We have a few places at the office where we want to add bulbs that should be automated on a time schedule.
The issue is that we can’t give this hub or bulbs internet.
Which is the better option?
As I see it we could go for a hub like IKEA and ZigBee bulbs, but can the hub even work without internet or even Ethernet?
Do anyone know of a hub that work?
I can configure it all at home and then just deploy it there.
My other option I can think of is Shelly bulbs.
They have schedule, but can you set the time on them manually?
I can only see NTP settings on my bulbs.
DST isn’t that big of an issue, we can set them to be on so that it covers both summer and winter.
Anyone have another idea of controlling a few bulbs to turn on and off during office hours?
The answer depends on what you’re trying to avoid.
First off, what do you mean by “internet?” If you mean any wireless Ethernet (802.11) protocols, then Zigbee or Z-Wave hubs will work. The devices use different protocols, and in the case of Z-Wave, a different part of the spectrum, to communicate with the hub.
If you have a high-security environment where no connectivity to the outside world is allowed, is a local intranet allowed? Would a stand-alone router with no internet (WAN) connection be acceptable?
If the restriction is to prevent radio interference in the 2.4GHz range, then maybe Z-Wave would be acceptable. If it’s about all radio frequencies, then it would seem a wired connection is the only answer.
Of course, if you want to access the hub from off site then you’ll need some way to connect it to the internet. Your options are wired, wireless, or no connection at all.
No internet, wired or wireless.
I don’t want to set up a router specifically for this as it could interfere.
So really the hub (if we speak ZigBee or zwave) needs to work without any internet.
Meaning the hub should have locally stored time and be able to send command to the bulbs to turn on based on this time.
If we talk about wifi bulbs then they need to be in AP mode and function with a time you set manually.
I noticed the Shellies say they need internet to have schedule so I guess they are out.
Can Shellies be flashed with ESP home without needing to be opened?
If yes, can ESP-Home function like this?
Obviously the time will drift and a power out will create a mess.
But the restrictions are very strict and we are not allowed to get them on the network.
Easiest course would be HA with a zigbee or zwave dongle acting as your hub. HA would need to be running on something with a battery backed clock. Clock drift might be an issue over the long term.
ESPHome/Tasmota based bulbs could theoretically do it independently. Pretty sure a schedule could be programmed, but you would need a way to set the initial time upon install and after power loss.
For the sake of simplicity, I believe HA is too much for this.
And honestly, how do so even configure HA when it doesn’t even get an IP anything.
This is why I was asking for a hub if we are talking about ZigBee/zwave.
I know tuya hub works without internet, motion sensors and such can trigger automations but can it have a schedule?
If that is an option then I could make it set time to noon at power up.
That way I only need to power cycle them at noon to get a correct-ish time every now and then, or at power loss.
The proper way to do it would be to use normal bulbs and wire these lights to the existing office on/off switch but since there is so much other electric work that needs to be done (new built wearhouse) this comes at the end of the list.
My plan is to just plug them in to an outlet and have the bulb/hub do the work, that way we could get it done much sooner.
Wouldn’t it be easier to just go with normal bulbs and install wifi relay/switch (tasmota/esphome) with scheduler enabled?
Since you only need it to turn on/off
I would go with mobile internet, phone. Set up your raspberry/similar host using mobile hotspot and install HA, automations can be done same way, or using HA app in phone. When done, close hotspot from phone. Whenever you need to configure it, fire up shared mobile wifi and HA app in phone, and do what needed
Mobile internet could work but it could cause interferens and it seems wasteful for such an application.
I don’t think paying for a mobile connection just to get NTP is really an option, that is essentially all that it will be doing past the configuration.
Sure… If we can just be sure it works in AP mode and that we can either set the time manually or have the time set at boot and we would have to power them on at a certain time and day I assume.
That is such a simple idea. I didn’t think about that.
We can get IKEAs dimmer remote and it can be binded to up to 10 bulbs.
That means we could do it all with one remote if the range is enough or we could move the remote temporarily to turn on/off the ones that are out of range.
Or perhaps even set up a few remotes to get better control.
This is probably a cheap solution that is feasible until the electrical work properly done.
Esphome does have an ap mode when it can’t connect to the wifi you’ve setup in the yaml
I’m curious about this, does direct binding still work when the zigbee coordinator is offline if the devices are just nearby?
Also,can you bind any zigbee devices, like using aqara button to toggle or dimming ikea bulbs?
