Internet Access in Building

[ladymuck]

mrdo maybe something like this?

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1122...dongle:31:49:1

Hi,

I would like to be able to set some lights in my building to come on a dusk throughout the year,

From my research it seems difficult to be able to do this offline cheaply and simply.

One possible option is to have a smart plug that doesn't require a hub to turn the lights on and off but as far as I'm aware, these all require internet access which this particular area doesn't currently have.

Does anyone have any suggestions for an inexpensive way to access the internet? Was thinking of a USB PAYG dongle but I'm not sure you get such things these days that don't have a minimum monthly payment for gigs of data when all I want is probably a few kb.

Has anyone done anything similar?

[WTFH]

I think he’s going for a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
Forget internet, if you want dusk to dawn lights, just put a light sensor on the ones you want to come on. Will cost you a few £ to buy, but no ongoing costs.

[woody1]

I think he’s going for a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
Forget internet, if you want dusk to dawn lights, just put a light sensor on the ones you want to come on. Will cost you a few £ to buy, but no ongoing costs.

Exactly what I was thinking.

You can even get light bulbs with the sensor built in. 4 for 13 quid on eBay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313655688592

[WTFH]

Looks like he's been trying to do this for a while: https://forums.contractoruk.com/tech...ml#post2917905

[mrdo]

Hi all, thanks for the replies.

I should have mentioned that the lights are a combination of various form factors in a location that gets very little daylight so not sure if a sensor would work. It would also have to be a single sensor connected to multiple light sources. I'll investigate that anyway. Thanks. Hopefully any sensor could be adjusted down to handle the relative lack of daylight.

ladymuck - thanks for the link - I'd been struggling to find something like that although £5 is probably more than I'd like to spend for using a few kb of data per month.

[Snooky]

In addition to the main room lighting we have lamps on simple cheapo mechanical timers that turn on reliably at a certain time of day and off again around 11.30/midnight. Would that be a super simple option?

[WTFH]

It would also have to be a single sensor connected to multiple light sources.

Why does it have to be a single sensor?
It feels like you're trying to engineer a solution without detailing the actual problem.

1. this building - is it a home, an office, a block of flats, a prison, something else?
2. is it unoccupied for long periods of time?
3. is the reason for the lights coming on and off some sort of security?
4. are these all flush mounted ceiling lights?
5. are their plug sockets in the room(s) that you could plug free-standing lights into?

You can buy dawn/dusk sensors for light fittings that all have a "random" mode, so that it's not just every day at particular times. I feel like there's some parts of the actual problem that you're not wanting to admit to/tell us that might help in giving better answers.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Status-SHT1...dp/B07N4FK4RP/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SECURITY-sw.../dp/B01D5D0ZLC
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mydome-Ligh.../dp/B00YA95TZI

[eek]

Why does it have to be a single sensor?
It feels like you're trying to engineer a solution without detailing the actual problem.

1. this building - is it a home, an office, a block of flats, a prison, something else?
2. is it unoccupied for long periods of time?
3. is the reason for the lights coming on and off some sort of security?
4. are these all flush mounted ceiling lights?
5. are their plug sockets in the room(s) that you could plug free-standing lights into?

You can buy dawn/dusk sensors for light fittings that all have a "random" mode, so that it's not just every day at particular times. I feel like there's some parts of the actual problem that you're not wanting to admit to/tell us that might help in giving better answers.

+1 - because my go to approach for no internet would be to just buy items that are compatible with Zigbee and Matter and put Home Assistant on a Raspberry Pi.

[woody1]

It feels like you're trying to engineer a solution without detailing the actual problem.

Start with the simplest, cheapest solution. Buy a bulb with a built-in sensor, for a few quid, and see if it does the job. Only if that doesn't work, is it worth exploring more complex solutions.

[mrdo]

Thanks all - more detail required I think.

We have two light sources in the lobby of our building that I'd like to come on at 5pm in the winter (when people are starting to return from work) and then gradually later as the days get longer using sunset times or similar.

The lights themselves are powered by standard plugs via extension leads (both in different parts of the lobby so not connected) but one of the lights is mounted in the ceiling so the plug itself is in darkness 24/7 and is very difficult to access.

We currently have them running off mechanical timers but these are crudely set to turn on at 5pm throughout the year which seems a waste just now.

I had thought about the pi route due to low cost but the need to control two separate lights and the thought of possibly having to maintain one located in the ceiling are filling me with dread.