Help with rule to control outdoor light

📐 Rule Machine®
1

I have a rule set up to turn on outdoor lights when a door is opened between sunset and sunrise and then turn the lights off after 10 minutes, so they don't stay on all evening. That works fine, but what I find is that if I turn the light on manually outdoors and want it to stay on, it still turns the light off after 10 minutes if the contact sensor on the door triggers, I believe. I think what I want to do is set up an extra conditional on the rule so that it only triggers if the light is not on already, yes? Can't figure out how to do that in rule machine. Can't be hard, suggestions?

The setup is:

Trigger event:
Door Open

Select Actions to run:
IF (Time between Sunset and Sunrise(F) [FALSE]) THEN
ON: Deck Light
OFF: Deck Light --> delayed: 0:10:00

2

Add a second condition in the existing IF - e.g.

IF (Time between Sunset and Sunrise(F) [FALSE] AND Deck Light is off) THEN
ON: Deck Light
OFF: Deck Light --> delayed: 0:10:00

The rule will still trigger, but the actions will be skipped because the conditional isn't met.

1 Like
3

I've had success with this feature in Motion Lighting:

Don't turn off if already on

Enabling this option will force any light that was already On before motion began, to not turn Off when the motion stops.

4

Thanks to both of you. That is very helpful. With regard to the Motion Lighting feature, I've never looked at that app. It looks like that app that only triggers on motion sensors?

5

It's actually Motion or Mode Lighting, and can be triggered either by Motion, or Mode, thus the name. :grinning:

6

Or switches, contacts, etc... I think it may actually do precisely what you intend.