP Cam. Possibly outdoors, wireless would be nicer.

I like the Nest Cam, but I think I can do better than $180 each.

Also does anyone have any experience with software like iSpy? http://www.ispyconnect.com/

I personally think wireless cameras are bad because you still have to run power to them and if you're going to run a cable then PoE by virtue of being low voltage is a million times easier to deal with code-wise and with installation. Your specific placement may be lucky enough to not matter, though.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2016 16:20

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I�ve always changed my thermostat then put it back before I moved out through apartments and SFHs for rent.

# ¿ Oct 1, 2018 23:39

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Does anyone have any experience with these Honeywell Z-wave dimmer switches?

There's one bullet that says "a blue LED indicator light to locate the switch in a dark room" which sounds like it could be very annoying.

Also if I get the right kind of Z-wave hub can I also control lights using Siri or HomeKit controls?

Happy to hear recommendations of substitutes like the Leviton or other... these just were on sale at Costco.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2020 20:41

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Thanks all! I just wanted to make sure it wasn't one of those 2005-era "OMG we can do BLUEEEEEEEE! now" LEDs.

Also Motronic that sounds awesome... your system was the one whose screenshots made me think I was back in a PLC lab right? That interface looked baller. If I can have Siri kickoff functions for that, I'm set. Clearly some more research to do in that department.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2020 22:24

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Motronic posted:

lol, probably. Was it my panel setup?

That's being displayed around various rooms in the house on whatever cheap refurb Kindle Fires I was able to pick up.

Ok that is cool and I didn't realize that was set up. I was thinking of your flow diagram that is apparently from Node Red up thread:

Neat stuff, I've got a lot to read about.

# ¿ Apr 8, 2020 18:54

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Motronic posted:

I mean.....that's my recommendation (but I use Reolink) but it's often an unreasonable recommendation for the audience. Not everybody is gonna go do network engineering and self hosting poo poo like we do. And that's fine, it's certainly it's own thing and shouldn't be a barrier to entry for security cameras.

That brand looks pretty good, and I don't mind janitoring my network at all... do all the cameras work fine with BlueIris? They sure claim all over their web site that only their Reolink software or NVR works but the Internet looks like they've got it working.

# ¿ Jul 5, 2020 21:20

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Now that I have my Z-wave switches in place it's time for a Z-wave/machine interface... if I search for Z-wave usb on Amazon I get some Zooz stick and Aeotec Z-Stick.

What's the recommended USB stick? I'm just going to pass it through to my VM or container.

# ¿ Oct 5, 2021 15:17

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Is there anything like a schlage Z-wave but if I have my iphone/apple watch on my person it will just unlock/press to unlock?

# ¿ Nov 1, 2021 22:44

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

If you look at my recent posts itt someone recommended a stick that does both. Super reliable so far.

My switches are Zwave but ZigBee is an IEEE standard, you�ll come across both on your journey

# ¿ Nov 4, 2021 19:09

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I�m so annoyed that the folks who wired my house have almost every three-way ceiling light with the load in between the switches. What a crappy way to save some romex.

This limits me from the Leviton Zwave switches to the Jasco/GE ones because of the way they work.

The Jasco ones don�t pass the wife test because they are so slow to ramp on and off.

# ¿ Nov 24, 2021 14:22

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

CheddarGoblin posted:

That is a configurable setting, you can make it as fast as you want. Separate settings for ramp rate when using the physical switch as well as z-wave.

I would love to be wrong on this so please tell me if I'm missing something. For the Jasco ones, there's "Dim quickly" and "Dim slowly" but it already comes set to quick and it easily takes 4-5 seconds to ramp from the moment you press the flipper on.

For the Leviton models, you can set a numeric value of seconds for the ramp and 0 makes it "instant on":

I would love to be able to use more Jascos because they're easier to work with in my opinion but if there's a way to make them more instantaneous I haven't seen it.

# ¿ Nov 24, 2021 21:08

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

CheddarGoblin posted:

That says Honeywell 39351? I'm not sure what that is, but my actual GE/Jasco dimmers (14294) have more options, including ramp rates.

e: I've since replaced all my dimmers with Inovelli ones, before zwaveJS came to HA, so I can't show you a screenshot unfortunately. But I promise it was A Thing.

