Hello everyone, I wanted to share my journey with smart lighting and automation, as well as some tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way. Let’s dive in! Smart Lighting Automation Troubleshooting I’ve had a lot of fun setting up smart lighting automation in my home. I use Connected Cree bulbs and have them set to turn on and off based on the time of day. It worked perfectly for a while, but lately, it’s been hit or miss. I’m curious if others have experienced similar issues or if there’s a known fix. If anyone has insight, I’d love to hear it! Sensor Setup for Stairwells Speaking of automation, I’ve been brainstorming ways to improve the lighting in my L-shaped stairwell. Motion sensors have been tricky because they can’t cover the entire area, especially ignoring activity in the living room below. I thought about using vibration sensors on the first and last steps, but I’m not sure if they’re reliable enough. Has anyone tried something like this? Any genius solutions out there? Web Interface for Smart Home Control Another project I’m excited about is creating a simple web interface to control my Homematic components. I’ve developed a small PHP application that runs on my QNAP NAS. The interface is responsive and works well on smartphones, tablets, and desktops. It’s still in the early stages, but it’s been a fun way to simplify my smart home controls. If anyone is interested, I’d love to collaborate or get feedback! Tips for Customizing Scenes I’ve also been experimenting with customizing scenes in Home Assistant. For instance, I wanted lights to adjust based on the time of day when turned on. While I figured out how to trigger the automation, getting the exact state of each light in a scene was a bit of a puzzle. I discovered that state_attr can list entity IDs, but not their states. If anyone knows a workaround, I’d appreciate the help! Final Thoughts It’s amazing how much you can do with smart home technology, but it’s also a learning curve. I’m grateful for communities like this where I can share experiences and get advice. If anyone has tips or stories to share, I’m all ears! Happy automating everyone! 