If you have different hardware that you want to use, you can find a Python server that can act as a Lunar sensor here: Lunar Sensor
You can run the server on any device, as long as you have a way to read lux values.
Note: this server is not needed for the instructions below this section
There are 2 possible solutions, based on how much effort you're willing to put into the sensor and how much you care about the price and looks.
Entering the bootloader is easy. Complete the following steps.
/dev/cu.usb)
ls -l /dev/cu.usb*Notes:
If you tried installing the firmware on versions before Lunar v4.7.0
- Remove the cache first:
rm -r ~/.platformio- Retry the firmware installation process
The ESP32 chip only supports 2.4Ghz networks, don't try to make it connect to a 5Ghz network
| ESP32 Pin | TSL2591 Pin |
|---|---|
| 23 | SCL |
| 19 | SDA |
| 3V | VIN |
| G | GND |
| ESP8266 Pin | TSL2591 Pin |
|---|---|
| D1 | SCL |
| D2 | SDA |
| 3V3 | VIN |
| GND | GND |
Lunar has an automated process for installing the firmware on ESP32/ESP8266 boards.
Click on Install firmware on Ambient Light Sensor in the Lunar menu to start the process:
A small window with firmware parameters will appear.
/dev/cu.usb or a network hostname like lunarsensor.locallunarsensor.local hostnameESP32-S2 processor
After clicking the Start button, Lunar will begin a three step process:
If the installation finished successfully, you will see a message as in the image below.
You can click on the Done button to close the window and let Lunar search for the sensor on the local network.
If the sensor booted into the new firmware and connected to the local network, you will notice that Lunar has made Sensor Mode available in the mode dropdown from the top-right part of the Lunar window.
You can click on it to activate it, or choose Auto Mode if you want Lunar to automatically fallback to other modes if the sensor becomes unavailable.
When Sensor Mode is activated, you can also see the current ambient light around the sensor in the Lunar menu.
If you get an error on the firmware installation process, you should see a View logs button. Click it to open the logs in a log viewer.
You can also view the logs manually by opening /tmp/lunar-sensor-install.log in any text editor.
If you don't understand the error from the logs, you can upload them on Lunar's Discord community and I'll take a look.
If you understand the error, you may try to tweak the firmware:
mkdir -p ~/lunarsensor && cd ~/lunarsensor
cp /Applications/Lunar.app/Contents/Resources/{lunar.yaml,install.sh,tsl2591.h} ~/lunarsensor/
lunar.yaml in a text editor and tweak it for your own board
lunar.yaml is a configuration file for the ESPHome firmwareWIFI_SSID="your wifi name" WIFI_PASSWORD="your wifi password" ESP_DEVICE="your esp32/esp8266 device path or host" BOARD="your esp32/esp8266 board type" ./install.sh
Example:
WIFI_SSID="PrettyFly" WIFI_PASSWORD="for a wifi" ESP_DEVICE="/dev/cu.usbserial-110" BOARD="esp32dev" ./install.sh
First check if the sensor booted and connected to the local network:
ping lunarsensor.local64 bytes from 192.168.1.237 then the device is connected to your WiFiRun the following command and wait about 10 seconds
curl -N lunarsensor.local/events
You should start seeing lines like the following:
data: {"id":"sensor-ambient_light_tsl2561","state":"0.1 lx","value":0.0912}
If instead you don't get any output or see a lot of NaN values like:
data: {"id":"sensor-ambient_light_tsl2591","state":"nan","value":NaN}