The Lightstrips choice thread

Hardware
13

@Bobby_Nobble
If you want to use those you only need a pi zero w running Hyperion to control the strip, this is controllable directly by HA, no need for the bridge.

Hm, this sounds good as well, however it’s hard to get pi zero ws here.

@derdude1893
Great, thanks!

So, it was a good idea to ask about it here, thanks guys, you provided me with a lot of really cool options, which are all much cheaper and\or less time consuming than what I initially thought about using.

1 Like
14

@Bobby_Nobble - can you elaborate on this? any links etc? I’m very interested in addressable LED strips, and I get the Hyperion and pi zero w - but how does HA handle the control?

“If you want to use those you only need a pi zero w running Hyperion to control the strip, this is controllable directly by HA, no need for the bridge.”

15

@Michael_Davydov - thanks for posting this - I’ve been in the exact same boat as you for a while and couldn’t make a decision on any led strip controllers etc - it seems there is lots of information, but not all in one spot/post - this was a good post to get some ideas from.

16

@Bobby_Nobble
similar question as vexter. I use hyperion as an ambilight on the same Pi i have OSMC and HA running, and I can use it in HA. What I did not manage to do so far is the use of effects and dimming.
Do you know a way to show a brightness switch?
Looking forward to your yaml :wink:

1 Like
17

Yes, my intention was to create a thread, which would include all ledstrip information, a go-to place if you don’t know which ledstrip to choose, etc. Maybe it will even be pinned one day :smiley:

I will add all newly discussed options to the first post later.

1 Like
18

I think I may have a slight answer to your question @derdude1893 - https://home-assistant.io/components/light.hyperion/

and here - Hyperion component

19

Exactly where i was about to point you :slight_smile:

1 Like
20

That’s too funny! @Bobby_Nobble

21

@vexter0944
Indeed I read this thread
seems i did not check it close enough tough :wink:
Ok i know how to setup the effects.

But besides the rgb panel id like to have a dimmer as well as in the picture of my hue lights,

IMG_20170331_072731.png613×681 30.2 KB

at best which runs together with virtual hue. And i would like to use transition in scripts.
Is there any way to get this going?

22

@derdude1893 - I’m not sure - I don’t have any of this equipment, so I can’t tell you unfortunately. I’d post in that thread asking the same question. Sorry I couldn’t help!

23

OK - I got this all going last night - ordered the following:

Barrel Plug Connectors: Amazon Barrel Plugs
Jumper Wires: Amazon Jumper Wires For GPIO RPI
WS2801 Led Modules: Amazon WS2801 LED Modules
4 Pin connectors: Amazon 4 Pin Connectors
30W Power Supply: Amazon Waterproof 30W Power Supply

I used a Raspberry Pi 2 I had hanging around idle and loaded Hyperion from here - Hyperion Install WIKI on a fresh LibreElec Libreelec Download installation.

I used this diagram - RPI GPIO Wiring Diagram for Hyperion/WS2801 to get everything wired up.

Once I got Hyperion installed on top of Libreelec - it was a matter of adding the Hyperion component from HA to control the box and it picked it up perfectly. Was able to turn on and off and change colors no problem at all - NEAT. But not enough :wink: I wanted the effects like I saw in @derdude1893 and @SmartValley posts - like here: Hyperion Thread

This took a while to figure out - I’ve never used an input slider, so had to figure that out and reverse engineering Bruh’s automations around the slider and the calls to the shell commands etc.

  1. You need a shell command that will take arguments - I don’t use shell - I use Powershell - lol :slight_smile: So it took me a bit to learn some basics around shell scripting, arguments and case statement - thanks for the code @hareeshmu Thread On Grandfather clock in regards to how to make the call since I couldn’t see Bruh’s shell scripts. My script looks like this:

#!/bin/bash
case $1 in
“Knight rider”)
echo ‘{ “command”: “effect”, “effect”: {“name”:“Knight rider”}, “priority”: 100 }’ | nc 192.168.2.135 19444
;;
“Police Lights Solid”)
echo ‘{ “command”: “effect”, “effect”: {“name”:“Police Lights Solid”}, “priority”: 100 }’ | nc 192.168.2.135 19444
;;
“Off”)
echo ‘{ “command”: “clear”, “priority”: 100 }’ | nc 192.168.2.135 19444
#echo ‘{ “color”: [0,0,0], “command”: “color”, “priority”: 0 }’ | nc 192.168.2.135 19444
;;
*)
echo “Sorry, I don’t understand”
;;
esac

