Sign in Subscribe
HomeAssistant

Simple Smart Lights: Home Assistant Automation (Perfect for Renters!)

In this tutorial, we'll set up Philips Hue bulbs with an affordable Zigbee PIR motion sensor to create the perfect automated lighting system - no wiring or permanent modifications needed.

Chuck

• 7 min read
Simple Smart Lights: Home Assistant Automation (Perfect for Renters!)

Transform your home with this simple, renter-friendly smart lighting automation using Home Assistant!

In this tutorial, we'll set up Philips Hue bulbs with an affordable Zigbee PIR motion sensor to create the perfect automated lighting system - no wiring or permanent modifications needed.

You can use any smart lightbulb I just like the Philips Hue White Ambiance as a sweet spot on features, price, and performance. I like that they pair with my Zigbee Network, strengthening it due to being powered routers, and keeping my Wi-Fi network free from congestion. Sometimes I wish I got the color ones but not too often and especially not for the price. Check Out this video from TheHookUp for a deep dive on what bulb will be right for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xk7sTe29hs

Perfect for:

  • Renters
  • Beginners
  • Quick installations

Key Features:

  • Motion-activated lighting
  • Adaptive brightness and temperature synced to the sun
  • No light switch replacement
  • Portable solution that allows you to take your automations with you when you move

Thoughts on Connectivity Types:

There are different schools of thought on wireless connectivity types for something like lights. No matter what type you decide, you should insist on local control - anything that requires an app, active internet connection, or subscription should be avoided.

Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, Matter - Oh my!

I like using Zigbee for my lights for a few reasons:

  1. Because they are connect to "mains" power - they act as a router or repeater on your Zigbee network. This is an added value to extending your Zigbee network across the whole house.
  2. Zigbee won't clog up my Wi-Fi networks when I inevitably end up with 75+ lights, sensors, plugs, and buttons on my Zigbee Network. This could be a real drain on an underpowered Wi-Fi network. Also, not worried about them becoming IOT Botnet threat actors.
  3. Great responsivity with a strong Zigbee Network.
  4. They work great together at scale with groups in Zigbee2MQTT. You can help reduce network congestion by putting multiple lights in a group to retain speedy performance without sacrificing on quantity.

I never found Z-wave to be that enticing due to less selection and higher cost.

I am trying to avoid Wi-Fi devices whenever possible - because I'll still end up with a bunch and I don't want to clog my wireless network. I have good hygine about VLANS and isolated SSID's but I still like to reduce when possible. Lights don't need high bandwidth that WiFi provides and Zigbee has been plenty responsive.

Thread / Matter are on my horizon but I honestly don't know a ton about them. I am open to them in the future and need to understand them better.

No Matter the Type of Connectivity:

Regardless if you purchase a WiFi, Zigbee, Z-Wave, or Thread connected smart bulb it is important to do your research. The color and light performance varies greatly by brand and a higher price doesn't always mean better performance. I feel like a few years ago when I started buying Philips Hue - they were at the top of the pack of performance, but lately it seems like there might be better alternatives - especially when considering price. I would caution you to do your research and avoid purchasing the cheapest ones you can find.

Looking for advice on picking a bulb? Check out TheHookUp's video on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xk7sTe29hs

More thoughts on Brand Loyalty (Philips Hue)

I got my first Hue smart bulb in 2014. I was using the Hue Hub and the Hue App, and it would be another 6 years before I first heard of HomeAssistant. At that time, Hue was one of few brands and considered to be "the good stuff". As I moved around through college, multiple apartments, multiple cities - I slowly accrued more Hue bulbs. I purchased them a few at a time, one room or fixture at a time, spread out as I found great deals on eBay, used giftcards, or cashed in workplace rewards. When moving to my current house, I stuck to the same ecosystem with the Hub and my other lights - I didn't want multiple apps to control these things.

Home Assistant changes things.

If I were to purchase lights again, I would 100% be shopping around and mix-matching brands and types.

I would suggest that if you are "retrofitting" can lights or fixtures that will stay with the house when you move - that you consider using a recognizable brand or easy to use wireless protocol and sticking to it. It's not critical but it would not make sense to need a Z-wave dongle for one room and a Zigbee Dongle for another.

Avoid mixing bulbs in the same room - if you have 4 ceiling can lights that you can place a BR30 bulb inside, use the same brand and model of light for all 4. There are differences in brightness output, clarity, color, and flicker between brands - even if you try to set the same temperatures with HomeAssistant.

Thoughts on Switch vs Relay vs Bulb:

Smart switches and relays absolutely have their place in any smart home and I personally use for lights that I don't / can't dim but still want to control remotely or automate. Specifically porch lights, outdoor spotlights, and LED fixtures that are not smart. They are a great way to save cost and control many "dumb" bulbs at one time. I even use a PIR non-wireless switch in my closet because I didn't want to change the brightness or color in there and had 4 bulbs with high-CRI already.

I don't love that both Switches and Relays can often be audibly identified when they trigger. Both Switches and Relays will require some extra effort when it comes to turning off breakers, opening wall plates without damaging paint (good luck peeling it off in an apartment without ripping/chipping the over spray!), and having to make 120v electrical connections. This last one can be greatly exasperated if your residence has non-standard wiring or the "handy-man" special that has unidentifiable wires, cramped electrical boxes, California 3-ways, or no ground.

I generally prefer relays such as a Shelly over a Smart Switch for aesthetics because they are hidden behind the switch.I don't think many smart switches are as clean as a plain rocker, and I hate the status LED's. I might not have every switch in the house made smart - and I'd like for them to match on color, texture, size, and feel.

