Example documentation
My house has two cupboards in the hall. One has the washing machine in and the other is used for storage.
The lights in these cupboards turn on and off automatically based on motion (see #89). The reason I used motion sensors rather than door contacts is two-fold. When I started out with Zigbee sensors didn't know what I know now and was using my old Hue bridge so I equip each room with a motion sensor. Knowing what I know now I'd still use a motion sensor. Pats self on back. This is because the doors to these cupboards can be left open and as a result of using motion sensors the light is turned off when there is now activity rather than the light remaining on due to the door being open.
I also have used leveraged Phil Hawthorne's washing machine automation to tell me when my washing machine is in use through the help of a smart energy plug and door contact on the washing machine door (see #143).
Additional to the status and notifications the work he shared provides I have also added an automatic power on and off feature. When the washing machine has been idle I turn off the smart plug. Then when there is activity through vibration or the washing machine door opening or closing I turn the smart plug back on (see #212). 30 minutes after a wash has been detected I also turn the heating on in my guest bedroom where I dry my washing. I use an input_number helper which I created to set the temperature of the radiator. If this isn't set or the room is already above that temperature then the radiator isn't turned on (see #144). I also pass the energy data from the smart plug into utility_meter entities so I can track the washing machine energy use over time. With the help of another input_number help, I store the current energy price (pence per kWh) which I use in a template sensor to calculate the running cost (see #211).
In one of the cupboards, we hang our car keys on hooks. I've replaced these hooks with my magook or smart key hook (see #141). These are Zigbee Aqara door contact sensors which I use with magnets to determine if the key is on the hook or not. If we return home and don't place the keys back on the hook we get a little reminder to put the key back. This is particularly helpful for someone like me who forgets things really easily. These are also helpful for building a view of house presence for example who is home.
Using a number of input_datetime helpers I track when a collection of chores were last completed. An example of these related to this area are my washing bedding and towels chores (see #213). This is where I earn the big points in my house! I change my bedding each week, my daughter's bedding every second stay or each week and my guest bedding after guests have stayed. With these patterns, I get reminders to wash the bedding and update the input_datetime entity when they've been washed. My goal is to automate this last past using RFID tags (see #206). Just a shame I can automate the entire process and have the bedding automatically changed too!
- Motion-activated lights
- Washing machine in-use status
- Washing machine-finished notification
- Washing machine energy and cost
- Guest room radiator is pre-heated during the washing cycle
- Turn washing machine plug on/off when idle
- Smart key hooks presence and keys not back reminders
- Chore reminders to remind me to wash bedding and change the towels
- 2 x Hue lights and motion sensors
- TP-Link energy plug
- Smartthings multi-sensor for washing machine door
- 2 x Aqara door contacts used as smart key hooks
- RFID / magic card washing chore tracker
- Battery charger cycle stop plug
- Battery and air freshener stock tracker
- Consider moving these to issues and marking them as an idea
- Review to do in automations
Details about the Lovelace panel and cards can be found in #214.
See issues with "area: utility" tag for more information about this part of my Smart Home.