I’m looking to integrate some reasonably priced LED strip lighting into my setup.
The 2 areas I would like are behind the TV as backlighting and under the kitchen cupboards. (yeah, cliché and overdone I know!)
I currently have a very (very) cheap set plugged into the TV USB port and so they are always on, not so much a problem I know…but id like to be able to at a minimum control when they are on and off. Wi-Fi controller seems a bit overkill for this, as the TV is right next to the Pi3 running home assistant (installed by virtual env.)
I was thinking something like this but given I can’t get the RF component to work im in 2 minds…
Has anyone got any ideas / alternatives / their own means of doing this?
Now onto the kitchen cupboard lights, this will need to be WiFi controlled, but im really looking for any alternative to a Wi-Fi controller as ive had troubles with the one i have
For my kitchen units I went for a Sonoff S20 (£8) flashed with Tasmota (free, though slightly fiddly to flash wirelessly) plus a random LED strip (£7) plus power supply (£9)
If you don’t have a plug socket to power them then use a Sonoff Basic (£5)
it seems that you (like many others) got the feeling that LED lights and LED controllers are 1 and the same.
a LED strip is a LED strip. nothing more then your lightbulb.
you cant control the bulb, but you can get them in all kind of colors and all kind of qualities, for all kind of prices.
second you have the part where you put in the bulb and the switch tht is connected to that.
thats just an electronic part that has a few options:
manual controlled
IR controlled
RF controlled
wifi controlled
you can get al those parts as complete built, or you can create them yourself.
and then you can combine those things.
a cheap RF switch for on and off, controlling an IR controller that comes cheap with a cheap LED strip for example.
want to control a little more (like color) through HA?
then in almost all cases you need something in between.
a limitless hub that HA controls and the hub controls the light
a broadlink that sends IR commands to the IR controller.
i dont know of any light controller that can be controlled directly.
you need 1 of these things:
a rf sender
an ir sender
a wifi controller
depending on your situation (money, walls, space, etc) they all have their advantages and disadvantages.
i have the simple limetless leds solution for my cupboards. cheap, restricted in possibilities and 99% reliable.
If you still have the MagicHome controller, you can try to reflash it with Tasmota. I got a H801 led controller (very similar hardware), flashed with Tasmota and never failed a single command in over 1 month.
Cheapest Option ive found was -
A Cheap RGB Led strip Max £10
H801 with custom firmware(free) - £8
Random 12v power supply 3Amps+ - £5
£23 - Pretty Good For 5Meters
depends.
i can control RF and IR already
and a complete set with remote can be bought on amazon for 8 to 12 euro incl. power supply (dont expect top quality, but a cheap lightstrip usually isnt) and i can easy find at least 6 or 7 from that.
so thats £7 to £10 (and i dont even have to order from china)
thanks for your input, but im not confused. I understand the difference between the strips (just the lights) and the controllers (means to control and manipulate them)
what I meant in the OP was I don’t really need full RGB control over the strip behind the TV, a simple on/off would suffice, which I can do via RF.
for my kitchen I planned on using an LED strip connected to a wifi controller to give me full control.
but the MagicHome controller I have appears to have failed.
which limitless led devices do you use?
my current set up includes a couple of mi-light bulbs and the bridge
I once read that there is almost no way to “brick” an ESP in software, so unless there is a hardware failure you should be able to reflash it. If you have a programmer it’s a 10 minute job, it could be worth trying.
If the form factor of the board is different it is only a matter to find the right connections for the programmer, basically if they use the ESP 8266 they are all the same stuff.