I prefer Smart Bulbs inside when I want control over color, temperature, ability to fade in and out, and silent operation. They can get expensive when purchasing multiple.

You may desire to have smart switches with Smart bulbs for redundant control - if that is the case I would prioritize bulbs for daily automations and common use, mostly due to being silent and ability to fade in and out.

Amazon Affiliate Links, I get a small commission if you decide to purchase with my link.

Philips Hue Bulbs

Motion Sensors

Other Components

💸
I like to shop for Hue Bulbs on Ebay and Aqara motion sensors on AliExpress. Both take longer but can be much cheaper if you plan ahead.

If you end up using Ebay, consider using Rakuten which gives you cash back on your purchases: https://www.rakuten.com/r/CHARLE36452?eeid=45830

Using my link will earn me a bonus but I've honestly been using them for years and have nearly $275 in cash back from them.

Node Red Importable JSON:

[{"id":"43e9f3e45dc3f0c8","type":"comment","z":"60e8bc6899ec02ee","name":"Coffee Pantry Light Motion ","info":"","x":150,"y":4540,"wires":[]},{"id":"a51c1508a286040f","type":"server-state-changed","z":"60e8bc6899ec02ee","name":"Coffee Pantry Lights Motion Sensor","server":"10047add.4e6325","version":6,"outputs":1,"exposeAsEntityConfig":"","entities":{"entity":["binary_sensor.coffeepantrymotion_occupancy"],"substring":[],"regex":[]},"outputInitially":false,"stateType":"str","ifState":"","ifStateType":"str","ifStateOperator":"is","outputOnlyOnStateChange":true,"for":"0","forType":"num","forUnits":"minutes","ignorePrevStateNull":false,"ignorePrevStateUnknown":false,"ignorePrevStateUnavailable":false,"ignoreCurrentStateUnknown":false,"ignoreCurrentStateUnavailable":false,"outputProperties":[{"property":"payload","propertyType":"msg","value":"","valueType":"entityState"},{"property":"data","propertyType":"msg","value":"","valueType":"eventData"},{"property":"topic","propertyType":"msg","value":"","valueType":"triggerId"}],"x":200,"y":4620,"wires":[["e663cb931e126df3"]]},{"id":"e663cb931e126df3","type":"switch","z":"60e8bc6899ec02ee","name":"","property":"payload","propertyType":"msg","rules":[{"t":"eq","v":"on","vt":"str"},{"t":"eq","v":"off","vt":"str"}],"checkall":"true","repair":false,"outputs":2,"x":490,"y":4620,"wires":[["9b61ed422308871a"],["117c6b5b3e61f02c"]]},{"id":"9b61ed422308871a","type":"api-call-service","z":"60e8bc6899ec02ee","name":"Turn on Coffee Pantry Lights","server":"10047add.4e6325","version":7,"debugenabled":false,"action":"light.turn_on","floorId":[],"areaId":[],"deviceId":[],"entityId":["light.coffeepantrylights"],"labelId":[],"data":"","dataType":"jsonata","mergeContext":"","mustacheAltTags":false,"outputProperties":[],"queue":"none","blockInputOverrides":true,"domain":"light","service":"turn_on","x":780,"y":4560,"wires":[[]]},{"id":"3fe5bb2889c3e71c","type":"api-call-service","z":"60e8bc6899ec02ee","name":"Turn off Coffee Pantry Lights","server":"10047add.4e6325","version":7,"debugenabled":false,"action":"light.turn_off","floorId":[],"areaId":[],"deviceId":[],"entityId":["light.coffeepantrylights"],"labelId":[],"data":"","dataType":"jsonata","mergeContext":"","mustacheAltTags":false,"outputProperties":[],"queue":"none","blockInputOverrides":true,"domain":"light","service":"turn_off","x":940,"y":4680,"wires":[[]]},{"id":"117c6b5b3e61f02c","type":"trigger","z":"60e8bc6899ec02ee","name":"","op1":"","op2":"off","op1type":"nul","op2type":"str","duration":"1","extend":false,"overrideDelay":false,"units":"min","reset":"","bytopic":"all","topic":"topic","outputs":1,"x":650,"y":4680,"wires":[["3fe5bb2889c3e71c"]]},{"id":"10047add.4e6325","type":"server","name":"Home Assistant","version":5,"addon":true,"rejectUnauthorizedCerts":true,"ha_boolean":"y|yes|true|on|home|open","connectionDelay":true,"cacheJson":true,"heartbeat":true,"heartbeatInterval":"30","areaSelector":"friendlyName","deviceSelector":"friendlyName","entitySelector":"friendlyName","statusSeparator":"at: ","statusYear":"hidden","statusMonth":"short","statusDay":"numeric","statusHourCycle":"h23","statusTimeFormat":"h:m","enableGlobalContextStore":true}]

Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:49 - Overview 1:18 - Replace Bulbs 1:51 - Pairing Bulbs to HomeAssistant 2:08 - Zigbee2MQTT 2:27 - Zigbee Groups for better performance 2:56 - Adaptive Lighting 3:28 - Connect Motion Sensor to Zigbee2MQTT 4:09 - Node Red 4:46 - Node Red: Event State Node 5:08 - Node Red: Switch Node 5:26 - Node Red: Action Node 6:29 - Node Red: Trigger Node 8:07 - Motion Sensor Tuning 9:09 - Result 9:30 - More about Motion sensors 10:25 - More about Bulbshttps://www.youtube.com/embed/GUpzzr7HVkA

Sign up for more like this.

Enter your email
Subscribe
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions