HomeKit Homekit daylight sensitivity trigger

[Moranchoj]

Hi,

i would like to know if there is any homekit device that meassure the daylight sensitivity (lux intensity) to be used as a trigger of an action.

for instance, in dark days i would need to turn on sooner than the estandard sunset time, the room lights and close the blinds.

i have read in an old thread, 2 years ago, that the hue motion sensor combined with other app can provide this functionality but it does not seem too easy and perhaps after 2 years there is already a device with that feature/trigger.

thanks

 

[bkrbyndr]

Hi,

i would like to know if there is any homekit device that meassure the daylight sensitivity (lux intensity) to be used as a trigger of an action.

for instance, in dark days i would need to turn on sooner than the estandard sunset time, the room lights and close the blinds.

i have read in an old thread, 2 years ago, that the hue motion sensor combined with other app can provide this functionality but it does not seem too easy and perhaps after 2 years there is already a device with that feature/trigger.

thanks

i have philips sensors and it works great! You can choose in their app how sensitive you want.

 

[Itinj24]

Hi,

i would like to know if there is any homekit device that meassure the daylight sensitivity (lux intensity) to be used as a trigger of an action.

for instance, in dark days i would need to turn on sooner than the estandard sunset time, the room lights and close the blinds.

i have read in an old thread, 2 years ago, that the hue motion sensor combined with other app can provide this functionality but it does not seem too easy and perhaps after 2 years there is already a device with that feature/trigger.

thanks

It’s not difficult at all. The Hue motion sensor exposes the lux to HomeKit. (I use Aqara but it’s the same thing). Download the free Eve app which is basically just an alternative to the Home app with more features. Create an automation in the Eve app (automations are called rules in the Eve app but same thing) using the Lux from the sensor as a trigger or condition and thats it. Anything you create in the Eve app, including automations/rules, will be exposed in the Home app and you can edit further from there.

 

[Moranchoj]

Does Agara have a sensor with the same light intensity meassurement than Hue sensor?
What Aqara sensor do you have?
Does Aqara also need a bridge/hub as Hue does?
Thanks

 

[Itinj24]

Does Agara have a sensor with the same light intensity meassurement than Hue sensor?
What Aqara sensor do you have?
Does Aqara also need a bridge/hub as Hue does?
Thanks

The Aqara sensor (it’s really a Xiaomi/Mijia but works with the Aqara Hub as most of their devices are interchangeable) is just a light sensor. Doesn’t do motion sensing. Yes it does require an Aqara Hub to work. I’ve only found them on sites like GearBest, AliExpress and Banggood.

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gearbest.app.link

 

[Moranchoj]

The Aqara sensor (it’s really a Xiaomi/Mijia but works with the Aqara Hub as most of their devices are interchangeable) is just a light sensor. Doesn’t do motion sensing. Yes it does require an Aqara Hub to work. I’ve only found them on sites like GearBest, AliExpress and Banggood.

Xiaomi Mijia Smart Light Sensor Zigbee 3.0 Intelligent Linkage Work with Mijia Multimode Gateway - White

Share and Join Gearbest | Get YOUR FREE GB Points and Enjoy over 100,000 Top Products

gearbest.app.link

Hi, i bought Philips motion sensor and philips bridge and apparently everithing works as Apple homekit apps shows me movement detection, lux intensity and temperature.

I am using Eve app to build and manage rules and when i define a rule when lux level is used as trigger or condition, the rule/automation does not work.

Movement detection works well as trigger or condition but when mixed with intensity level, the rule does not work.

Does anybody know what is wrong?

thanks

 

[Bogstandard]

Fibaro market a homekit motion sensor with temp, and light sensors.
It is battery powered but has been very reliable.
It has the appearance of an eyeball.

 

[Itinj24]

Hi, i bought Philips motion sensor and philips bridge and apparently everithing works as Apple homekit apps shows me movement detection, lux intensity and temperature.

I am using Eve app to build and manage rules and when i define a rule when lux level is used as trigger or condition, the rule/automation does not work.

Movement detection works well as trigger or condition but when mixed with intensity level, the rule does not work.

Does anybody know what is wrong?

thanks

The Hue stuff works great too for what you need. I like the Aqara because the Hub doubles up as an alarm system and has a plethora of sensors you can add to it and they’re inexpensive.

Can you send screenshots of how your rules look in the Eve app? Hard to diagnose without seeing what it looks like.

 

[Moranchoj]

The Hue stuff works great too for what you need. I like the Aqara because the Hub doubles up as an alarm system and has a plethora of sensors you can add to it and they’re inexpensive.

Can you send screenshots of how your rules look in the Eve app? Hard to diagnose without seeing what it looks like.

These are the rule and the scene linked. If i remove the lux condition then it works. When i add the lux condtion, the scene is not executed.

 

[Itinj24]

Here’s mine. It’s pretty much identical. Are you sure that the light Lux level is equal or less than 5 at the time the automation is being run?

 

[Moranchoj]

Yes. It is 1 lux. I turn off all the lights and homekit app tells me that lux level = 1. In any case, if i increase value to 10 or 20 don't work either.

 

[Itinj24]

Yes. It is 1 lux. I turn off all the lights and homekit app tells me that lux level = 1. In any case, if i increase value to 10 or 20 don't work either.

Hmm. Mine definitely works but of course that doesn’t help you. Did you try rebooting your home hub?

 

[Moranchoj]

I did it.

On the other hand i have detected that when i try to create a rule from Apple Homekit app i can select Motion Sensor as trigger but i only have the option to use the movement sensor. Lux and tempersture are not available to be used as trigger inside homekit app. Lux and temperature sensor are shown in home status bar but they are not an option when creates a trigger (see pictures). Is this normal?

 

[Itinj24]

I did it.

On the other hand i have detected that when i try to create a rule from Apple Homekit app i can select Motion Sensor as trigger but i only have the option to use the movement sensor. Lux and tempersture are not available to be used as trigger inside homekit app. Lux and temperature sensor are shown in home status bar but they are not an option when creates a trigger (see pictures). Is this normal?

Yes, it’s normal. The native Apple Home app doesn’t support automation triggers for items such as Light Lux, Humidity, Temperature, etc... That why I suggested the Eve app initially. Only third party apps support this. Why? I haven’t a damn clue lol. Once you create it in the Eve app, you can go into the Apple Home app and edit it.

Did you get that other automation to work after rebooting the Home Hub?

 

[Moranchoj]

I believe that i already know where the problem is.

read this thread.

how to automatically switch on lights if room gets dark?

I want to automatically switch on lights if room gets dark on a cloudy gloomy day. don't want to trigger based on motion - instead want to use light level. I installed a Philips Hue Motion sensor - which added a light level sensor in Home app - but not able to use that to trigger an automation...

forums.macrumors.com

It seems that lux level in hue motion only change when morion is detected. If there is not motion, rules engine is not informed that lux level changed and rule is not executed.

"0) looks like Philips motion sensor updates light level value only when it senses motion. so this automation doesn't switch on lights on even if room is dark - it waits for a motion to trigger. so it, kind of, works as long as I move around in room while room gradually gets darker - but does not work if no movement is there."

 

[dotme]

That hasn't always been my experience, but I'm not sure it applies in your automation anyway, since the trigger in yours is Motion, not Light Level. You have Light Level as a condition.

What I would try next is changing the <= 5 to < 6 and re-test (drop the = from the condition) just to rule out some kind of bug there.

 

[Itinj24]

Also... try creating a rule with just the light lux as a trigger (not including motion). Curious if that works.