I’m wondering if there’s an easier way to the complicated way I’m trying do this. My house is open concept and I want multiple lights to come on at the same level based on the main motion sensors of the main part of the room so the entire area is lit up evenly. However if someone enters a side area (example kitchen), I want a separate motion sensor to brighten that one light up some and stay that way until they leave the kitchen, then I want the kitchen to revert back to what the main lights were before they entered.
Ive tried various methods including variables for the off position, multiple instances of Room Lights, and Virtual Switches so one runs but not another. But I always run into weird scenarios that require adding RM rules that help counter those unexpected hiccups. For example, If the mode changes and I want lights adjusted on change, 2 instances of Room Lights are trying to control the same light, if a Room Lights rule is not activated when the Mode changes to an off position, that light stays on indefinably because Room lights told it to Dim to a lower level instead of turning off.
I have to use RM and timers wait for conditions etc to get everything to shut down at night. It's all ended up creating way to many rules and it's a pain to deal with when something doesn't work as expected. Is there a simpler way I'm overlooking or am I just trying to do too much here?
I've got an open concept room as well and do something similar. Besides motion sensors, do you have anything else controlling the lights (switches, buttons, etc..)? Are you using bulbs or switches and what brands? When do your Modes shift?
There are a couple of different ways to go depending on the above. You might also want to post an example of a Room Lighting instance.
Inovelli Switches. We rely on motion sensors for on and off, never touch switches normally, but we do have a button controller for changing modes occasionally (which change scenes via Room Lights), and the TV turning on or Off will cause a mode change. I've got an idea I'm trying right now, will report back if it works.
I'm guessing you have a lynchpin light, yeah? Like one that is always in the 'main' state. If so, then I'd have one rule to write the level and on/off state to variables anytime they change. Then reference those in your "zone" based rules and mirror them. I just don't recall off hand if you can set a dimmer to a variable in RM.
I do something similar with my kitchen lights. The kitchen is open with the family room. During the day, I use a variable called luxSetPercent that is a value between 0 and 100 based on how light it is outside. The kitchen lights are dimmed to that value. But after dinner I want the kitchen lights generally dimmed to 60% unless there's motion. Then I want the lights to be at 100% until the motion ends, and then fade back to 60%. I use RM because I had problems getting it to work correctly in RL. Neither of these are very big rules and you might be able to combine parts of each to do what you want. I'd probably have a RM rule for each side area since those are exceptions. Anyway, here are the rules:
How about a rule for each light/zone? Something along these lines...
If (these sensors are active) then
set couch light to 100
else if (these other sensors are active) then
set couch light to 40
else
turn off light
end if
end if
So say you wanted to setup the lights by the couch. You would put the lights for the couch sensors in the first if statement. Then any other nearby sensors that should trigger the couch light (say the dinner table and reading nook) would go in the second statement.
The dinner table and reading nook would have their own rules that would be setup in the same way.
You could trigger on any change of the sensors and/or use motion zones.
