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$30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

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Re: $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

#151

I just want to share that these are by far the best home automation you can have. I love my smart lights, hacked together smart humidifier, smart fans (the vornado dc fans with outlet switches), intake air pump, and air quality monitoring. But nothing has the quality of life impact of smart blinds. It’s the best, and probably only, way to reliably keep your sleep schedule in sync. Smart lightbulbs - four of the brigh…

any chance you have a smart dehumidifier?

Re: $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

#152
post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indoor lighting is about two orders of magnitude dimmer, you’d need 1kW/m*2 (100W/sqft) to emulate a cloudless day at noon, so 20kW just to light up your living room, not accounting for LED losses.

You can get away with less because a good part of the power is outside the visible range.

Apparently 42% is visible! Less than I expected.

So around 470 W/m2 visible radiation.

Re: $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

#153
post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's just something about waking up to actual sunlight (even filtered through clouds) that no amount of artificial brightness can replicate. It's like your brain knows the difference.

Indoor lighting is about two orders of magnitude dimmer, you’d need 1kW/m*2 (100W/sqft) to emulate a cloudless day at noon, so 20kW just to light up your living room, not accounting for LED losses.

No wonder a walk outside wakes you up better than a pot of coffee

Re: $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

#154
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you've ever encountered German rolladen you'll forget all about awnings.

Awnings are, IMO strictly better than those: - You never have to move them - In the summer (when the sun is higher) it blocks out lots of sun - In the winter (when the sun is lower) it lets in more sun

Rolladen are superior because they can actually block 99.999999% of light when you want to watch a movie during a bright summer day or want to adjust your sleep schedule before travel.

Re: $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

#155

I just want to share that these are by far the best home automation you can have. I love my smart lights, hacked together smart humidifier, smart fans (the vornado dc fans with outlet switches), intake air pump, and air quality monitoring. But nothing has the quality of life impact of smart blinds. It’s the best, and probably only, way to reliably keep your sleep schedule in sync. Smart lightbulbs - four of the brigh…

There's a whole science of how natural sunlight differs from leds (and its biological effect) and how to recreate it. I believe SAD lights try to replicate sunlight, but generally modern LEDs, even "warm" ones are missing key wavelengths and have a different profile from sun/sky light. There are now LEDs much closer to real sunlight, but they are also more expensive (though arguable not more so than knocking out more…

Do "sunlight" LEDs even make sense? Why not use incandescents - they aren't inefficient if the IR spectrum is part of what you want.
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