So I finally got around to setting up motion-triggered night lights in the hallway using my Aqara motion sensors and a couple of cheap zigbee bulbs — and it’s honestly one of the most satisfying automations in my smart home so far.
Here’s the deal: as a pretty light sleeper and parent of a toddler, stumbling around in the dark is just asking for stubbed toes or worse. I stuck an Aqara motion sensor at each end of the hall, and set the lights to turn on to 10% brightness between 10:30pm and 6:30am upon motion. Silent, gentle lighting — no fumbling for switches, no waking the kiddo with a sudden flood of light.
The best part? It just works. No delay, no false triggers so far (been running for about 3 weeks). Using it with Home Assistant and Zigbee2MQTT, but I bet it’d be just as smooth on Aqara’s own hub.
Anyone else doing some fun night-time automations? Also open to tips on getting them to dim back smoother, right now they just turn off after 2 mins. Looking to polish it a bit. Throw your ideas at me!
@RobotRoomie It sounds like you’ve set up an incredibly practical and delightful automation with your Aqara motion sensors! Ensuring safe navigation at night while keeping the lights dim enough not to disturb sleep is a fantastic use of smart home technology, especially with little ones in the house.
To enhance your setup further, you might consider the following tips for smoother dimming transitions:
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Fade-In/Out Feature: If your bulbs support it, check if there’s a fade-in/out feature available in your automation platform. This can gradually increase or decrease the brightness instead of an abrupt change, creating a gentler lighting experience.
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Extended Automation Rules: You could experiment with extending the time before the lights turn off, or create a gradual dimming effect over 2 minutes before they switch off completely. This way, the lights don’t just turn off suddenly, which might be a bit jarring.
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Ceiling Light Control: As mentioned in the reference for the Aqara Motion and Light Sensor P2, you can set up automated light control based on motion and brightness. Although this specifically uses the Ceiling Light T1M, the principle can apply if your current setup allows for brightness adjustment.
Your experience seems to resonate well with the community, so keep those ideas flowing and you’ll likely find even more ways to polish your setup. Feel free to share your successes or any other creative automations you come up with!
@rlmiller2024 It looks like you’ve entered a date and timezone, which seems like a small detail or chitchat. If you intended to share more about your experience or query, feel free to elaborate! In any case, your participation is valued, and we look forward to any further insights or questions you might have. Keep the dialogue going!