Hi folks! Thought I'd scare you all with the title. Don't worry, I'm not going to attempt this myself, but I'm curious if there's a clever way to achieve this.
I currently have a Google Home Mini in a rechargeable battery base in my bathroom. It's not suitable to be on all the time, as I have the volume cranked to be able to hear it in the shower. It's a little inconvenient to switch it on and off, and I wondered if there was a way it could be hooked up to come on when I switch the lights on.
The lights are operated by a pull cord. The bathroom is directly under my loft, in case any installation outside the room would be useful. I do not believe my lighting circuit is earthed (or at least, no earth wire was apparent when I changed my switches and pendants when I moved in). The Home device runs on 5V, 1.8A and takes a micro USB plug.
It feels like there should be a way to do this, unorthodox but compliant, but I'm not a professional. Would it be possible to connect a USB socket to the lighting circuit and run the device from that? I've seen old style round-pin sockets on circuits before, could a socket for those be installed and a USB adapter from that be involved? If not is there something clever that could be done with a transistor on the lighting circuit acting as a switch? Can a power over USB cable run through the walls without issue?
If it's a complete non starter let me know, but if there's a way to approach it I'd love to know what I need to be asking for when I book someone in.
I currently have a Google Home Mini in a rechargeable battery base in my bathroom. It's not suitable to be on all the time, as I have the volume cranked to be able to hear it in the shower. It's a little inconvenient to switch it on and off, and I wondered if there was a way it could be hooked up to come on when I switch the lights on.
The lights are operated by a pull cord. The bathroom is directly under my loft, in case any installation outside the room would be useful. I do not believe my lighting circuit is earthed (or at least, no earth wire was apparent when I changed my switches and pendants when I moved in). The Home device runs on 5V, 1.8A and takes a micro USB plug.
It feels like there should be a way to do this, unorthodox but compliant, but I'm not a professional. Would it be possible to connect a USB socket to the lighting circuit and run the device from that? I've seen old style round-pin sockets on circuits before, could a socket for those be installed and a USB adapter from that be involved? If not is there something clever that could be done with a transistor on the lighting circuit acting as a switch? Can a power over USB cable run through the walls without issue?
If it's a complete non starter let me know, but if there's a way to approach it I'd love to know what I need to be asking for when I book someone in.
