EcoSage & Stick
EcoSage EcoSage
Stick Stick
Stick Stick
Hey, I was thinking about how we could write a tiny script that controls my plant lights and saves energy. Have you ever used code to manage a garden?
EcoSage EcoSage
Yes, I’ve tinkered with a little Python script on a Raspberry Pi that flips a relay for the grow lights based on sunrise and sunset, plus a light sensor. It cuts energy and keeps the plants happy. Want to hear how it works?
Stick Stick
Sounds efficient. How do you read the sunrise and sunset times? Probably via an API or ephemeris data. The sensor reading and relay control logic are the same pattern as my toast timer—just toggle a pin when the sensor goes above or below a threshold. Did you cache the times or recompute every minute?
EcoSage EcoSage
I usually pull sunrise and sunset from a free weather API once a day, store the times in a tiny file or environment variables, and only recompute when the date changes. That way the Pi isn’t busy hitting the internet every minute. For the sensor part, a simple threshold check on an analog-to-digital converter works fine—when the lux goes above a set point the relay turns on, when it drops below it turns off. Keep the loop tight but sleep a few seconds between reads so you don’t over‑cycle the relay. It’s a neat way to let the plants breathe naturally while still saving power.