Outdoor lights on at sunset, off at midnight

Step by step

How you'll set it up

Add the device to Wi-Fi from your phone, or straight from a browser.

Shelly Smart Control On your phone or tablet

Direct access via IP In a browser on your computer

1. 1

   Fit the Shelly behind the switch

   Mains goes to L and N, with a short bridge from L to I. O runs to the outdoor lights, and the existing wall switch moves to SW, so it still turns them on and off. The diagram follows the relay you picked under What you'll need: the 2PM Gen4 has two outputs (O1, O2) and switch inputs (S1, S2), and the 1L Gen3 takes no N, with the Bypass fitted across the light.

   Wire map 1 Gen4

   • Active (supply) → L
   • Neutral → N
   • Bridge from L → I
   • Light or appliance → O
   • Wall switch → SW

   Circuit overviewEnlarge diagram ↗

   1Light / appliance2Wall switch

   Active (supply)Neutral / 0 VSwitched loadSwitch signal / dry contact

   i

   In Australia, fixed 230 V wiring is licensed-electrician work. Use these diagrams to plan the job and brief your electrician.

   Showing the whole circuit

   Shelly 1 Gen4

   Close ✕

   −

   100%

   +Fit diagram

   1Light / appliance2Wall switch

   Select a terminal to follow its wiring.

2. 2

   Add the Shelly in the app

   Add the relay in the Shelly Smart Control app and name it Outdoor lights.

   Learn how to add a device to the Shelly app
3. 3

   Add the sunset schedule

   Open Schedule and tap Add schedule. Leave Simple selected, tick every day under Choose Weekday and tap Next. Under Choose time interval, pick Sunrise / Sunset, then tap Sunset and leave the offset at 00h 00min. Tap Next, add a local action, choose Control Output and set it to On. In the web interface, click Create schedule under Schedules. Select every day, tick Use sunset or sunrise offset and choose At sunset, set the action's Output State to On, then click Save.

   
4. 4

   Add the midnight schedule

   Add a second schedule for every day. This time choose Time under Choose time interval, set it to 00:00 and tap Next, then set the Control Output action to Off. In the web interface, click Create schedule again, enter 00:00 in Time, select every day and leave Use sunset or sunrise offset unticked. Set the action's Output State to Off and click Save.

   
5. 5

   Check both schedules

   Schedule now lists both: On at Sunset and Off at 00:00, every day of the week. The lights come on at sunset tonight, and the start time follows sunset from then on.

   

1. 1

   Fit the Shelly behind the switch

   Mains goes to L and N, with a short bridge from L to I. O runs to the outdoor lights, and the existing wall switch moves to SW, so it still turns them on and off. The diagram follows the relay you picked under What you'll need: the 2PM Gen4 has two outputs (O1, O2) and switch inputs (S1, S2), and the 1L Gen3 takes no N, with the Bypass fitted across the light.

   Wire map 1 Gen4

   • Active (supply) → L
   • Neutral → N
   • Bridge from L → I
   • Light or appliance → O
   • Wall switch → SW

   Circuit overviewEnlarge diagram ↗

   1Light / appliance2Wall switch

   Active (supply)Neutral / 0 VSwitched loadSwitch signal / dry contact

   i

   In Australia, fixed 230 V wiring is licensed-electrician work. Use these diagrams to plan the job and brief your electrician.

   Showing the whole circuit

   Shelly 1 Gen4

   Close ✕

   −

   100%

   +Fit diagram

   1Light / appliance2Wall switch

   Select a terminal to follow its wiring.

2. 2

   Add the Shelly in the app

   Add the relay in the Shelly Smart Control app and name it Outdoor lights.

   Learn how to add a device to the Shelly app
3. 3

   Add it to Home Assistant

   In Home Assistant, go to Settings, then Devices & services, select Add integration and choose Shelly. Enter the relay's IP address, which your router lists, and select Submit. Home Assistant talks to the relay directly over your home network. Name it Outdoor lights and put it in an area, such as Porch.

   
4. 4

   Turn the lights on at sunset

   Go to Settings, then Automations & scenes, and select Create automation. Select Add trigger, choose Sun and set it to sunset. Then select Add action and choose one that turns on your outdoor lights. Check the trigger and the action, select Save and name it Lights on at sunset.

