In this project, I designed a nightlight that automatically dims and turns itself off. A lot of people find it difficult to fall asleep when they suddenly transition from a brightly lit room to complete darkness. A dim source of light such as a nightlight helps them to adjust to a lower brightness and fall asleep more easily. But the down side of most nightlights is that they waste electricity because they are on all night when you really only need them to be on while you are falling asleep. So I designed a nightlight that will automatically dim and turn itself off after a certain period of time that is set by the user.
For step by step instructions check out my Instructables page: http://www.instructables.com/id/Automatic-Dimming-Nightlight/
Hello, thanks for your sharing!
ReplyDeleteI follow your project but the led is not dimming at all, what could be the problem? Many thanks!
Gary.L
In my design, the light should stay on for about 45 minutes at constant brightness. Then it should begin to dim over the next 45 minutes. After about an hour and a half, if it has not dimmed significantly, then there is a problem with the circuit. Check for shorts in the wiring. That is the most common problem. After than check the values of the individual components. Then double check to make sure that it is wired according to the schematic. Unfortunately, without seeing your project, I can't really tell any more than that. Good luck.
DeleteCould you make something like this to dim a regular lamp? I will gladly pay for something already assembled.
ReplyDeleteHey, I was wondering if you could tell me how to do the reverse - have the light gradually turn ON?
ReplyDeleteMany thanks,
S
Yes. I did this in a recent project. Check it out.
ReplyDeleteBlog Post: http://diyhacksandhowtos.blogspot.com/2013/08/diy-sunrise-alarm-clock.html
YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOeJXBvdanA&list=PLpSSv81CnEoIWE326xUqx5cC5iJQHKDfe&index=17
Instructable: http://www.instructables.com/id/Sunrise-Alarm-Clock-1/