  1. Getting the rights correct to run the shell command was also key - thanks to @carlostico here: Rights For executing shell command

  2. You need to setup each shell command for each effect: See here - Bruh

  3. You Then Need an automation per effect:

    • alias: “Knight Rider”
      trigger:

      • platform: state
        entity_id: input_select.hyperion_effect
        state: “Knight Rider”
        action:
        service: shell_command.h_knight_rider

    • alias: “Police Lights Solid”
      trigger:

      • platform: state
        entity_id: input_select.hyperion_effect
        state: “Police Lights Solid”
        action:
        service: shell_command.h_police_lights_solid

    • alias: “Off”
      trigger:

      • platform: state
        entity_id: input_select.hyperion_effect
        state: “Off”
        action:
        service: shell_command.h_off

That’s a quick and dirty write up but I hope it helps someone else out in regards to Hyperion, raspberry PI, GPIO and HASS/effects.

I’m planning on using these as led path lighting for my house - maybe changing color based on temp or time and using the effects from time to time for holidays etc.

Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone posting on here with all the help - it makes HASS great - hope I gave back a little.

3 Likes
24

@derdude1893 , btw, do you happen to know how much power MiLight box and controllers consume?

@vexter0944 great information for this thread, thanks!

1 Like
25

i dont know about the controllers, but the box is on a 500 mah 5v adapter.
controllers should be very little.

26

@Michael_Davydov - you’re quite welcome!

27

Updated the header post.

So, I’m leaning towards MiLight for my setup. Even saw them in the local store, market even, so I guess it should be easy to find them here, unlike other options like HUE.

As for Addressible strips… How does one create custom animation with Hyperion? Is it possible to control individual lights remotely somethow?

I was thinking about making something like an equalizer for music.

28

Hm, one quick question… Does anyone know, can MiLight bridge process commands fast enough for something like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKcSewGY480 Not necessarily through HASS, obviously HASS would be a huge bottleneck, but directly. I saw python milight api, but don’t know how quick it works.

29

i think it could be possible, but i wouldnt bet on it.
with my remote it reacts instantly, but i dont know how fast it really is and how fast you would like it.

30

Mhm… Well, Try clicking it very fast :smiley:
I guess I’ll have to try out :slight_smile: If it does not work as expected, well, no biggie.

With those bulbs I update them roughly every 0.1 second, if individual. And only about once a second for group update. Anything faster than that floods Hue Bridge.

31

What would you guys consider to be the best solution for a strip that is at least partially addressable (like LIFX) and RGB_W_? I like the cost-savings and flexibility of DIY solutions, but I haven’t been able to find much information about being able to control the White channel. Unfortunately, I don’t have a ton a time to experiment because I’m planning on installing a strip under my soffit (second story) while I’m fixing some ventilation issues up there and I’ll probably be renting the scaffolding in the next week or so. I’m leaning towards just using the LIFX strips but I like the idea of having the option of fully addressable strips.

32

Dear All, I’m new of home assistant.
I’m tring to create a Led Light Strip at home in particular on the ceiling.
My question is about this component:

https://www.amazon.com/Mi-Light-Controller-Receiver-Compatible-Smartphone/dp/B01N9TPFPQ/ref=pd_sim_60_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=GC9E1B32TAVWHC7EGS1Y

My idea is to use led strip with the component above and linked with the Milight WiFi Bridge Box Controller to Home Assistant, this for example:

https://www.amazon.com/Controller-iBox2-Wireless-Downlight-Compatible/dp/B01N7C3HXQ/ref=pd_bxgy_86_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=BG8AASJ1PQ91X8SGJ20D

or this:

https://www.amazon.com/Millions-Compatible-Controller-Decorative-Lighting/dp/B01KXJ3RWU/ref=sr_1_4?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1499851898&sr=1-4&keywords=mi-light+wifi+box

some one know if this combination works with HASS?

thanks