Could the source of the lux measurement be the issue? I would think a physical lux sensor either inside or right outside the house could account for local conditions like intermittent clouds or tree cover that might impact how bright it feels in a given room.
1 Like
My memory of a previous, lengthy discussion about the use of Lux was that some sensors can be problematic for how they report Lux. So essentially, you are right that the source can be the problem. That said, I haven't let that stop me at least testing that theory by purchasing a couple of Hue outdoor sensors.... Still need to make proper use of them for my use case of controlling my blinds.
Having some regular (time + random factor) automated lighting inside the house is nice from a security standpoint. Harder for someone to tell whether you are home or not. I agree it's a bit tricky to get the lux testing just right. More sensors the better I guess.
Yeah, our house is never empty so I've not had to think about that.
1 Like
I just completed this project for my 2 Ring floodlights .
Added an additional Z-Wave motion sensor which also has Temp and Lux sensors as well. The only impact of doing this was allowing HE to control the lights - the other stuff - The Ring's motion detection/motion zones/notifications etc still work fine.
You can also do this with a non-smart floodlight as well.. Originally added it to something like this:
(was testing in my basement)
1 Like
I currently base all of my lux restrictions off the Hue Sensor in the garage. Reason being is my city has bright alley lights, and my motion lights outside may give false light to the sensor. I can't think of another place that gets truly dark and not affected by artificial light. Even so my garage lights can come on and screw you my automations.
What do you all do?
A couple of sensors inside the house in various places? You might have to monitor to get the calibration right.
Another idea is to have a sensor with a cylinder attached to narrow the field of view.
For you me I am still working it out, but with a West facing balcony with Glass sliding doors I want to limit the heat in Summer and UV year round, so need to work on positioning the Hue outdoor motion sensor I bought to then control the internal roller blinds (shades), even with additional UV protection from vertical "awnings" at the front edge of the balcony.
That's outdoors isn't it, and that's not officially an outdoor sensor? What is it and how is it coping?
I think it is made for outdoor use.. I just installed 2 of them and they are working well.. 
Specs
- Power: 120v / 60Hz
- Maximum Load: 300 watts (incandescent) or 100 watts (LED)
- PIR Angle of Detection: 120°
- PIR Max Range: 39 feet (12 meters)
- LUX Range: 0 - 900
- 908 MHz Z-Wave frequency
- ETL, FCC, Z-Wave certified
- IP44 Rating for outdoor use
edit1: The lux range is not as good as my Aeotec MS6 but enough for my purposes.
edit2: @danabw is using the Hue version and is happy with the results as well.
1 Like
Oh I don't think we can get the Homeseer one here in the UK 
I do have a Hue outdoor, but the Everspring one I have I can't get any more. That leaves a total of one outdoor motion sensor option!!
1 Like
Yeah that's why I mentioned @danabw and his Hue hack... maybe he can take some time off from baking his awesome bread and elaborate... 
1 Like
Arduino + lux sensor + outdoor rated box + power outlet + mqtt = accurate lux updates as fast as you could possibly want them. And for like $10-15.
2 Likes
As someone who hasn't graced your shores, by the sounds of things, why would you want to stop that.... 
2 Likes
But do you bake bread
Well my "hack" is hardly interesting enough to be called a hack...more of a kludge?
I just stuck a Hue outdoor motion sensor on top of one of my Ring Floodlight Cams, added a few other motion sensors outside (another Hue outdoor, and three v2 and v3 Iris indoor sensors in sheltered locations) and combined all via Zone Motion Controller.
Then used motion lighting app (since migrated to RL) and the community Ring integration to control the on/off of Ring flood lights in the driveway/front yard and side yard. I am not currently using the lux capability of the Hue sensors, but swapping over from time-based to lux-based light management via the two Hue sensors in the front yard is on the to-do list.
2 Likes
I am using 3 external (mounted inside but facing out and not seeing internal lights) and 3 internal lux sensors to control lights and shades.
Some rules are using just one sensor but some are multiple. Each rule has
individual min/max settings. After tweaking threshold values all my rules are working near perfectly. Yes, sometime human decision will be a bit different.
But most of the time it works as desired and has high WAF.
2 Likes
I just added one of these to the house. Everyone who is using them loves the lux sensor so I guess I will be putting it to work...
2 Likes
Link Plz
