Terrarium Light Dome
What is it?
A terrarium light dome is an intelligent lighting fixture for terrariums. It can provide reptiles with some visible light, UVB/UVA in the future, and can help you see nocturnal animals at night with star sky mode. Basically, it is an esp32-powered smart light panel with some special LEDs (in the future versions) that can be controlled via i2c protocol.
Why is it needed?
After some observation, I found out that some reptiles are scared by instant light switching and this is what we have with generic UVB/heat bulbs. They flick on/off and the reptile gets stressed. With the help of this LED light fixture, I can imitate natural sunlight levels with changing colors and based on the kelvin curve.
How does it work?
A good old esp32 was used to power this board. It could be done with another microcontroller, but I found it easier to use the same component that I have on hand.
The current implementation is based on 3 groups of 20 addressable ws2812b led each. When the esp32 sees the i2c command, it parses it and applies the requested color and brightness to the LEDs. Very simple right now, but later it would be possible to make some effects, like a cloudy day or sunny day for example.
Future improvements
As I said before, currently this is just a test of a concept of an i2c module for the main terrarium controller.
In future versions, I will explore the possibility of using UVB/UVA LEDs that will allow to replace fluorescent UVB bulbs and provide a possibility to make it dimmable to variate output power.
Also, it will be important to add some LEDs with high CRI (color rendering index) that will provide reptiles with the correct color of their surroundings.
This project is possible only due to the kind support of JLCPCB, their high quality and low prices service. $2 for 1–8 layers PCB prototype; PCB Assembly $0 ,3D Printing starts at $1. $54 Coupons for new customers
