We’ve all been there: you wake up in the middle of the night to get a drink or make a trip to the bathroom, but you end up kicking a table or dresser. Of course, you can invest in a traditional nightlight, but there may not be an electrical outlet where you need it, and leaving the light on all night isn’t cost-effective or helpful for sleep.
But there is a solution. Smart lights and sensors can help solve these problems. With a variety of lighting types and functions, these tips make it easy to set up a guiding light to save your toes and your sanity. Here’s everything you need to know about using smart lights at night.
Use a contact sensor on the door
By placing a contact sensor on doors, windows, drawers and more, you can automate smart devices when they are opened.
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Contact sensors consist of two parts that attach to a door and its frame and activate when the two parts separate. You can then connect your sensor to a smart bulb and program it to turn on when activated.
There are many types of sensors, including this one Aeotec SmartThings multifunctional sensorthat offers sensing functions such as temperature, motion, light and vibration. However, to avoid kicking furniture at night, you can use a simple contact sensor like this one ThirdReality it will work.
If you’re not sure how to set up your smart home, be sure to check out our guide for beginners.
With smart bulbs you can take full advantage of the big, bright light and a dimly lit, warm glow.
I like to use contact sensors to turn on lights at night because they are less likely to be accidentally activated, as a motion sensor might be when a pet walks by.
To use a contact sensor for your nighttime excursions, create a routine in your smart home platform of choice. Whether that is the case Amazon, Googling, Apple or another platform, your situation may not match mine. Mine smart light turns on in my bathroom at 2% brightness in a warm shade when my contact sensor recognizes that I have opened the bathroom door. The light remains on for 10 minutes and then turns off automatically.
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Motion sensors
Motion sensors are great for automating lights turning on when you walk into a room and turning off when you leave.
While I prefer contact sensors to automate lighting in many situations depending on the location, sometimes that is not the best solution, such as in a hallway. As with contact sensors, motion sensors can trigger automations when triggered. But in this case, as you may have guessed, it’s motion that creates the automation rather than the opening of a door.
I use these devices at night by connecting the two motion sensors at each end of my hallway and one in the kitchen to turn on the lights in those areas. As with the contact sensor automation, I only turn on the lights with a maximum brightness of 2% and a warm tone when the sensor detects movement. But instead of turning the lights off after a certain amount of time, I use movement as an indicator of when to turn the lights off.
The lights only turn off when the sensors have not detected any movement for five minutes. I use the same process for normal daylight lighting when connected to motion sensors.
Save the toes!
Ikea’s smart lighting range includes various light strips, such as the Silverglans.
These smart sensors and lights have kept me from hurting my feet and waking my family more times than I can count. I like to use devices I already have at home to solve these types of problems. While I have a motion detecting light strip or light bar to install, that would be another device to manage when I already have several useful solutions at hand.
Additionally, smart lights can be useful in several other ways throughout the home help you save money about energy costs to help you wake up naturally. Adding these useful devices to your home gives you flexibility and customization in lighting that regular light bulbs can’t provide, and also helps prevent nighttime injuries.