I have a new C8-pro controller and am moving my Vera system. I have a Tilt switch on the garage door and a light switch. I want to turn on the lights if the tilt switch or light switch turns on, wait 45 min and then turn the light off. The tilt switch is a different type than the light switch. I can not find a way to accomplish this with an "or" logic. Is there a way to do it in Basic Rules? I am new so I don't know any 'advanced' way.
I must have a newer version of the rule machine. I have drop-downs for action selection. I thought I set this up like yours but it doesn't run.
You don't have any actions, the rule won't do anything.
Triggers are what signals the rule to run.
Conditions are used within the Actions to decide what to do. This is just a way to have a pool of things to choose from when writing Actions.
So you need to add some Actions using either the suggestions @rlithgow1 gave above, or some of your own. If you click in the Actions box, it should lead you to where you can choose these.
The documentation has some good screenshots of what you need to do. Rule 5.1 | Hubitat Documentation
The current version of Rule Machine is 5.1. We have the same version.
You have conditions with no action. You don't need a condition, simply an action to turn on light, wait for event (45 mins) then turn off light.
It looks like I finally got it working thanks to you guys - by clicking around I found that I didn't put my delay time in the conditions but in the actions menu. Thanks for all the help. As a new member I am totally impressed with the help you offer. I think I made a good choice.
At the risk of complicating this unnecessarily, consider the scenario of someone turning the switch on, and then opening the garage door 44'55" later... In this case, do you want to light to turn off in 5 more seconds, or do you want to start the 45' over again?
If you want to light to go off after 45' regardless of whether or not another trigger event happens in that window, then your rule is fine.
But if you want to 45' clock to restart at every trigger event, change that Delay to a "Wait for event - Elapsed Time" = 45'
More info in the blue note here:
Let's take even one more step back... Is "Garage Light" just a smart switch? Is it wired directly to the actual garage light fixture?
I'm wondering why/if we even need to include "Garage light On" as a trigger... If that switch simply controls the light, I'd be inclined to split this into 2 rules -- one that just turns the light on if the tilt sensor opens, and one that turns the light off after being on for 45'.
Everyone here can relate to the allure of trying to accomplish many things in one single rule, but that is rarely the best answer. Multiple less complex rules are easier to manage and more flexible. There are no prizes for gnarliest rule.
Anytime I'm tempted to use "changed" as a trigger, I know I'm on a slippery slope and it makes me go back and reconsider what I'm really trying to accomplish -- I always end up with better rules than I otherwise would've.
What???
The garage switch is a physical switch to turn on the light (main issue - someone goes in the garage and leaves the light on all day since no-one turned it off. The garage door is no issue since the garage usually opens when no-one is in it. That can be handled easily. I was not sure if two separate actions to the same point could cause an issue.
So silly question, how are you going to detect this switch has been turned on if it isn't a smart switch? Or are you calling a smart switch a physical switch?
I considered a physical switch that is used with this system a smart switch since I didn't think anyone would expect to command or monitor a regular household on-off switch. I will be more explicit next time. ![]()
That makes more sense!
People do weird things sometimes like expect a bulb or smart outlet on an old-fashion mechanical switch to report the status of the circuit. That usually doesn't work as expected.
Thus the reason why I asked for clarification. It is hard because we can't see your home from here, at least when you have the cameras turned off.
Thanks again for helping to understand the software. And... I did change it to 'wait for event' as suggested... it just makes sense. ![]()
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