Build Seasonal Lighting Routines That Save Electricity

Learn how to automate your lighting to save electricity with seasonal routines.

Posted by Jared Stone on October 02, 2025 · 5 mins read

Build Seasonal Lighting Routines That Save Electricity

Introduction

As the seasons change, so too do our lighting needs. Longer days in summer mean less need for indoor lights, while chilly winter evenings might have us basking in warm, cozy lamps. Unfortunately, many of us forget to tweak our lighting setups, resulting in unnecessary electricity usage and inflated bills. What if you could automate your lighting to fit the seasons, ensure efficiency, and cut down on energy costs? With smart home technology, this isn’t just a pipe dream!

In this blog post, we’re going to explore how to build seasonal lighting routines using smart home tools like Alexa and Node-RED, saving you electricity and keeping your space beautifully lit. Let’s dive in!

Step-by-step Setup Guide

Step 1: Setting Up Your Smart Lighting

Before we create any routines, you need smart bulbs or switches installed. Popular options include Philips Hue, LIFX, and Wyze. Ensure your smart lighting is compatible with your chosen platform, such as Home Assistant or directly with Amazon Alexa.

Step 2: Linking Your Smart Devices

If you’re a Home Assistant user, follow these steps to link your devices:

  1. Set Up Home Assistant: First, ensure you have Home Assistant installed and running.
  2. Integrate Your Lights: Navigate to the Integrations page and add your smart lights. This typically involves logging into your smart bulb account via Home Assistant.

For those using Node-RED:

  1. Install Node-RED: Visit Node-RED and follow the installation instructions.
  2. Add Node-RED Alexa Integration: Use the node packages for Alexa in Node-RED like node-red-contrib-alexa-home-skill and familiarize yourself with the required configuration.

Step 3: Creating Seasonal Routines

Now that your lighting is set up, it’s time to build routines! You can create these routines within Home Assistant, Alexa, or Node-RED. Here’s how to do it in Node-RED.

  1. Open Node-RED and create a new flow.
  2. Add a Scheduler Node: Use a node like inject to trigger at specific times (e.g., sunset). [{"id":"a1","type":"inject","z":"b1","name":"Evening","props":[],"repeat":"","crontab":"0 18 * * *","once":false,"onceDelay":0,"topic":"","payload":"","payloadType":"date","x":100,"y":200,"wires":[["b1"]]}]
  3. Add a Switch Node to Identify the Season: Here’s an example of how to set the seasons: if (msg.payload.month === 12 || msg.payload.month <= 2) { msg.season = "winter"; } else if (msg.payload.month >= 3 && msg.payload.month <= 5) { msg.season = "spring"; } else if (msg.payload.month >= 6 && msg.payload.month <= 8) { msg.season = "summer"; } else { msg.season = "fall"; } return msg;
  4. Add a Call Service Node: Depending on the identified season, you’ll want to call the appropriate action for your lights.
    • For example, dim the lights in winter and increase brightness in summer. [{"service":"light.turn_on","data":{"entity_id":"light.living_room","brightness":200}}]
  5. Wire Everything Together: Connect the nodes so that the evening trigger leads into the seasonal switch, then into the lighting control.

Step 4: Test Your Routines

Once you’ve set everything up, simulate the evening trigger to ensure the lighting adjusts according to the current season. Make any adjustments based on your preferences.

Helpful Tip Block

  • Use Alexa Routines: If you’re not comfortable with Node-RED, use Alexa’s built-in routines! Just go to the Alexa app, navigate to ‘Routines’, and create time-based triggers for different lighting schemes — perfect for DIY users!

  • Energy Monitoring Tools: Consider integrating smart plugs that monitor energy use to get insights on how much you’re saving.

  • Experiment with Colors: Seasonal colors can transform your space. Use red and green during Christmas or warm hues for autumn!

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

  1. Lights Not Responding to Schedules: Ensure your Node-RED has proper permissions and your devices are online. Check for any stale connections or API limits.
  2. Alexa Not Recognizing Commands: Make sure the Alexa skill for your device is enabled in the Alexa app. You may need to refresh the device list.
  3. Routine Won’t Trigger: Check the time settings and ensure your Node-RED server is running continuously.

Final Thoughts / Conclusion

Building seasonal lighting routines that save electricity is not just achievable but can also be a fun project! Using tools like Alexa, Node-RED, and Home Assistant, you can customize your lighting to fit your life and reduce energy usage effectively.

Now that you know how to automate your home lighting, why not take it a step further? Explore new ways to incorporate smart technology into your life—consider energy-efficient appliances or even smart thermostats.

Happy automating, and remember, every little adjustment helps our planet!

Happy automating,
The Home Energy Automation Team

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