Greetings,
Anyone know of a cheap zwave or zigbee light sensor?
I have new automatic blinds (not somfy) and would like a light sensor on each window to detect if each window has direct sunlight on it to close that blind so my new wood floors don't get bleached. This is why I prefer inexpensive since I need 3 of them.
Looking forward to some recommendation. 
I have several Xiaomi Aqara Mijia Illuminance sensors and they have been working great. Got them on AliExpress.
I don't suppose you have a link do you?
Well darn… I went back to my order and found that it is no longer available…
An alternative would be the the Hue Motion sensor, but it has a much higher price point…
Damn, that's too bad. They look nice too. And as for the hue motion sensors, that's basically putting it back up to the price point where most other sensors are at. Apparently somfy has what I'm looking for, but I don't have their blinds. And I definitely don't want to get a hub just for those sensors.
There are some weather apps you can use that include the state of cloud cover which could be used to open/close the blinds as required.
@Sebastien I was looking at those light sensors recently... can you tell me is it easy to control the update interval? It looks like you can with the (Chinese?) app but will the HE driver also allow this?
And do you have a sense of how changing the update interval affects battery life?
I don’t see any way to control the update interval in the driver I am using.
If you are willing to experiment, you can try these : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004472770710.html
Dedicated illuminance/brightness sensors are somewhat difficult to find at the moment. I have another Tuya illuminance sensor which is working very well but isn't available at the moment.
Xiaomi/Aqara lights sensors are undoubtedly of better quality, but here you have the risk of not staying connected to HE hub, depending on many factors.
Technically it's a good idea but I've seen times where it's completely sunny yet the weather apps say it's cloudy... or vice versa.
These look great. I wonder how well they'll integrate into HE?
These are pretty simple sensors, I expect to be working with this driver.
Typically, such simple Tuya sensors have a fixed reporting threshold and are limited to 1000 lux, i.e not suitable for precise measurements outside. But if your use case is to distinguish between a cloudy and bright day times to automatically control your shades, they will do the job.
With the Mijia sensors, I wouldn't worry too much about reporting intervals. My busiest one, which sits in direct sun most of the day and can report every 20 seconds sometimes, has been on the same battery for just over two years.
This Zigbee light sensor works perfectly with this driver. This is powered by a USB adaptor.
I tested the same for a couple of days and it’s reporting illuminance from 0 to 1000. Its response is fast.
I am using it in a corridor and to turn on the lights when motion detected and depends on the light intensity (Cloudy or in a rainy season).
I used the driver : [RELEASE] Tuya Temperature Humidity Illuminance LCD Display with a Clock (w/ healthStatus)
Then selected “TS0601_AUBESS” in the “Model Group”.
@kkossev : Thanks for this driver. You are providing a lot of contribution in the development of Tuya based Device Handlers!
Can you post the link to the site where this light/illuminance sensor was purchased, and also the device/manufacturer from the Device Details - Data section? I will add it in the first post of the driver thread.
Please see the below details.
Purchased from eBay.com
URL : Tuya Zigbee Smart Home Light Sensor Smart WiFi Brightness Illumination Sensor | eBay
Device Details:
Sure.I will update you by Monday.
Tuya light sensor works with this driver. My current automations(based on light intensity) also triggering properly. Compared to the previous driver settings, I need not to select any model under this driver.
Regarding lux intensity, this driver provides accurate reading than the previous driver when compared the output with a lux meter.
I JUST came upon reason to make this reporting from the Xiaomi Mijia Smart Light Sensor GZCGQ01LM less chatty and to wish that the driver we're using had an reporting increment setting !
Looking at a log on a Rule I have that waits for a drop below a certain lux threshold and see that the log for that rule is literally SATURATED with lux reports from that device. In a similar way power (wattage) reporting on those outlets that read & report such often need to be quieted down.
Looked back at the Developer's original thread for the release of that driver to start this discussion and it was closed.d
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