I purchased the VeraLite (UI7) along with several appliance module switches, and an illumination sensor.
I have the sensor detected and it shows up in the device list.
I am quite confused about how to integrate this sensor properly. I’ve searched through the forums and FAQs, but nothing jumps out as a sequence of steps I need to follow.
As I understand it, the illumination sensor must be configured to turn on when the light falls below a certain lux level, and turn off when lux level is high enough. I believe I have done that (on at lux level 20; off at lux level 300). Not sure if those are proper levels, but I can always experiment once I get it working.
I guess my next step is to create a scene with a trigger - the trigger being when the illumination sensor turns on. When that happens, I will turn a set of lights on.
I also then need to create another scene with a trigger - this time when the illumination sensor turns off. That will be used to turn the set of lights off.
Assuming this is the proper way to go about this, I would then want to extend it so I can turn the lights off after 11:00 PM (even though the illumination sensor will still be “on”). Perhaps an expert will be able to guide me on that part.
Kind regards, and my apologies for the confused deer-in-the-lights look.
First off, have a look at Creating Scenes for an overview of the process.
Your lights-off scene can have multiple triggers. One could be the illumination sensor turning off. The other could be a schedule that fires at 23:00. When you have more than one trigger for a scene, any one can cause it to run regardless of the state of the others.
When you eventually want more complex conditions for your scenes (and you will ), have a look at Conditional Scene Execution.
@RexBeckett: Thanks! The “Creating Scenes” page looks quite different than my screen - is that because I am on UI7?
Also, my Illumination Sensor shows 0 lux right now - in a living room with a couple of table lamps lit. When I move the sensor right under either lamp, the lux level goes to around 600. I would have assumed that the lux level reading would show something much higher than 0 when placed away from the lamps. When I move it close to the lamp, but not right under it, I get around 60 lux.
Does this indicate a faulty sensor? I am concerned that the light level reading will be so low that the trigger will always be “ON”.
OK! I created a trigger. To test it out, I moved the sensor right under a lit lamp (it showed about 1000 lux). I assumed that the trigger (set to illumination sensor “ON”) would cause the light to go on. That did not happen.
I then added a trigger to turn the light off (new scene). Covered up the sensor so it would read 0 lux. I expected that the light I was controlling would go off. That did not happen.
So, I am wondering if I am missing a step here. How exactly does the illumination sensor communicate with the VeraLite? I read something in the documentation about the sensor sending something to Grouping 1 or 2. Do I need to configure something that I have missed?
The "Creating Scenes" page looks quite different than my screen - is that because I am on UI7?
Yes the UI7 scene editor is different although the principle is the same. Unfortunately there are some features missing from the current version of UI7 that limit what you can do with scenes.
It would help if you tell us the make and model of your sensor.
So, I am wondering if I am missing a step here. How exactly does the illumination sensor communicate with the VeraLite? I read something in the documentation about the sensor sending something to Grouping 1 or 2. Do I need to configure something that I have missed?
Have you added the sensor to Vera? Does it appear on the UI? Does the UI show it switch when you change the illumination level?
The part about Groups is used when you directly associate one Z-Wave device with another. This allows a sensor to control a switch or dimmer without the commands passing through Vera. This can be useful when you want very rapid response but it lacks any means to add conditional logic and timers. It is usually better to use Vera scenes or plugins to connect device actions to triggers.
The status on the UI should follow the state of the sensor quite quickly. It may be that there is a problem with UI7 support for this sensor. Perhaps another member will tell us whether they have got one working. Also you could try sending an email to support@getvera.com to ask them to confirm it should be supported on UI7.
Many of us time our lighting by reference to sunset/sunrise rather than use a light sensor. This is usually reliable and you don’t need to change the sun’s batteries. Scene schedules can be set based on sunset and sunrise as well as fixed times. The DayorNight plugin allows offsets to be applied to sunset and sunrise times so that a simple Day or Night trigger can be used in scenes or other logic.
I can also see using the day/night plugin to trigger events and will try that out instead of the illumination sensor (hopefully I won’t have to return it).
I have the sensor and UI5. On the sensor, what it reports depends on what you have it set for. I attached a chart that shows the settings. Basically, the lux trigger on, off, and trigger timer values are for a device that you directly associate to the sensor. I only have mine triggering scenes in Vera. I don’t have anything directly associated to the sensor. So my values are all 0 except for parameter 6. The minimum difference in lux it will report is 30. I have mine set to 30.
In Vera, as a trigger for my lights I have it set so that when the reported lux falls below 100, things in that scene activate. I also have another scene to deactivate those items when it becomes bright out again.
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