Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask.
I have an 80w CCT LED light fitting it has and RF controlled LED driver. I really want to replace it with an ESPHome compatible driver.
This is the wrong place! Thats just unacceptable to ask that in here and especially on my birthday! You trying to ruin my birthday, sir!?
Seeing how were in the holiday season and all and you probably didnt crash my b-day on purpose… I think we can give you a pass this time! ; )
Constant Current led’s are not my strong area and i tend to use Constant Voltage led’s just because they’ve easier to control but, thats just my opinion…
I have seen some esp based CC led drivers in rhe past but, couldn’t find them right now. Even if i was able to, the specifications on your existing led/driver require a fair bit more than the average CC drivers that use 12/24v so, even if i could find the few esp based drivers, i have a feeling they wouldn’t work here anyway but, your welcome to go look too. Just make sure it meets or better yet exceeds the minimum power ratings the old one specify.
That 45-53VDC Output is a harder one to find but, ill link to one I found that will work when added with something like a Shelly dimmer or a DIY build if thats your cup of tea.
So, controlling CC leds with an esp board is more complicated than CV led’s because CV are dimmed by using PWM on the voltage and PWM is something an esp can do. CC on the other hand is dimmed by adjusting the current(amps) and its voltage stays static. Its not as easy to regulate current with an esp board.
To solve this inconvenience, a lot of CC led driver manufacturers incorporate a feature called 0-10v dimming and this allows you to control/dim the light with a PLC/microcontroller through those 0-10v inputs, which is much easier to accomplish with an esp than regulating the current.
So, 0-10v would be like if you send 0v to it, that would be the equivalent of Off and 5v would be 50% brightness, 10v would be 100% brightness and thats how you dim the lights.
Depending on how you want to do this, you could DIY something with an esp to send 0-10v or you could simplify buy something like a Shelly 0-10v dimmer which the Shelly has an esp32 inside. It doesnt come stock with esphome but, HA has a Shelly integration or you can flash it with esphome which Shelly makes it easy for people to do and they provide instructions on their website.
I get that this option doesn’t have RF and a remote as well but, im doing my best here man. If thats something you just cant live without, it can be done as well. Im not sure what the best method would be ATM, it kind of depends on whether your a DIY person or you only do store bought…
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Happy Birthday sir. Thank you for taking the time to reply with such a detailed reply. I appreciate it. Thanks for the links I’ll check it out. I really don’t want the RF control, becomes obsolete if the device was WIFI.
I have been spending weeks trying to find a smart solution to replace this unit but retain the functionality.
I’m thinking of modifying my led boards so they are 24v sections and add a current limiting resistor to each section so I can use a wifi constant voltage controller and a 24 volt LED driver.
To me that sounds like the last option if anything else can’t be done.
How is the RF receiver on your driver?
Ya… That seems like a bad idea to me too and your probably more likely to damage or destroy them by trying to convert them like that. There’s a reason people dont do that and just swap out the lights…
My previous post was a detailed explanation of how to make them smart and integrate them into Homeassistant.