Workshop illuminated with stylish hexagonal lighting, adding an air of class and sophistication.
In a bid to meet specific requirements and exceed expectations, Nejc Koncan, a DIY enthusiast, built a unique hexagonal LED lighting system. The result is a highly modular, open-source, and refined lighting solution that stands out from off-the-shelf alternatives.
Design and Construction
The heart of the system is a base frame made from aluminum extrusions shaped for hexagons. LED strips are inserted into these extrusions, and junction PCBs are placed at the meeting points of hexagons for wiring and power distribution. Slot-in diffusers are added over the LED strips and wiring to keep the system looking neat and professional, creating elegant white outlines instead of typical RGB cycling colors.
Control Integration
To integrate the lighting system with Home Assistant, a popular open-source home automation platform, a suitable microcontroller like ESP32-based boards is used. These boards are flashed with firmware supporting Home Assistant integration, often through ESPHome or similar tools. Once configured, Home Assistant recognises and controls the LED strips, offering flexibility over brightness, colour temperature, and effects.
Optional additions include integrating physical interfaces like the M5Stack Dial controller for local interaction with the system or via Home Assistant.
Modularity
The hexagon modules are designed to be easily connected or rearranged, ensuring electrical connections between panels are stable and serviceable. The open-source nature of this approach allows for easy customisation and expansion.
Commercial hexagonal LED light panels like Linkind EP6 may look good and have good build quality, but they currently lack direct Home Assistant support, limiting their local smart home integration. Therefore, custom building is preferred for full Home Assistant control.
Leveraging open-source designs and tools such as ESPHome greatly facilitates integrating DIY LED hexagons with Home Assistant, allowing full control over lighting states and automation triggered by the home automation system.
In conclusion, the most professional and modular method is to custom-build hexagonal frames with LED strips and integrate them via ESPHome-based microcontrollers into Home Assistant, using carefully designed connectors and diffusers to achieve a clean, polished look and full smart control. The extra effort put into building this system is evident in its refined quality, making it a standout piece among similar projects.
This unique DIY project, in alignment with the home-and-garden lifestyle, showcases a home-built hexagonal LED lighting system that goes beyond off-the-shelf options, thanks to its open-source design and technology. Built with a PCB for wiring and power distribution, the system seamlessly integrates with home automation platforms like Home Assistant through the use of a suitable microcontroller, such as ESP32-based boards. The system's modular design, enabling easy customisation and expansion, sets it apart from commercial hexagonal LED light panels like Linkind EP6, which currently lack direct Home Assistant support.
