Hi all, I wanted to share my experience setting up Halloween lights automation this year. It was a fun project and I thought I’d document it in case anyone else is looking to do something similar.
First, I started by brainstorming what kind of effect I wanted. I’ve seen some cool videos where lights randomly flash or change colors to match the mood. Since I have a mix of Philips Hue and Sonoff devices, I decided to go with something that could work across both.
I ended up creating a flow in my automation software that randomly triggers specific lights at intervals. It’s pretty simple but effective. Here’s a quick rundown of what I did:
-
Device Setup: I made sure all my lights were properly integrated into my system. For the Hue bulbs, it was straightforward, but I had to adjust some settings on the Sonoff devices to ensure they’d respond to the automation commands.
-
Flow Creation: I set up a flow that checks for motion every 30 seconds. If motion is detected, it triggers a random light sequence. The sequence randomly selects lights from predefined groups and alternates between different brightness levels and colors.
-
Testing: Testing was a bit nerve-wracking at first. I kept tweaking the timing and the intensity of the lights to make sure it wasn’t too overwhelming. It’s important to balance the effect so it’s spooky but not annoying!
-
Final Touches: I added a failsafe to ensure the lights return to their normal state after a set period. This way, even if the automation doesn’t reset on its own, everything goes back to normal after a few hours.
Overall, it turned out great! My neighbors loved it, and I got some compliments on how professional it looked. If anyone has tips or suggestions for improving this setup, I’d love to hear them! Happy Halloween everyone! 