[TylerE]

> Why would I want to automate lights?

Wait until you're disabled and there are days you can't get out of bed.

Having your bedroom lights fade in at low brightness a few minutes before your alarm goes off is also really nice.

If you live in an area that's not great time wise there are also a lot of arguments to be made for making it look like your home is occupied when you're away.

[chihuahua]

I have some lights on mechanical timers so the living room has a minimal amount of light in the evening, and they turn off automatically at midnight. That's useful to me, and it was cheap and simple. Haven't had to touch it in 10 years, except to adjust the timers to the seasons. The mechanical timers (Ikea) predate Alexa, and it's cheaper to just keep using them.

I also have a porch light that used to have a light sensor, but those sensors keep failing after a few years, and it's a hassle. Instead, Alexa has a schedule for that porch light switch, and you can specify "turn on at sunset" and "turn off at sunrise", and it's perfect.

And I have an Alexa rule for turning off the other lights that it controls (living room, dining room, family room, hallways, but not the porch light) at midnight. Simple and useful in case I forget to turn the lights off.

[Retric]

An alarm with a built in light does that slowly getting brighter thing just fine.

These days a smart home doing that slowly getting brighter thing regularly fails.

[TylerE]

Mine has literally never failed, and I haven’t owned an alarm clock in two decades this reply is peak HN.

[Retric]

Your smart home has never failed? What brand are you using?