Illuminance Sensor¶

The illuminance sensor platform allows you to integrate a laptop ambient light sensors into UbiHome. It supports both Linux and Windows systems.

Supported Platforms¶

Linux¶

Uses Industrial I/O (IIO) framework (/sys/bus/iio/devices/)
Supports auto-detection of light sensor devices
Fallback support for alternative hardware monitor paths
Common device locations:
/sys/bus/iio/devices/iio:deviceN/in_illuminance_raw
/sys/bus/iio/devices/iio:deviceN/in_illuminance_input
/sys/class/hwmon/hwmonN/device/als
/sys/devices/platform/applesmc.768/light (Apple devices)

Windows¶

Native Windows Sensor API support using COM interfaces
Automatic detection of ambient light sensors through Windows Sensor Manager
Direct sensor data access without external dependencies

Configuration¶

Enable the platform:

illuminance:
  update_interval: 30s # Default update interval for all sensors

Basic Usage¶

sensor:
  - platform: illuminance
    name: 'Ambient Light'
    icon: mdi:brightness-6
    unit_of_measurement: 'lx'
    device_class: illuminance
    state_class: measurement

Advanced Configuration with Manual Device Path¶

sensor:
  - platform: illuminance
    name: 'Ambient Light Sensor'
    device_path: '/sys/bus/iio/devices/iio:device0/in_illuminance_raw'
    update_interval: 15s
    icon: mdi:brightness-6
    unit_of_measurement: 'lx'
    device_class: illuminance
    state_class: measurement

Configuration Options¶

Light Sensor Platform¶

Property	Type	Default	Description
`platform`	string	Required	Must be `illuminance`
`name`	string	Required	Display name for the sensor
`device_path`	string	Optional	Manual device path (Linux only)
`update_interval`	duration	30s	How often to read the sensor
`icon`	string	`mdi:brightness-6`	Home Assistant icon
`device_class`	string	`illuminance`	Home Assistant device class
`state_class`	string	`measurement`	Home Assistant state class
`unit_of_measurement`	string	`lx`	Unit of measurement

Global Configuration¶

illuminance:
  update_interval: 30s # Default update interval for all sensors
  device_path: '/custom/path' # Default device path (Linux only)

Troubleshooting¶

Linux¶

No sensor detected: Check if your system has a light sensor:

ls /sys/bus/iio/devices/
find /sys -name "*illuminance*" 2>/dev/null

Specify the exact path:

sensor:
  - platform: illuminance
    name: 'Light Sensor'
    device_path: '/sys/bus/iio/devices/iio:device0/in_illuminance_raw'