#1 Smart Night Light with Mood Lighting

Difficulty Level: Beginner 

Project Overview:

A beautiful automatic night light that turns on softly when the room gets dark. The brightness and color of the light can be adjusted using a potentiometer, creating relaxing mood lighting. The OLED display shows real-time light level and status.

What You Will Learn: 

• Reading analog sensor values (LDR)

• Controlling RGB LEDs (WS2812)

• Using a potentiometer for user input

• Basic conditional logic and smooth lighting effects

Concept & Working Principle:

The LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) changes its resistance based on surrounding light intensity. In bright light, resistance is low; in darkness, resistance is high. The ESP32 reads this analog value.

If the light level drops below a threshold set by the potentiometer, the WS2812 RGB LED and LED Hub gently turn on with a warm color. The potentiometer also controls the brightness and color hue, giving a smooth mood-lighting effect.

Code Explanation: 

analogRead(LDR_PIN): Reads current light intensity

analogRead(POT_PIN): Reads user-controlled brightness

map() function: Converts raw values into useful percentage and brightness range

Conditional if logic turns on lights only when dark

Working / Output : 

When you cover the LDR or switch off the room light, the WS2812 and LED Hub will smoothly glow with a warm color. Turning the potentiometer changes both brightness and feel of the light. The light turns off automatically when the room becomes bright again.