How to Make LED Lights Turn On When the Door Opens

Last updated on September 11, 2023

We do our best to answer the question and give you multiple choices (varied budget) that you can use to automate your LED lighting. Read on!

Do you want your LED lights to turn on when you open the door? Well, you’ve come to the right place. It’s one of the many home automation ideas that people with any skill range can execute.

There are a few different ways you can get your lights to turn on as you open the door. The question is, which doors do you want to act as a trigger? And which lights do you want to turn on when the door opens?

Asking yourself these questions will give you a good idea of which option will work best for you. Today I’m going to provide you with a few ways of automating your LED lights. All of them are easy to complete, but some will cost you considerably more money.

Using Smart Technology To Automate Your LED Lights

This option is the most expensive way of getting your LED lights to turn on. But the best thing is you get a lot more possibilities of which lights and doors you want to automate.

Depending on which lights and doors you want to automate will depend on what equipment you need. Below I’m going to give you a list of smart items you can use to help with your lighting solutions:

Smart home hub
Smart door lock
Smart LED lights
Smart LED strip
Motion Detector
Contact strip
IFTTT

Now, you don’t need all of the equipment above; it depends on which doors and lights you want to automate.

I want to make this section as easy as possible. So, I’m going to split it down to the type of doors you can use, how to use it, and the smart technology you need to automate them:

Front Door

It’s probably one of the most popular doors to automate, but it’s also one of the most expensive. The reason is down to the smart equipment you need to automate your front door and the lights surrounding it.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Smart Door lock
Smart LED bulb
IFTTT
Smart home hub

The technique is to use the smart door lock to trigger your lights to turn on. You’ll need to install the door lock, home hub, and fit the LED bulb in whichever outlet you want to automate.

From there, you’ll need to use IFTTT (If This Then That), which is software you can use to set events based on triggers. The idea is to establish a recipe, so If This door unlocks Then, This light turns on.

Bathroom Door

This method is a little bit cheaper than the previous process, but still just as effective. For this method to work, you’ll need the following items:

Smart home hub
IFTTT
Motion Sensors
Smart LED bulb

You’ll need to plug your smart LED bulb into the bathroom outlet and set it up with your smart hub. You’ll then need to set up the motion detector to your home hub and place it where it can pick up the bathroom door’s motion.

Again you’ll need to use IFTTT software to create a recipe, so If This motion is detected Then, This light turns on.

Using the app’s settings, you can set the duration the light stays on and which colors you want to use.

Cupboard Door

It can be hard to see in the cupboard due to the lack of lighting, which can make your life difficult. To add lights to your cabinet, you’ll need the following things:

Contact strip
Home hub
Smart LED strip lights
IFTTT

The idea is similar to the bathroom door, set the LED strip light in the cupboard, and link it to the home hub. Now place the contact strips inside the closet so that the stips are touching when the door is closed.

Now use IFTTT in the same way you have with the previous two methods.

The Cheapest Way Of Making Your LED Lights Turn On When The Door Opens

door led diy video — Source: youtube.com

If you’re on a budget, there’s a cheaper way of automating your lights. And it can cost as little as $1 depending on what stuff you already have at home.

For this method, you’ll need:

Double-sided tape
Scissors
9V Battery
9V power terminal
Two nuts (one bigger than the other)
Red wire
Black wire
LED Bulb
Elastic band

As you can see, the equipment is pretty basic items you can pick up from most hardware stores.

17 Steps To Automate Your LED Light

By following this quick tutorial, you’ll have your LED light automated to turn on as the door opens. The steps are easy to follow and will take you no longer than 20 minutes.

Start by cutting the elastic band in half using the scissors to make one long piece
Thread the elastic band through the smaller nut and tie it to one end
Trim down the shorter end with the scissors this stops the elastic band from catching later on
Strip back one end of the red wire so the copper is exposed
Thread the wire through the nut with the elastic band and twist the wire around the nut so it stays in place
Strip the cable from both ends of the black wire and connect one side to the negative terminal of the LED bulb
Connect the other side of the black cable to the remaining nut
Now it’s time to join the 9V battery terminal, do this by connecting the red wire with the nut and the red wire of the terminal
Now connect the black wire from the terminal to the other side of the LED bulb
Plug the 9V battery into the power terminal, now touch the nut together to see if the lights come on
If everything works out, it’s time to secure everything into place with double-sided tape
Place one piece of tape on the battery, another piece on the LED bulb, and finally a small piece on the nut that leads to the black wire
Go to the door you want to attach the light to and open the door, use the double-sided tape to stick down the nut connected to the black wire just above the hinge
Stick the LED to the top of the cupboard, so the light shines down
Stick the 9V battery next to it
Thread the elastic band through the nut connected to the black wire from the inside to the outside
Finally, connect the elastic band to the door so that when the door is open both the nuts are touching

Your LED light should now turn on and off as you open and close your door. And best of all, for a fraction of the price.

That’s everything you need to know about automating your lights. If you’re still struggling, there’s a great instructional video you watch on YouTube.

Remember, there are several ways to automate your home; you just need to choose the right one for you.