Motion Sensors- Possible to Pass Temp to Alexa?

I have some Iris 1 gen motion sensors paired to Hubitat and they work fine.

Would it be possible for the Hubitat Skill to pass the temp reading to Alexa?

Not currently possible. Sorry.

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If you're desperate and have access to another skill like the SmartThings one, sone of us have found creative workarounds like passing the value to that platform and pretending it's a thermostat, which Alexa does support both in general and with that Skill (querying the current temperature). Not exactly simple, but doable if you're desperate. :slight_smile:

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Thanks for the reply. Not sure that will work with the Iris gen 1 sensors.

There's no reason it wouldn't. You can tie a virtual thermostat on SmartThings to whatever you want--pass the value to ST with HubConnect, tie the device value on ST to your virtual thermostat with webCoRE (or some automation of your choice), then expose the virtual thermostat to Alexa. The hardest part might be getting an ST account if you don't already have one (you probably need a hub), but it's quite doable, albeit a chore to set up, if you do.

This would be a lot less work if Hubitat's Alexa skill supported thermostats (like the Google Assistant one does), or even better, if Alexa just supported (and Hubitat exposed) plain temperature reading devices, which I'm not sure it does in any context outside of these.

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I would create a momentary switch that turns on when you ask a custom command... then hubitat can cast the temperature. It would be a different voice but at least you get the temperature.

I do not have an echo, so I'm not sure if the echo devices support this. (Google Home does, so Echo might too.)

If I ask Alexa the temp of the room the sensors in, she replies with the correct temp.

I'm trying to create some temp based routines that turn some wifi plugs on and off.

I can create the routines, but they aren't firing.

Alexa Routines can only be triggered by Motion and Contact sensors, not temperatures. You could create some virtual contact sensors, and set their status via Rule Machine based on a temperature sensor. These virtual contact sensors could then be exposed to Alexa and used to trigger Alexa Routines.

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I'll give it a try. The odd thing is that Alexa allows the creation of temp based routines.

Hmmmm...I wonder if that is something Amazon added recently?

What temperature based device are you using with Amazon as the basis for an Alexa Routine trigger? I just checked within my Alexa App on iOS and I do not see any way to use a temperature device as a trigger for a routine. If it shows this option for you, then I’d like to understand how that temperature device is integrated with Alexa to see if I can reproduce the same scenario.

I'm not sure that one could create a routine based upon temperature at all. I can't do it using my Ecobee (which is widely supported by Alexa).

@ogiewon: I just tried it and when going into Devices to select a routine condition, my home thermostat doesn't show up. So, I'm doubtful that temperature is an available routine condition unless there are some devices out there that maybe support it and I don't have any of those?

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So, the easiest way I can think of to accomplish this is to create a virtual contact sensor in HE. When the temp rises or falls on the sensor you are tracking, use RM to flip the sensor open or closed. In Alexa, create a routine that triggers based upon that virtual sensor and turns on the Wifi plugs that you want.

Just did a quick Google search on triggering a Alexa routine via a Temperature... It appears that the internal temperature sensor in an Echo Plus might be available to use as a trigger. So...this has nothing to do with any Alexa Skill based temperature sensor integration. Appears to be all internal to the Echo device, and thus nothing Hubitat related.

It appears this is a known issue with the Echo Plus...

https://www.amazonforum.com/forums/devices/smart-home/498420-echo-plus-temperature-triggered-routine-not

Again, this has nothing to do with Hubitat.

I want to create it with the Iris V1 motion sensor. It will allow temp based routines using sensors paired directly to the hub.

Here's a screenshot using a Sylvania motion sensor.

If by “hub” you are referring to sensors paired directly with the Echo Plus’ built-in Zigbee radio, then you are correct. There is no way for any Iris v1 devices to be paired directly with the Echo Plus’ Zigbee radio. Since Amazon’s skills do not support temperature sensors to be integrated as Smart Home Devices, there is no way to use Hubitat as a means to get any temperature data into into Alexa.

Your only option is to use virtual contact sensors as has been described above.

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Thanks. I understand that's the temp isn't available via the Hubitat Skill.

I probably should have asked my question better.

Are there any plans to pass temp data to Alexa via the Hubitat Skill?

That's why I posted under feature request.

I don’t believe Amazon supports passing temperature values via a skill, except for Thermostats. So, even if Hubitat added thermostats to their Alexa skill, the problem remains that Alexa Routines still cannot be triggered via thermostat temperatures. I have two Nest thermostats, and neither of these show up as options as triggers for Alexa Routines. @corerootedxb tried the same with his ecobee thermostat as well.

So, I believe most of the changes will need to come from Amazon side before Hubitat can do anything.

Question for you...why not just let Hubitat perform whatever control you desire? Why are you wanting to use Alexa for this automation? Is there a device which only works with Alexa, and not Hubitat?

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I have several wifi plugs I've been using for years to control small space heaters via a schedule.

I have a bunch of Iris V1 motion sensors and thought it would be a good way to put them to use and increase efficiency.

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That’s understandable! An inexpensive way to replace those WiFi outlets with some that are natively supported by Hubitat, and will improve your Zigbee mesh network, is to pick up the following Iris v2 Zigbee outlets (and they are z-wave repeaters as well.)

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If you'd like to try an alternative to the suggestion to that made by @ogiewon (that eBay price is good the seller is reliable, BTW):

Assuming that the WiFi plugs cannot be integrated directly into HE, you can still control them via HE if you use the Echo Speaks + Actions app.

While previous versions of ES were associated with hub slowdowns, I don't know if anyone has seen a HE slowdown with the most recent release.

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