I currently have a simple lighting rule to turn on the dinning room lights when motion is detected and to turn off after 1 minutes of no motion detected. My desired outcome is to have the lights stay on for 30 minutes or so during dinner time (which is never the same time everyday). Being a noob i don't have any physical buttons nor have I set up a permanent dashboard to trigger this rule/scene. Is there a good way to utilize RM and possibly IFTTT through Alexa or better avenue to recommend. Thanks for your help in advance!
You can set a a virtual switch when on to disable the rule for the 30 minutes and use Alexa to turn it on.
Thanks, thatās exactly what I was hoping and trying/failing to do! Is there a decent walk through you could point me towards?
I don't use Alexa but you should just create a virtual switch and expose it through the Echo skill/App and then use it in the restrictions section of the simple lighting to disable it.
The HE documentation has how to set up Alexa if you haven't already.
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I havenāt done that yet but I soon will. Thanks for the help. This should convince the wife to let me all my automation gadgets!
So Iām still too green to get this rule working correctly. I have created the virtual switch and I have found it on my Alexa app. She will turn on all lights and groups in the house, except for the virtual switch.
At this point Iām even good putting a button on the dashboard and manually enabling the rule, but I canāt even get that to work correctly. I canāt seem to get the VS to respond on the dashboard, but if I run the actions manually inside RM, it just turns on all lights and they go out after 1 minute of no motion.
Thanks again for all help, seems like I need quite a bit
What brand switch is your light switch?
For my basement, I use the double tap function of the switch. Double tap up, pauses the motion rule, and double tap dow, resumes it.
My light switch is just a standard analog switch. Utilizing iris v1 motion sensor via simple lighting rule dimming lights after no motion.
I am hoping to any type of virtual switch to start a rule to extend the āturn offā lights to after 30 minutes of no motion.
So you have smart bulbs? How is the motion turning on the lights? You must have something like a smart switch or bulbs?
Yes sorry I have Sengled smart bulbs
This is one of the bad things about smart bulbs. There is no physical way to control them. Long term, my advice is to invest in smart switches, you can get a Zooz switch or dimmer for about $25-$30 and are much easier to automate with.
Do you have any smart switches in maybe the kitchen or an adjacent room you could use in Motion Lighting "Switch to Disable Turning Off" option?
If you are sitting still that long at dinner, all the food would be gone at my house. 
Why not just extend the timeout and/or move the sensor a bit if it can't see you. At least as a temporary fix.
Now there are times where I do think you need an override switch of some type. A button would be ideal. Ask if you want recommendations about one.
For Alexa I would try the following.
- Create a virtual switch, maybe called "dinner time". Add that to the Alexa skill.
- In Motion Lighting, use this as your "Switch to Disable Turning Off" option in Options for Additional Sensors, Lights-Off and Off options.
- The following app could turn this virtual switch off after a period of time, and possibly the bulbs too? I have never used this particular app, but it looks like it would work.
You can install Hubitat Package Manager or manually install the app above. I would encourage you to try the Package Manager though, it really streamlines things. This is in the Convenience section of that app.
No smart switches yet, Iām just now getting my feet wet. However they are next on the list. Over the weekend I manually extended the time out On the rule and that worked ok, but almost took the automation (at least the conscience) part out.
I may have the sensor too high or at a bad angle, it does fine 1/3 of the time at the table. But we always end up waving at the sensor several times. Which surprises me bc we have 4 daughters (ages 2-17) who never sit still during a meal.
Iāll tinker with the Alexa configs you mentioned as well as taking a look at the Package manager.
I will also check out the zooz switches, and Iām open for any and all button recommendations.
The ultimate button is the Lutron Pico, but it comes at a fairly high cost of admission for the required Lutron Bridge Pro. The Bridge is required as they run on a proprietary frequency. The Pico are inexpensive (typically less than $15), and very well built. They have nice stands so you can put them on a table, or you can wall mount them with no box needed (flush mount). If you are even considering one tiny little bit the Lutron Caseta switches, it is a no brainer to buy into the Lutron/Pico ecosystem.
One of my next favorite buttons is the RGB Genie micro remote. I like because you can flush wall mount it (like the Pico), and it looks like a normal switch. No switch box or wiring needed. It is Zigbee, and has drivers built into Hubitat.
There are other buttons that are supported. Probably other people have some recommendations, but these are my two favorites.
And do check out Zooz stuff. Another Zwave recommendation is the Inovelli lineup. They have great switches that are just a little bit more expensive than Zooz with some cool features. Both companies are active on this forum (Agnes=Zooz, Eric=Inovelli) and have a great support system.
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Would a neutral wire be required for Lutron Caseta dimmer switch (PD-6WCL)? With the smart bridge pro and switch added successfully, my Sengled lights act as there are no plowed at all, same when I tried a Sylvania+. Using a plain old LED bulb it just strobes very slowly.
House was built in 1940 with no neutral wire from switch to chandelier. Is this my issue or am I missing something entirely?
You are trying to use a Caseta dimmer AND a smart bulb on that same switch? That won't work.
Be sure your "plain LED" is dimmable. It will often say so on the bulb. Not all bulbs like to be dimmed.
There is no neutral on this switch, however it needs to be grounded.