Is there a reason you can't use Inovelli? They wire up exactly like the Jasco ones.

It looks like there are some unmarked parameters that set # of levels and time to transition, but it's a tradeoff.

Ok the Inovelli looks great, I'll take a look. Thanks for the help.

# ¿ Nov 26, 2021 17:54

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I have two can light retrofits on a Leviton Z-wave dimmer... they visibly flicker unless at near 100% levels.

Even at full brightness these bulbs would only pull 25W, is the solution to get better lights or does one of these Aeoctec bypasses work?
https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-AEZW150-Bypass-Z-Wave-Dimmer/dp/B017BK1MIA/ref=psdc_507840_t1_B08ZJQV7W2

# ¿ Nov 29, 2021 17:34

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Any suggestions from the thread for 6" retrofit downlights? The current ones I'm having trouble with are FEIT from Costco, but the Lithonia equivalent doesn't look much better. I've had good luck with Lithonia fixtures for all my other LED needs though. Happy to spend more on nice ones.

# ¿ Nov 29, 2021 18:01

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Hed posted:

Any suggestions from the thread for 6" retrofit downlights? The current ones I'm having trouble with are FEIT from Costco, but the Lithonia equivalent doesn't look much better. I've had good luck with Lithonia fixtures for all my other LED needs though. Happy to spend more on nice ones.

To follow up on this I finally replaced my FEIT junk from Costco with some nicer 5/6" retrofits from 1000bulbs and they dim down to nothing without any ringing.

It's great!

# ¿ Dec 12, 2021 02:23

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I�m starting to come around to that. My whole house is basically lit with them.

With utility subsidies they can be less than $1 per bulb at Costco but when there are problems around dimming or blinking I start to wonder why I care when I�m pairing with $40-60 in Zwave dimmers.

I�m going to start looking for nicer A19 and chandelier bulbs and if tests go well do some rapid replacement.

# ¿ Dec 12, 2021 17:32

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I ran some 24V LED strips under cabinet but didn't think about the dimming before I got it installed. Other LED strips I have are always on and have Zigbee light link or whatever to change. I use the hue app for them since they're RGBW but this is just warm white.

Right now this strip setup is Line voltage --> Inovelli Zwave dimmer --> this LED driver --> 24V to the strips.

If I dim at the light switch, the brightness of the LEDs doesn't change until the supply gets so low the LEDs get cut off. I asked the vendor and they said if the dimmer uses a TRIAC it should work with this setup but the Inovellis use a MOSFET.

Any idea what I can use to allow for physical controls that will switch and dim this light but also remote to Home Assistant for scheduling? I have ZigBee/Z-wave networks no problem.

# ¿ Dec 19, 2021 16:38

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Hed posted:

I ran some 24V LED strips under cabinet but didn't think about the dimming before I got it installed. Other LED strips I have are always on and have Zigbee light link or whatever to change. I use the hue app for them since they're RGBW but this is just warm white.

Right now this strip setup is Line voltage --> Inovelli Zwave dimmer --> this LED driver --> 24V to the strips.

If I dim at the light switch, the brightness of the LEDs doesn't change until the supply gets so low the LEDs get cut off. I asked the vendor and they said if the dimmer uses a TRIAC it should work with this setup but the Inovellis use a MOSFET.

Any idea what I can use to allow for physical controls that will switch and dim this light but also remote to Home Assistant for scheduling? I have ZigBee/Z-wave networks no problem.

I realized my LED driver wasn't dimmable... it helps to read the spec sheet a little further! I ordered this instead and everything works swimmingly now.

# ¿ Dec 21, 2021 16:51

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Is there a node red tutorial or cookbook better than RTFM? Or is there a scripting language in HA or node red that would work better than the GUI?

I�m currently trying to do two things:

Kitchen counter lights ramp from 30-80% brightness from approximately 6-7 in the morning. Do the reverse from 9p-whenever.

Office bookshelf lights ramp but also react to me turning the office lights on or off.

I can pile up a bunch of nodes like I�m programming LabVIEW in school but feel like I�m searching for poo poo to stick together that might work instead of really knowing �the way� to do it.

