Hey folks,
I’m looking for an inexpensive way to get a LED strip to light up when motion is sensed.
It’s just to run under a cabinet so at nighttime if we wake the motion detector will switch on the lights so we can see where the bathroom is without grabbing a phone etc to light the way.
I have always got hue hubs and I know their motion sensors well but their led strips are expensive and overkill for this.
I see tapo have a very cheap 2m LED strip but their motion sensor needs a hub.
Should I just ger another hue motion detector and fork out for a hue compatible strip to save set up and compatibility issues?
I’m in the UK too if that makes a difference with recommendations for products.
I have something similar with an LED light strip under my bed.
Any motion detection device will work. Zigbee is preferable as it is quicker to signal motion to the hub. A Hue or Smart Things motion sensor paired directly with Hubitat will work.
Any LED light that can be paired directly to Hubitat or to a Hue hub that is integrated with Hubitat will work. I use one that I purchased through Amazon. The key is that it must work with Hubitat.
Once you have those two components linked to the hub, you just need to create a Rule with one of Hubitat’s rule engine. The “Basic Rule” engin might be the easiest to use for this. Create a rule where when motion is detected, the LED strip is turned on. When no motion is detected for a certain amount of time, the LED is turned off.
Hey - yes this is what I will use mine for if I can figure out where and how to stick the LED strip on my bed.
I know it's probably more sensible to use Hue motion sensors as I already have Hue setup - and I've found a cheaper strip than can pair with Hue bridge too. I guess I was hoping for a very cheap setup because it's really such a minor piece of lighting that I didn't want to spend £80 on a sensor and a new strip. £40 for a sensor for this seems expensive but then I know they are good, have ambient light sensors too so are highly configurable.
I was going to get a light strip with a sensor attached but it looked terrible and at least with a remote sensor I can place it anywhere in the room. I could then configure the sensor to do other things I guess. I may wait until they drop a little in price although I think they have been that price for a long time.
The hue motion sensors are hard to beat. Using cheap AAA batteries, which last a year, and almost never fall off the Zigbee mesh or go unresponsive. Very reliable. Another good one , but no longer made, are the Iris V2 Motion sensors(the V1 sensors ONLY work with the C7 and below hubs). Maybe on ebay?
Where do you have the motion sensor located so it triggers when you get out of bed - and do you share a bed so would you need another sensor for the other side of the bed to trigger if your partner gets up?
If you have a bureau or othe piece of furniture that faces the bed, you can use a single motion sensor - it will trap either of you getting up out of bed and so your automation can turn on the lights for you. The fun part will be figuring the right time-out for the motion automation so you aren't stranded in the dark. Depends on route and its length. If you have a motion sensor in the bathroom as well, you can set the automation to keep the light on if either is triggered.
I have a Aqara FP2 that I use with a zone for each of our sides of the bed, and a zoom for the floor. I use this in combination with a Withings sleep sensor.
There is a community app for the Withings sensor that works great.
I bring in the FP2 zones through HomeKit and some virtual sensor/switches.
