How to set up Grid Connect chicken coop lighting automation?

[craigricker]

I have installed an Arlec 5m LED strip lighting kit into a new chicken coop/run i've created.

I wish to be able to program the lighting so it provides 16 hours of lighting to the chickens.

This equates to actually coming on to provide the additional hours of light in the morning until sunrise.

Basically I need the following automation:

1. 16 hours before sunset come on

2. 30 minutes after sunrise turn off

However there is only an option in the app to do '5 hours before sunset'.

Can anyone see another way to do this?

[Jason]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @craigricker. We're pleased to have you join us and look forward to reading more about all your projects and plans for around the house and garden.

Let me tag one of our community's experts in automation for you to kick off this discussion: @CSParnell.

Perhaps you might also like to hit the Share a project button and share your chicken coop with other members. We'd love to see what you have built.

Thanks,

Jason

[EricL]

Hello @craigricker 

Have you considered just using the timer function? By using the on and off feature you'll have a fixed set time for it to turn off and on. 

If for example, you were to set the turn on timer at 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon the LED lights will stay on from that time until the following day. On the condition that the typical sunrise occurs at 6:00 a.m. you can set the off timer to 5:30 a.m. which is 30 minutes before sunrise. That would provide you with your 15 1/2-hour window where the LEDs are on. This would mean that the LED lights would be off from 5:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon then the cycle repeats itself.

The type of timer function (schedule, cycle or countdown) should allow you to set this event to happen every day. 

Here is the link to the Grid Connect Timer Settings Function: Setting Timers  

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[craigricker]

Thanks for the thoughts but think you might of misunderstood my intentions. 16 hours is to include the natural daylight during the day. Hence it needs to be 16 hours back from sunset.

example. Mid winter July in Canberra. Might mean daylight is 7:15am-5:15pm. So the lights should come on 1:15am to provide the total 16hours of light to the chickens.

In the shoulder seasons it’d be more like 3:15am.

I’m looking for automation adapting with the sunset.

[CSParnell]

Hey @craigricker and @Jason the best way around this is to set 2 separate automations 1 for on time and another for off time.

Eg.

Scene 1.

Trigger 5.00am

Action LED on

Scene 2

Trigger 21.00pm 

Action LED off

 

 

[EricL]

Hi @craigricker 

It's great that you've received excellent advice from @CSParnell. Just to add to the suggestions made, I saw this tutorial on Grid Connect - How to Automate Your Devices. At the bottom of the page is a video that shows you how to schedule the on and off function of your device that is linked to the weather. It also takes into account your wish to offset the alarm by the number of minutes that you want.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[CSParnell]

Thanks for that @EricL I had not seen that offset before, I am slowly moving over to Smart Life App just because it integrates into Home Assistant with all the Grid Connect, Tuya, Mirabella devices it has some different features that GC leaves out. 

And then Home Assistant is just next level bringing every device with an IP address under the 1 umbrella and connecting them and integrating them together. 

[craigricker]

The sunset scheduling doesn’t allow me to select 16 hours before sunset so not sure how I can automate this without having to go to home assistant.

looks like that’s my only option. 

 

[craigricker]

Im aware I need two automations but to do this properly with it actually being automatic I need it to adapt to the lengthening and shortening of days through the seasons. Hence

1. 16 hours before sunset. Turn on 

2. 1 hours after sunrise turn off.

The lighting is only proving extra pre sunrise lighting allowing for 16 hours, no more no less light for the birds when including the actual real sunlight hours.

I don’t want to have to manually modify an automation timer to mimic what 16 hours before sunset is. Automation should be set and forget. 

[CSParnell]

@craigricker then use @EricL suggestion of weather and sunset and sunrise with offset as this will change to the local conditions. But you are going to be limited to 5hrs either side for an offset.

But with your 16hrs before sunset I'm a little confused there at the moment in QLD the sun comes up at 6am and sets at 6pm that's a 12hr window, setting a 16hrs offset puts it back to 2am and then turn off at 1hr after sun rise so at 7am so you won't the light on between 2am and 7am for instance if I am reading that right? 

Can you not trigger both off the sunrise and offset before and after?