My specific issue is figuring out how to ramp say 1% a minute up in brightness starting at a time while also allowing being overridden by the Zwave dimmer�s physical controls�if someone overrides it I would abort or wait a few hours to do the same thing.

# ¿ Dec 23, 2021 15:42

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Motronic posted:

You can absolutely do that in HA built in automations. They've gotten good enough that I've recently moved everything into them out of node red, which never really was very tightly integrated enough to be comfortable to work in.

I think a concept you might want to consider for something like this is "desired state". For example, my outdoor lighting comes on at 30% brightness at sundown and turns off at 10:30 PM. If you open the front door or the driveway sensor is tripped it ramps to 100% for 10 minutes. I have an input_boolean that is set to "true" at sundown and "false" at 10:30 PM. The automation that turns it to true is called "Outdoor lighting state change: on for sunset", and the automation that actually triggers the lights to turn on is using a condition of "automation.outdoor_light_state_change_on_for_sunset". Convoluted way to actually turn them on, but now I've got a way to check the desired state no matter what happens with the switch manually, and my other automations use that in order to put things back into the desired state.

You could use that desired concept the opposite way, by using an automation trigger of a manual switch change to trigger a state which might, for example be a "condition" of completing your automation of a morning ramp-up. A manual switch change triggers changing that "state" to something that your series of ramp-up automations are looking at and will simply not run if it's set.

Thanks--I got this sorted out and moved my fledgling automations in node red out to HA as well. Now that I'm starting to grok it I see a lot of neat stuff I can do.

# ¿ Dec 29, 2021 00:23

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I had some cabinets made and put in some lighting. The day before the guy showed up to install them I made my plan and ordered the stuff. Since they are LED strips and connected to the smart home I wanted to do a little write up here in case y'all were interested:

This back wall is about 10' long and you can see with the soffett I had 11 cabinet "bays" to light. The bookshelves are about 12" deep and the workspace in the front is another 12".

Normally I would just get Warm white LEDs but since this was my office / posting den I decided to get RGB as well. So my plan was to mount them in aluminum channels with diffusers on the tops, about 1/3 of the way back so they could still illuminate the front of my books.

I was so late on this the carpenter didn't bring anything to cut dados so I just ended up mounting the channel with clips screwed to the shelf. I decided to do home runs for each light strip rather than daisy-chain. Since I had to land 5 conductors at each strip, I wanted to be able to know if something went wrong and easily identify/repair. I knew if I did not do this, I would screw something up. Anyway on to the BOM:

2 of these 24V RGB(warm)W strips
24V 120W power supply
this Zigbee 12-24V light control that would present to a Hue hub or HA
10x2m aluminum channels

My shelves after my carpenter left the second day and I tore some more holes and started routing cables. I went over a few different routing strategies with him but when he was gone I figured out the best way was to home run everything to the rightmost undercounter cabinet, where I had ample electrical outlets and it would be out of the way.

Here's where everything ran to, I mounted barrier strips to keep each light's conductors somewhat organized by position for troubleshooting. If I had to do this again I would probably just use some 66 blocks. You can also see my Zigbee controller in position.

Here it is all wired up. I'd like this to look more organized but it's OK. The gamepads came later as that cabinet became much needed storage.

I didn't get a picture of me soldering the strips but I tinned the connectors and conductors, put heat shrink tubing over the cable, soldered, put liquid tape on the exposed parts, then put the heat shrink into place and shrank that up. All that got done and mounted before the carpenter came back to finish.

And then...

It works! Looks much more impressive than on the reel!

And bonus: I'm ready for when they reboot Ecto Cooler Hi-C!

I'm very happy with the finished product. And now it's on home assistant and the hue app so I can tie it to my other lights and mess with it. For Christmas I had it switch between red and green every 15 seconds. Very gimmicky but that's how I wanted it.

Yes I know my framing/finishers in this office are hilarious... it's amazing what you don't notice is square until you get someone meticulous up next to it.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2021 04:25

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Does anyone here use any garage door integration with Home Assistant? I was thinking about doing it for presence detection and fixing my crappy remote.

