I thought I would share a work in progress. There will a write up on my blog when the installation is complete.
For some time I have wanted to put up permanent holiday lights on my house that allows me to turn on a holiday theme; Christmas, Halloween, 4th of July etc. wirelessly.
I refuse to get up on the roof in winter… to dangerous, so I wanted something that stays instaleld all year round.
I bought some RGB led strings for my dad’s 90th parade and then kept them as parts for the prototype.
note: my wife does not like blinking and running light shows. The most she can take is fading. This meant that individually addressable lights aren’t required and RGB LED strings fit the requirements and as a result lowered the costs. I found all the parts I needed on Amazon, no electronics or programming required :).
So the specs:
- Permanent water and weatherproof installation.
- RGB led strings
- Wifi control via Google home and my mobile
- Programmable fade of colors
- Mobile and wifi timer for on-off control of shows
- Google home control of main power
- Professional looking (invisible) wiring and controller
- Inexpensive as possible
- Operable, Repairable [must have apps, schematics and documentation]
The final BOM of tested parts (not all is installed yet):
4X: 300 led strings (1121 used)
[ I found a deal on Amazon that included a 300 LED light string and 12V 6a supply with a remote-controlled controller (not used) for $20.]
2x 6A power supplies (included with LED’s)
1x: junction box (Lowes)
1x Sonoff wifi relay [removes all power]
1x: Google home compatible controller [light shows from google commands]
1x: mobile access (app comes with the controller)
2x: repeaters [amplifies the controller output for scale]
3x: waterproof automotive connectors
2x: ac sockets [for wiring the 12V bricks that came with the lights]
2x: fuse and 12v indicators
2x: terminal black
1x: 100ft roll of 18ga 4 wire jacketed speaker wire
19x: mounting track sections, diffusers and assorted hardware [Al, plastic, and stainless]
Multiple cable glands
The design and fab:
Mounted in a large junction box under eves
LEDs mounted in track with
The schematic: https://www.digikey.com/schemeit/project/holiday-lights-V9U2SR85013G/
The power design spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LqshUhgPkGu3nB_FbQVgxE9UCxbBW0HrQ5p0oPpaZC4/edit?usp=sharing
The controller (wifi controller, repeaters and second-string power supply not installed yet):
Controller mounting:
The track mounting:
All the elements of the design are tested this is a running prototype section:
The prototype section running:
