Addressable LED Strips / WLED / Zwave / Homeseer

[jchomeauto]

Hi,

I am researching how to control addressable LEDs strips using homeseer.

I am reading about something called WLED which looks like a protocol to control addressable LEDs.

And found a homeseer plug-in called mcsMQTT that supports WLED.

My question is what is the common approach used to control LED strips from homeseer? What physical device control interface is connected to ones homeseer server that connects to the addressable LED strips and what protocol (mcsMQTT/WLED?) is used by homeseer to send the commands?

Thank you for your help.

[Guest]

Led strip--controller+WLED--MQTT--MCSMQTT--Homeseer.

Controller Info:

https://kno.wled.ge/basics/compatible-hardware/

General info

https://kno.wled.ge/

[jchomeauto]

Awesome. Thank you, that is what I needed.

Follow up question, as there are 31 controllers listed, does anyone have experience with anyone in particular that they would recommend?

[Guest]

For short runs, with first led close to the controller, I use the D1mini. For more complex/ longer runs the ESP32 (Wemos32U)+ Level shifter is better suited. If you don't like soldering/DIY, go with the prebuilt options.

[mulu]

I use a custom PCB that is powered by a 12V PSU. Dimming is done via an Arduino board using the Arduino plugin. The LEDs are not individually addressable (you need 2812(B)/2813/2815 or similar LEDs for that). I did purchase a z-wave LED controller but it only can handle very thin wires which didn't work out for me (I am using 12AWG wires, a bit overkill but I have longer runs).

[ksum]

Awesome. Thank you, that is what I needed.

Follow up question, as there are 31 controllers listed, does anyone have experience with anyone in particular that they would recommend?

What are you looking to do? I have a few Wemos D1 Mini knockoffs doing different things with WLED. From controlling 260 lights along my roof to just a couple on things inside.

For larger runs like my roof I have a power supply, relay controlling power to the LEDs, fuses, and a second D1 Mini to control "ground effects" which might be a couple lights in a planter or another 150+ at Christmas. Outside everything is pixels as the strip lights don't handle changing temperature well. As in 90+F in the summer and almost 0 at our extreme winters. If you are putting them outside and have any kind of temperature swing, do not use strip lights.

For a small runs, like for a shelf with 30 lights, I have a strip running completely off a D1 Mini plugged into a phone charger. I even have a momentary switch to allow for local On/Off control. The LEDs are connected directly to pins on the D1 Mini for power and control.

All my LEDs are 5v. Power injection is something needed for longer runs. This is a function of the number of LEDs and their voltage. I Inject at every 100 LEDs.

[ecetron]

I went a two different routes -- one I just used a very robust Tuya compatible controller that came with the customized strips. Then the Tuya Plugin. Simple and very quick. I also used the Zooz LED controller (Zen 31) for the other. The Tuya version I needed for a situation where I needed to build custom strip scenes (like Purple - Gold - Green cycling for Mardi Gras) and I used the Zen 31 for native Z-wave precision control of lighting and color.... Both were very quick and did not require more complicated plugins...

[lj502]

I have a number of setups using esp8266 and esp32 boards (just power, ground, and one gpio) super simple to flash WLED over the web with only a usb cable and done. Its really the best out there for addressable led strips, only thing to stress about is injecting power where needed for long runs.
I found these and just ordered one to test, looks like a nice controller for price, was 6.50 to ship, ships form USA also, we'll see I guess.

https://www.athom.tech/blank-1/wled-...rip-controller