Thanks to movax's posts I saw Tailwind and I like the idea of "pair with car bluetooth so that it comes up / goes down automatically" but it looks like any integration with HA is a joke. I was interested in using it for presence detection or at least to turn internal lights on if the house was dark.

There's also OpenGarage but that looks almost too hobbyist. And with neither do I really want an app to open and close my door...

# ¿ Jan 4, 2022 17:17

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

If someone has a HomeAssistant automation that slowly, barely perceptibly changes brightness over long periods of time I�d love to see the YAML.

I tried and failed with the methods I attempted: on at 1% and raise 1% UNTIL precondition, two stages and take 3600 seconds to transition between. HA would get stuck and lights would be inoperable.

I ended up just time triggering the different brightness states and so far I haven�t been in the room to say �hey what happened�.

# ¿ Jan 14, 2022 05:51

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I mean this in all seriousness as I am a weather nerd, but what do you guys use your weather stations for? Are there smart home automations I'm missing?

# ¿ Jan 17, 2022 22:54

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

A few people in the thread seem to have Honeywell Lyric, how do you like them? I have HomeAssistant and plenty of Zwave/Zigbee devices already. If I want window/door sensors and am on the fence about a keypad, does anyone know whether it's possible to integrate them all into HomeAssistant? Is it desirable?

movax posted:

Got my Honeywell Lyric via AlarmGrid mostly integrated -- it's annoying that I have to keep e-mailing them and waiting a few days for them to remotely do stuff though. Haven't quite got HomeKit working yet -- their second attempt to push the config worked, but then the adoption process failed halfway through (thanks Home app) and it didn't appear anymore... it will be a wonder when it finally gets plugged in.

Have mostly 5800-series sensors I've been adding to it (figured 345 MHz was less crowded), but belatedly realized that the Lyric doesn't expose all zones to HomeKit, just those in a few select ones. I have added some sensors to door/windows that I don't care about securing, I just want to see if they are open or closed or not and $12 for a sensor to do that isn't awful. Got the 5800C2W module working as well to integrate a few wired sensors from my house -- not bad for a little $80 box though in retrospect, I had so few sensors that I might have been better off just buying a few of the 5800 wireless sensors that had a connector for hardwired contacts. Oh well, at least I don't have to worry about a battery.

Still (not) surprised that in 2021 security systems are still pretty terrible. With the advent of low-cost, high-battery life sensors, it shouldn't really be hard to get everything behaving but goddamn if the industry doesn't accept the challenge to still make it brittle.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2022 03:28

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I need help understanding a HomeAssistant automations concept or knowing what to search for.

I have one automation called "entry door opening" that sends an alert when an exterior door is opening. I set the triggers for the automation to be any one of our 4 entry doors moving to open state. But, I quickly run into a logic flaw the way I'm implementing. I have IF statements that check which one is in the on state to configure the message... but if one of the earlier doors in the check is open then it will give a message! For example, if the kitchen sliding door is already open because the weather is nice, if I open the basement sliding door for any reason I'll get a message that the kitchen is open.

Is there any way to reference the triggering event? Alternatively I could break this out into 4 separate automations, but I figure there's got to be a better way than that.

code:

alias: 'Notify: Entry Door Opening'
description: ''
trigger:
  - type: opened
    platform: device
    device_id: a87465729c1544df26614779104d175e
    entity_id: binary_sensor.lumi_lumi_sensor_magnet_aq2_7afee507_on_off
    domain: binary_sensor
  - type: opened
    platform: device
    device_id: f2e6d41cebd301ef4e75ee83555267f9
    entity_id: binary_sensor.lumi_lumi_sensor_magnet_aq2_on_off
    domain: binary_sensor
  - type: opened
    platform: device
    device_id: 32c6192a28ef80fd5f7ff150cc713017
    entity_id: binary_sensor.lumi_lumi_sensor_magnet_aq2_8628ed07_on_off
    domain: binary_sensor
  - type: opened
    platform: device
    device_id: 44db5732d8aeb03add6450215a31d40a
    entity_id: binary_sensor.lumi_lumi_sensor_magnet_aq2_5418ed07_on_off
    domain: binary_sensor
condition: []
action:
  - service: notify.notify
    data:
      message: >-
        The{% if
        is_state('binary_sensor.lumi_lumi_sensor_magnet_aq2_7afee507_on_off',
        'on') %} Front Door {% elif
        is_state('binary_sensor.lumi_lumi_sensor_magnet_aq2_on_off', 'on') %}
        Garage Entry Door {% elif
        is_state('binary_sensor.lumi_lumi_sensor_magnet_aq2_8628ed07_on_off',
        'on') %} Kitchen Sliding Door {% elif
        is_state('binary_sensor.lumi_lumi_sensor_magnet_aq2_5418ed07_on_off',
        'on') %} Basement Sliding Door {% else %} Unknown Door {% endif %}is
        open!
      title: Exterior Door Opened
mode: single

