LEDs are such versatile components that come in various form factors and are used in countless everyday items. Makers constantly find fun and unique ways to make use of LEDs, such as giving eyes to a robot companion, implementing mood lights, and creating simple interactive LED displays or games.
What is an LED?
As with other our blogs, we can’t dive into the main story without first explaining what an LED is. LED stands for Light-Emitting Diode. Electric current passes through this semiconductor device and emits light. The most popular types of LEDs among Makers are through-hole and Surface Mount Device (SMD). Through-hole LEDs are individual diodes with long legs that allow you to connect them to various projects. SMD LEDs are usually multiple diodes on a single board or strip. LEDs can provide various benefits such as lower power consumption, adjustable brightness, and, depending on the LED, the ability to change colours.
LED Tree Project by Stephen
This post looks at a fun LED project created by Stephen, a friend of ours and fellow DIYer. Stephen is a Maker who has done many projects related to LEDs and home automation. The LED tree project is made with an ESP32-CAM (without the camera), adjustable switch mode buck converters, WS2812B addressable LEDs, and a box he designed in Tinkercad and printed in ABS. Let’s hear from Stephen about his fun build:
The LED controller consists of an ESP32-CAM (without the camera) and two adjustable switch mode buck converters to bring the input voltage down from 12V to 5V. I used two converters to supply enough current to the LEDs. But ultimately, I had to limit their current consumption in their software as well.
I designed a simple electronics box in Tinkercad and printed it out of ABS. Once assembled, I gave it three layers of paint to help keep it waterproof.
I salvaged three 5-meter strips of WS2812B addressable LEDs, and one 10-meter strip. These are addressable LEDs I resoldered onto copper wire as BNETA Smart fairylights. The controller is really good out of the box, but the consumer software and features were really limited.
All four led strips are driven by separate GPIOS and set up as individual segments in WLED, the open-source software of choice. Hours were spent messing with the dozens of effects. I created a playlist of the top effects and cycled through. The tree is turned on at sunset and off at sunrise through automations in Home Assistant.
Home Automation
As we mentioned, Stephen is not a newcomer to the world of LEDs and home automation. His whole house has become an ongoing project in automation. Here are some of the projects he has done.
- Home assistant
- Gate automation
- Automated alarm system
- Geyser timer
- Veggie garden automation
- Automated coffee machine
- Various automatic lighting
- Water tank automation
- Automated blinds
- Cat feeder automation
Thanks to Stephen for sharing this awesome project with us. You can join the DIY Community Discord or Forum and keep up to date with all things DIYElectronics by checking out our social media, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (Formerly Twitter). If you want to check out our store, click this link.
Graphic Designer | Photographer | Gamer and Twitch streamer.
I have a passion for design and a love of art. I am always eager to learn new things, be it 3D modeling/3D printing, copywriting or even cooking. Pretty chill guy who is always down for a braai with family and friends.
