How-To

Need a HomeKit sensor and light strip for a closet? Here are some suggestions.

On our most recent IoT Podcast episode, Michael called in to our voicemail hotline with a closet question. More specifically, he’s looking for a HomeKit solution to enable light strips in his closets. The idea is to have the light strips turn on when he opens the door, and Michael is looking for some sensor and light strip suggestions.

Stacey and have both implemented similar solutions and have some ideas. Stacey’s first thought is to go with Philips Hue light strips — an $80 investment for 80-inches of color or white lights — and its $39 motion sensors. To use these together, you would need a Philips Hue bridge as well. If you don’t have one, that’ll be another $59.99 but one can support up to 50 lights. Philips Hue has committed to Thread Matter support, so this gear is somewhat future-proofed.

Image courtesy Philips Hue

I automated one of our closet lights and can recommend a less expensive option if Michael doesn’t already have any Philips Hue gear. There are a bunch of HomeKit compatible lights strips on the market to choose from and any of them will work with a HomeKit door/window sensor.

For the sensor choice, I’d suggest the Eve Door/Window sensor, which is the same price as a Philips Hue motion sensor. Eve is already on board the Thread train, so you have support for the next-generation Matter smart home protocol.

In terms of smart light strips, Eve offers one for $80 and LIFX has one for $90, You can save money with the $35 Meross light strips or Nanoleaf’s $40 option. Prices will vary based on the length of the strip as well as due to differing features: white vs color, all one color or color gradient support, etc…

Any of these will work but I’m a little partial to the Nanoleaf choice because smart lights are all they do, and they’ve been making great products for a long time. But again, any HomeKit supported smart lights will light up that closet.

Image courtesy Nanoleaf

Regardless of the sensor and light choices, once you have the gear, it’s just a matter of setting up HomeKit automations to turn the lights on or off depending on what the sensor status is. So no more walking into dark, scary closets or leaving the lights on when you leave the space.

To hear Michael’s question in full, as well as our discussion on the topic, tune in to the IoT Podcast below:

Kevin C. Tofel

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Kevin C. Tofel

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