# ¿ Mar 22, 2022 01:10

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Kalman posted:

I think you�re looking for the trigger event variables. https://www.home-assistant.io/docs/automation/templating/

Thank you! I got it down to one line now.

# ¿ Mar 26, 2022 19:59

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Does anyone have hue lights but on their HomeAssistant only?

I have HA with both a ZigBee stick and the hue hub integrations but hue got a new Terms of Service and it�s a good inflection point.

I�m not sure what I would lose going to full HA. Automations are easy to migrate but not sure scene selection� I rarely change color except for gimmicks like red and green lamps for Christmas. Would doing that through Apple HomeKit selection or HA itself be that difficult? The rest of the time I just modify brightness.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2022 15:05

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I really like this for electric baseboard heat.

https://shop-us.getmysa.com/products/mysa-baseboard

# ¿ Mar 28, 2022 00:04

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Henrik Zetterberg posted:

Schlage Encode Plus is available for order on Home Depot.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Schlage-Camelot-Aged-Bronze-Electronic-Encode-Plus-Smart-Wifi-Deadbolt-BE499WB-CAM-716/318246453

e: it's out of stock already right after I placed my order

I checked one of my burner accouunts this morning and saw it was available so meant to thank you for linking to the page way back. Hopefully mine isn't too big physically to work on the door I have in mind. And maybe it will integrate with HA, eventually

# ¿ Mar 31, 2022 18:55

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Is there a go-to battery-powereed motion sensor that uses ZigBee or Zwave?
My goal is to stare at a few sets of windows and stuff where I can't just use magnetic contact and trigger actions if there's motion in armed away mode.

I've seen this AeoTec ones, but not sure if there are others.

# ¿ Apr 1, 2022 03:39

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Same. Thread recommended and been working for both protocols for me.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2022 11:59

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

movax posted:

Can you use RA2/RA3 without being an official installer?

Just loving around with my local ESH website it looks like they�re available to purchase. I�m definitely not a blessed installer.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2022 04:57

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

This is best place I can think of to ask this.

Is there a simple ZigBee controller that can take lamp cord (AC) and output 24Vdc PWM for one-color LED strip?

I have two other LED strip setups in my house, one using AC Adapter -> GledOpto Zigbee Controller -> RGBW strip, and another using Zwave-controlled Innovelli dimmer switch -> AC -> LED bus driver -> Warm white (monochrome) LED strip.

I need to drive the a similar 24V strip but don't need switch control (will be 100% Home Assistant) so want to just run an outlet and plug in from there into some driver + ZigBee/Z-wave integration. It looks like I can use that GledOPTO linked above with just white, but it's a lot of stuff to stow away (AC adapter, GledOpto) and a lot of extra features (RGB, W color temp) that aren't supported / I don't need.

# ¿ Apr 24, 2022 23:22

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Wanderless posted:

I'm looking for some under-cabinet lighting.

I really like the idea and look of panel lighting, and the Feit OneSync panels look to do all of the things I'd like, but I've seen warnings on all sorts of switches that Feit lights aren't well-behaved with dimming, and I'd really like to avoid another stupid cloud server gateway if at all possible for all of the reasons above. I haven't managed to sus out even what sort of protocol Feit uses to communicate. Guessing it is proprietary?

Is there a zwave or zigbee HA-compatible (or Homekit, for which I would be willing to go to a wifi system) panel light with variable color temperatures that is better? I'm willing to do some mild fabrication but would rather avoid soldering and generic strip lights if possible.

