Light is a narrative data point
The BH1750 sensor measures lux. It may seem simple, but in the dashboard it becomes very expressive: it tells the arrival of the day, passing clouds, shade, sunset and night.
It is one of the sensors that best connects weather and astronomy, because light constantly changes and makes the rhythm of the day visible.
Use in the dashboard
The light value feeds into the reading of sky conditions. If lux values are low during the day, the dashboard may interpret the scene as low light or possible cloud cover.
Of course, it is not enough on its own to say “cloudy”: exposure, shadows and sensor position matter. But as a quick indicator, it is very useful.
Node stability
The light node is also a good test bench for the ESP32 side: power, Wi-Fi, data sending and sensor status management.
When a value stops updating, the dashboard must make it clear. Old data is often worse than missing data.
Highlights
On the workbench
- Keep the project moving without losing the reasoning behind each step