I like so many others am trying to turn my "dumb" washer/dryer into smart appliances to tell me when they are done running. I have the washer all set, but I'm having trouble finding options for a vibration sensor for the dryer. It seems a lot of people have used the smartthings multi-sensor but that appears to be discontinued. Others have recommended the Aqara but I've seen reports that if you don't have the hub the connection to HE can be troublesome. I have seen some mention of the Aeotec multisensors, but it sounds like their battery life isn't all that great.
It seems like no one makes just a "vibration sensor" and the support list for Hubitat doesn't indicate whether the multisensors listed have vibration, so my searches for other options have been less than helpful thus far. So here I am looking for suggestions on vibration sensors! Here's what I need:
Needs to report vibration changes. My dryer doesn't have any "done" lights to use, there's too much noise where the dryer is to use a sound trigger, and I'm not interested in altering the electrical to install a switching device for the 220v Outlet.
Would prefer zigbee or z-wave, but I'd be willing to entertain a WiFi option
Needs to reliably connect directly to the HE box without the use of a hub. I've managed to bring my footprint down to a hue hub and the HE box, and I'd prefer to not to get a new hub for a single device.
Would prefer the interface to be via my local network. My experience with cloud API interfaces (including IFTTT) has been less than stellar courtesy of my spotty internet.
Decent battery life. Ideally 6+ months, but this isn't a dealbreaker.
Can be Hubitat or community supported, as long as I don't have to write the code myself from scratch. I'd love to take a stab at integration work but in reality I just don't have the time.
So hit me with your best shot! What vibration sensors are you all using, and what do you like/dislike about them?
The Aqara do work, but can be bad for your network in certain cases. I have used the Aqara sparingly, with good results.
I tried a couple vibration sensors on my dryer, and it just didn't move enough to give any signal. Unless your dryer is a lot more shaky than mine, I would rethink this strategy. I think that current draw, or watching an indicator light, or some other method might be better.
There is a smart dryer device, but it is Wifi/cloud. (Smartdry). I think there is a community app for it. But like you, I tend to stay away from cloud stuff if at all possible.
Home made vibration sensor. Attach a metal ball switch to the external contacts of an Ecolink or GoControl z-wave contact sensor. Tether the assembly side-ways to the duct that leaves the dryer. Whenever the dryer starts/stops, it "jerks" flex duct just enough to signal open/closed/open or closed/open/closed. Setup a rule that sends a notification 10 minutes after the last time the contact sensor is changed and you know the dryer is done.
This one does not require modifying the electrical socket either - although it does require separating the 3 conductor wire (still enclosed in sheathing - there's no exposed wire). Put a split core current transducer around either one of the two hot conductors. Connect the output from the CT to an ecolink or gocontrol contact sensor (as above). Now when there's current, the contact sensor will read as closed. When there's no current, it will read as open. Wait till its been open for 10 minutes, and the dryer is done.
Here's an example of a cheap split core current sensor:
Another idea that might work for either of these applications is power monitoring or "watching" an LED. I do the former on my washer and the latter on my dryer (which is 220V so a bit harder to work with for power metering, though not impossible). The Zooz ZEN15 "heavy duty" plug works for my washing machine, and I was able to write a rule that accounts for typical power usage during most (all?) types of cycles I can run. The dryer is a bit eaiser: it's done when the LED turns off (or actually starts blinking until I turn it off), which HomeSeer has a "flex sensor" with LED/light-sensor attachment you can use (not a huge fan of this device for anything else and I seem to need to restart it every few months to keep it on my network, and I'm sure there's a cheaper whitelabel version somewhere but....it works.)
Just a couple other ideas if you aren't stuck on the vibration idea. I've done that too and mostly managed to make it work, aside from probably surprising my landlord with lots of false "washing machine is done!" TTS alerts when they were doing work on the nearby water heater (I was renting at the time) or if I grabbed something off a nearby shelf too aggressively.
What I've did with my Aqara vibration sensor is attach a string to it and made sure that it was perfectly centered on the sensor, the other end of the string I attached to my chair. Every time I move my chair it detects motion and starts up my pc and lights.
Yes, I'm that lazy and made my chair smart
Like said by others: Aqara does need a good wiggle before it recognizes any vibrations.
In your case maybe use a rubber band to attach it too?
BUT, personally I would try something else: a motion sensor!
I can think of 3 ways to implement this:
a) If your machine is really wobbly, just stick it on the top of the machine.
b) If your machine has a clear window, stick the motion sensor in the window.
c) Put it on a string
A few things to keep in mind:
As far as I know most(?) of these 'wireless' devices have a hardware reset of 1 min. meaning they can only sent data 1 minute after the last data is sent (to preserve battery). Which is not a problem, but because your washer is running for quite a time it will probably eat up the battery faster then normal. Then again, you only use it 1 or 2 times a week I assume. So I'm curious how that works out..
You have to make some specific rules in RM with conditions so you dont get false notifications.
Curious what you end up with, and if it works
Goodluck!