Henrik�s suggestion is great, of course. But don�t count out ordering some higher end RGBW strips from a store like superbrightleds and pair it with a controller that talks whatever you want. I haven�t worked with the hue strips but you can cut the non hue ones more like 3� instead of whatever it was in his post.

I have a post that is a bit lighter on details if you click the ? by my name that I did for the office. Only difference is the strips I used were warm white and RGB (not selectable white) so 5 pads.

For the rest of my house we couldn�t imagine actually using the non-white settings so they are just 2 or 3- pad and far easier to solder and wire with lamp cord inside your favorite metal and plastic diffuser.

edit: that post of mine up thread also has a BOM and in general I would warn against using FEIT. I�m phasing all their products out in my house as their bulbs fail way more often than something from SBL or thread-favorite 1000bulbs and they don�t dim well.

Hed fucked around with this message at 18:07 on May 1, 2022

# ¿ May 1, 2022 18:04

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I had to put strips on new cabinets in the laundry room so took some more pics to show people in the thread how I like to do it. These shelves have a flat bottom so unlike the kitchen where I had to cut channel and wire 5 segments across the counter, I can do one segment per level (two total).

My BOM:

Warm White (2700K) strip light LEDs, 24V
Aluminum mounting strips and clips with diffuser
lamp cord
24V DC power supply
GledOPTO micro ZigBee (ZLL) controller

1. Measure the underside of the cabinets where I'll mount the strip lights. Cut with miter saw.

2. Dry fit and mark where I need to make a hole for cabling

3. Bore the hole, mount clips to hold the aluminum channel

4. Dry fit my strip LED in the channel. I'll need to cut this on the line just short of the length.

5. This is just a warm white LED (dimming, no other colors) so it has two fat pads to solder to. My tools are just pliers, wire stripper, the Solder Mate which is a unitasker but I like it over extra hands for soldering this.

6. Everything tinned and ready to go--I tin the leads of the lamp cord and put blobs on the pads so that when it's time to put everything together I just put downward pressure on the wires and heat up the solder blob for it to all come together.

7. Decent connection here. I had needle nose pliers which are a huge heat sink so had to press more than normal. Usually I use some smaller tools but was in a hurry.

8. I apply liquid tape to the leads to insulate everything, and heat shrink around the end to provide some mechanical support and seal everything up

9. Time to hook up the power. I've got an AC adapter for 24V, it puts out a max 60W. Spec sheet on the LED strip says that my span of 8 ft. will use 31W, at max brightness which is great headroom--I would keep something like this under 80%. Also, at a little over 1.25A it will be no problem to use 18AWG wire.

10. Here it is wired up in the corner. AC connections are done in a low-pro box (has a metal backing). The DC side goes into the GledOPTO controller, and then the lamp cord. My one issue with the GledOpto is it has push connectors which only really fit 16 AWG so there's a bit more soldering. Here everything is put away to test it but I'll do some better cable management later.

11. Sticking the strip in the channel is the fun part! The channel is nice for these because it sinks heat away from this relatively dense LED strip.

12. Turn it on and Boom. It's all working!

13. Time to pair the controller to HomeAssistant, close everything up and put on the diffuser.

14. Here's the room done. Time to clean up the cords, finish stocking the cabinets and put the decorations back up. Next is replace that utility sink with a new one but that's for another time.

# ¿ May 5, 2022 03:14

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 17:05

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Wanderless posted:

Thanks for all of the lighting advice, everyone. Sounds like I'm doing a bit of chasing unicorns, and my plan to avoid Feit is sensible.

Yeah, you're right. The more I look at the strip lights the more I think they fit my needs, despite my reservations. I much prefer edge-lit but honestly I know I'm not going to see them directly anyhow.
Zooz seems to offer a decent strip light dimmers (and dimmer switches as well). Anyone have experience with them? They look pretty much like what I'm after, and seem to support both SmartThings (that I'm on right now) and HA that I plan to migrate to soon.

I've not used Zooz but the specs look fine if you want to keep your Zwave mesh going.

# ¿ May 5, 2022 03:17

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > Home Automation and Security Systems

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