Slowly brightening Wake Up lights are the best way to wake up, especially when it’s dark outside. They usually live on your bedside table, but this DIY model attaches to your ceiling, like a normal light. You get good, even room lighting to help you get up, and best of all, it’s controlled by your smartphone.
Instructables user Frans van Buul put this one together, and pointed out that he specifically wanted a light that was on the ceiling, but he also wanted more flexibility over its dimming and brightness settings than you get with your average wake up light. Here were his requirements (all of which he managed to meet with this build:)
- The wake-up light should increase light intensity automatically from zero to full during a configurable period (for instance, starting at 6:30am ending up with full intensity at 7:00am).
- Normal functionality of the ceiling light (switching it on and off with the wall switch) must be retained; the wake-up functionality should just be an add-on to that.
- I wanted the solution to be integrated in the lamp; no additional visible boxes or cables.
- The solution must be stand-alone in the sense that it doesn’t rely on any already deployed domotics system (for the simple reason that I don’t have one).
The final result is a switch-operated light that connects to the internet, uses Network Time Protocol (NTP) to keep track of itself and has a rolled-in simple webapp he can pull up from his phone to tweak the lamp’s settings. You might think it’s based on an Arduino or a Raspberry Pi, but he actually built the board himself from some affordable components you can buy. Check the link below for the full list of parts, the circuit diagram, and all the code you’ll need to put the pieces together. It’s a great project whether you’re a newbie at electronics projects or a practised hand.
Wake Up Ceiling Light [Instructables]
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