Maker Forem

emmma
emmma

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Made a $10 “Mood Lamp” with ESP32, WS2812B, and Ambient Light Sensor

I wanted a desk lamp that adapts to room brightness and my mood — so I built one over a weekend!

📦 Parts:
ESP32 (any dev board)
WS2812B LED strip (30 LEDs)
BH1750 I²C ambient light sensor
3D-printed diffuser (STL on Printables)
5V 2A power supply
💡 How it works:
BH1750 reads ambient light → ESP32 auto-adjusts LED brightness (no blinding at night!)
Web interface (via AsyncWebServer) lets me pick color or enable “sunrise mode”
Optional: Connect to Home Assistant via MQTT

🔧 Key Trick:
Used gamma correction for smoother dimming at low levels — without it, the first 20% of analogWrite felt like “off vs suddenly on.”

Total cost: ~$10 (if you already have an ESP32).

Perfect for late-night coding or calming evening reading.

Would love your mods or suggestions!

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