Hey all Just getting started on some smart home stuff - I’m looking to get some strip lighting and there is a lot of stuff out there and honestly I’m not sure what I should get. Ideally it would be RGB but I’m OK with white/warm light.

The ZBT-2 can do both ZigBee and Thread, and I haven’t got any pre-existing devices so I can go either of those.

I thought about getting some IKEA lighting because I believe they use Thread now?

What’s the prevailing wisdom out there?

  • whaleross@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    1 day ago

    I believe it can do either Zigbee or Thread, not both simultaneously, just for your information. And I’ve got the impression that IKEA is going all in on Thread and while some devices can still be programmed for Zigbee, it’s spotty and not guaranteed and will probably be phased out entirely eventually. Starting from scratch today I’d say go with Thread unless you have a very good reason to do Zigbee.

  • MuttMutt@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    22 hours ago

    I build my own using ESP32’s, WS2812B RGB Strips and WLED. Drop the controller into a small hobby box and add a power supply and it’s of to the races.

    https://kno.wled.ge/ https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/wled/

    My front porch has a little over 1500 LED’s wrapped around it. I built my own RGB LED backlit address numbers. And I’m working on a project that lights up my stairs. I’ve made a few other things and have ideas for a bunch more.

    There is no support for zigbee, matter, or thread. But what can be done with it is well beyond anything else I’ve seen.

    https://wled.discourse.group/t/wled-equipped-address-numbers/15217 is my address numbers in a short video.

    https://wled.discourse.group/t/fully-fledged-staircase-implementation/2182 is the stair implementation I’m going to use for my own.

    • Matty_r@programming.devOPEnglish
      1·
      17 hours ago

      Very cool, just had a look at a WS2812B and an ESP32 - seems like it’d be reasonably priced. I think I’ll go down this route.

      I’m away from my computer at the moment, but I’ll read into this a bit more and see how achievable it is.

      Thanks for this

      • MuttMutt@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        16 hours ago

        No problem. Just remember it gets addictive. I stick led strips and strings in a ton of stuff. My other half bought a wire work Christmas deer that had old incandescent lights in it and I threw some RGB string lights with WLED. She bought a metal star with little cutouts in it and I mounted it to a board and stuck some RGB’s in it as well. Took a piece of scrap OSB and printed Merry Christmas off in big letters then drilled holes at regular intervals to put a bunch of the individual pixels from a string of RGB’s into as well.

        My intention is to eventually put strips in nearly every room in the house and install them outside as well. That way when I want a different color than white I can just change it with the LED’s.

        I’m planning to create a huge Christmas display that can play short videos and graphics on to setup where our city does a display each year. And at some point I’m going to pitch them letting me upgrade the Christmas decorations with WLED and RGB strings. Then with a couple AP’s strategically placed in can setup a synchronized light show.

        Like I said WLED is amazing.

          • MuttMutt@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            6 hours ago

            Just because it has thread support doesn’t mean it will work. Both the hardware and software have to support it. Research it before you buy.

  • SayCyberOnceMore@feddit.ukEnglish
    3·
    23 hours ago

    I’d say try to push for Thread, but be ready to fall back to Zigbee

    Not sure on the scale of your strip lighting, but I have a small length (gigity) under a waal mounted kitchen cupboard which is connected to a zigbee socket. That allows me to extend the range for some other zigbee devices… so… if you’re wanting to get more devices connected in the future, that might be worth considering.

  • kiddy@piefed.zipEnglish
    2·
    23 hours ago

    The cheapest is probably a generic rgb strip (non addressable led) and a generic thread / zigbee controller (prefer thread if possible).

    Things to pay attention to: led distance, diffuser and frequency of PWM.

    • pwm is easy: higher speed is better, lower tends to flicker
    • distance & diffuser: depends on placement. Best advise: check it out in a store, you will see the difference.
    • controller: any zigbee / matter over thread will do. as a beginner: stay away from wifi-only. high pwm frequency is better.

    If you have more money and want it to just work: Go with Philips Hue. Super expensive, but will just work flickerfree.

    So my advise: get a tiny (but expensive) strip from philips hue as gold master what is possible, then compare with it and downgrade from there. Start with one or two expensive (but privacy preserving) that works and get into diy later