   
5. 5

   Turn them off at midnight

   Create a second automation. Select Add trigger, choose Time and set it to 00:00. Then select Add action and choose one that turns off your outdoor lights. Check them, select Save and name it Lights off at midnight.

   
6. 6

   Check both are there

   Automations & scenes now lists Lights on at sunset and Lights off at midnight. They're on as soon as you save them, so the lights come on at sunset tonight.

   

1. 1

   Set up the Bridge

   Open the Hue app and add the Bridge, then follow the on-screen steps. Do this before you add the light.

2. 2

   Add the light to an outdoor room

   On the Home tab, tap the three dots, then Add devices. Create a room from the Outside group, such as Porch, Patio or Front door, then scan the QR code on the light. If you can't scan it, choose the option to set up without a QR code and let the app search. Give the light a name you'll recognise, like Porch light.

   
3. 3

   Start a Lighting schedule

   Open the Automations tab, tap Create automation and choose Lighting schedule.

   
4. 4

   Set sunset to midnight

   Tap Start at, choose Sunset and tap Done. Tap End at, choose At a specific time and set 12:00 AM. Leave Repeat on for every day, or pick the days you want. The first time you use Sunset, the app asks for your home location so it can work out the time.

   
5. 5

   Choose the light and the scene

   Pick your outdoor room and tap Next. Leave the scene on Bright, or choose one you like, then name the automation and tap Done.

   
6. 6

   Check it's on

   The Automations tab now lists the schedule as Sunset to 12:00 AM, every day. The switch beside it turns the whole schedule off and on.

   

1. 1

   Set up the Bridge

   Open the Hue app and add the Bridge, then follow the on-screen steps. Do this before you add the light.

2. 2

   Add the light to an outdoor room

   On the Home tab, tap the three dots, then Add devices. Create a room from the Outside group, such as Porch, Patio or Front door, then scan the QR code on the light. If you can't scan it, choose the option to set up without a QR code and let the app search. Give the light a name you'll recognise, like Porch light.

   
3. 3

   Add the Bridge to Home Assistant

   In Home Assistant, go to Settings, then Devices & services, select Add integration and choose Philips Hue. Pick your Bridge, then press the button on top of it when Home Assistant asks. Your Hue lights then show up in Home Assistant.

   
4. 4

   Turn the lights on at sunset

   Go to Settings, then Automations & scenes, and select Create automation. Select Add trigger, choose Sun and set it to sunset. Then select Add action and choose one that turns on your outdoor lights. Check the trigger and the action, select Save and name it Lights on at sunset.

   
5. 5

   Turn them off at midnight

   Create a second automation. Select Add trigger, choose Time and set it to 00:00. Then select Add action and choose one that turns off your outdoor lights. Check them, select Save and name it Lights off at midnight.

   
6. 6

   Check both are there

   Automations & scenes now lists Lights on at sunset and Lights off at midnight. They're on as soon as you save them, so the lights come on at sunset tonight.

   

1. 1

   Fit the lights

   Fit the Hue outdoor lights in place of the old ones and switch them on at the wall.

2. 2

   Reset lights that have been on a Bridge

   New lights are ready to pair. A light that's been on a Hue Bridge before has to be factory reset first: removing it from the Bridge isn't enough. Switch it on, hold a Hue dimmer switch within 10 cm of it, and press and hold the on and off buttons together until it blinks, about 10 seconds. Newer lights can also be reset over Bluetooth in the Hue app.

3. 3

   Pair them in Home Assistant

   In Home Assistant, go to Settings, then Devices & services, open Zigbee Home Automation and select Add device. While it shows Searching for Zigbee devices, the lights join one by one. Name them Outdoor lights and put them in an area, such as Porch.

   
4. 4

   Turn the lights on at sunset

   Go to Settings, then Automations & scenes, and select Create automation. Select Add trigger, choose Sun and set it to sunset. Then select Add action and choose one that turns on your outdoor lights. Check the trigger and the action, select Save and name it Lights on at sunset.

   
5. 5

   Turn them off at midnight

   Create a second automation. Select Add trigger, choose Time and set it to 00:00. Then select Add action and choose one that turns off your outdoor lights. Check them, select Save and name it Lights off at midnight.

   
6. 6

   Check both are there

   Automations & scenes now lists Lights on at sunset and Lights off at midnight. They're on as soon as you save them, so the lights come on at sunset tonight.