Hi everyone, I’m excited to share my recent project with the Govee outdoor strip lights (H61A8)! I’ve been wanting to set up an automation that turns the lights on at sunset and off at sunrise, and I finally got it working. Here’s how I did it and what I learned along the way.First, I connected the outdoor strip lights to my home network using the LAN feature. It was pretty straightforward—just a matter of plugging in the Ethernet cable and following the setup instructions in the app. Once connected, I could control the lights through the Govee app, which was a great start.Next, I wanted to automate the lights to turn on at sunset and off at sunrise. I knew this would involve setting up some rules in the Govee app, but I wasn’t entirely sure how to do it. After some research and a bit of trial and error, I figured it out. Here’s what I did:1. Set Up the Automation Rule: - I opened the Govee app and navigated to the automation section. - I selected the outdoor strip lights as the target device. - I chose the trigger as “Sunset” and set the action to “Turn On.” - Similarly, I set another rule with the trigger as “Sunrise” and the action to “Turn Off.”2. Testing the Automation: - I saved the rules and waited for sunset to test if the lights would turn on automatically. - To my delight, the lights turned on exactly when the sun set, and they turned off when the sun rose the next morning.3. Adjusting the Timing: - I noticed that the default sunset and sunrise times were a bit off, so I adjusted the automation schedule slightly to ensure the lights come on a few minutes before sunset and turn off a few minutes after sunrise.4. Customizing the Lighting: - I also played around with the brightness and color settings. Now, the lights dim automatically after a certain time, creating a cozy ambiance in the evening.What I Learned:- LAN Connection is Key: Using the LAN feature made the setup much smoother and more reliable compared to relying solely on Wi-Fi.- Automation Rules Simplify Things: Setting up these rules saved me from manually turning the lights on and off every day.- Timezone and Location Settings Matter: Ensuring that my device’s time and location settings were accurate was crucial for the automation to work properly.Tips for Others:- If you’re setting up something similar, make sure to test the automation during both sunset and sunrise to ensure it works as expected.- Don’t hesitate to tweak the timings based on your preferences or the specific lighting conditions in your area.- Explore the different features of your smart lights, like color changing and dimming, to enhance your setup.Overall, this project has been a great way to enhance my outdoor lighting setup and make it more convenient. I’m really happy with how it turned out and would recommend Govee’s outdoor strip lights to anyone looking for a reliable and customizable solution.If anyone has questions or tips about setting up similar automations, feel free to share! I’d love to hear how others have optimized their smart lighting setups.