I’ve been diving into the world of DIY smart lighting lately, and I wanted to share my journey and some tips I’ve picked up along the way. I’ve been using Tasmota flashed Sonoff Mini DIY devices to control my lights, and while the setup has been mostly smooth, there have been a few hurdles worth mentioning.
Initially, I was a bit puzzled when my DIY switches were detected as switch entities in HA with a flash icon, rather than the light icon I wanted. I quickly found that I could manually change the icon to mdi:lightbulb, but the color wouldn’t change with the on/off state like it does with my Zigbee switches. After some research, I discovered that this is a known limitation with Tasmota devices when configured as switches. However, I found a workaround by adjusting the entity settings in HA to mimic the behavior of a light bulb.
One of the most rewarding parts of this project has been integrating these DIY lights into my home automation routines. For example, I set up a motion sensor at the top of my basement stairs to automatically turn on the lights when the door is opened. The challenge came when I noticed that turning off the lights while walking up the stairs would sometimes trigger the motion sensor and turn them back on. After some trial and error, I figured out that adjusting the sensor’s sensitivity and adding a brief delay before the lights turn off solved the issue.
I’d love to hear from others who have tackled similar projects or have tips for optimizing DIY lighting setups. Whether you’re using Tasmota, Zigbee, or another platform, sharing experiences helps us all improve our smart homes!