Show me your modes

Hi all

Back on the automation again to firm up some annoyances.

How do you all handle Modes for summer and winter?

For example I have a mode called awake which comes on at 6am as we wake around then, but in winter it's dark so we want lights on, but in summer it's light so we don't.

Im sure there is a some logic to solving this issue

your solution is a light sensor, there you can put that if it exceeds X lux the light turns on.

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You can also use a weather app and device which will give you lux of the outside environment without buying a device

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@Shaneb this :arrow_up:

I used a Fibaro motion sensor in a weatherproof box. I have a rule that flips a boolean at a specific lux level from the sensor. I then use that boolean in some of my rules - outside lights on, curtains open/closed. For internal lighting I can use that boolean, time and curtain/blind position (it's no good if the lights won't come on because it's blazing sunshine outside but your curtains are still closed)

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The way I set my modes up, is based on the location that impacts the "whole house". When it's dark we want the lights to come on in different rooms. Our "wake-up" is room based and doesn't affect the "whole house". So modes are driven by sunset/sunrise to ensure it's light/dark. The "wake-up" are time based restrictions, as we don't wake-up every day of the week at 6am.

A light sensor like others suggested is a great approach as well, to manage modes.

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I aggrege that a lux sensor is the best way of handing the seasons for mode management. I have taken a bit more complex way to handle the home mode for living and then the phases of the day. Here is a my table:

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Then using variables and flags I can do very fine level of controls:

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I got rid of the "light outside" since it was just the inverse of dark outside. There is more flags but this should provide some insight.

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I have:

Early Morning - triggers at 5:00am
Day - triggers via my telling Alexa "I'm Up." and I get a weather report at the same time.
Evening - triggers about 15 min before sunset
Night - triggers when I tell Alexa "Good Night."

If I want to trigger "Early Morning" before 5 I tell Alexa "Good Morning".

Morning mode starts when my wife and I are both up. At this point that's based on our phones being unplugged, but I plan to add some Force Resistive Sensors under the mattress shortly.

Day mode starts at noon. The main reason for a separate morning and day mode is that I want to ignore motion sensors and have speakers quieter before this point

Early evening mode starts at sunset or 7:30, whichever, is earlier

Late evening starts at 8:30.

Bedtime mode starts when one of us plugs in our phones. Again, I'm planning to put pressure sensors under the mattress because sometimes we are in bed but still using our phones.

Night mode starts when both our phones are plugged in.

We also have a 'quiet mode' that isn't used at this point, but the plan is if someone is in bed (again, based on the pressure sensors) during the day, assume we don't want any notifications on the speakers and we want the motion sensors ignored)

Mine are pretty simple.

Some evening and night modes based on our patterns when present, used to control dimmer levels (bathroom light during sleep), etc. in simple lighting automations.

Modes also set/used in HSM.

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Okay I’ll share my setup. Modes include:
Day, Evening, Night, Away, Catsitter (aka vacation)

Day mode starts when my sock drawer is opened (have an open/close sensor on it) or when closet motion is triggered or when the shower light comes on or when we say Alexa, Good Morning. The latter gives a weather report too.

Evening mode starts 15 min before sunset or after 7:00 PM if the Apple TV is also playing. I sense Apple TV with a power metering plug > 3 watts. This works because we watch TV after dinner.

Night mode is Alexa goodnight or bedroom motion after 10:00 pm as long as Apple TV or our Harmony is also not playing.

Away is only Alexa goodbye because presence using phones is still very unreliable for me on HE. Considering using no motion to set away by our cat triggers our motion sensors.

If Away or Catsitter mode is set and garage door opens then mode is set back to Day or Evening depending on time before or after sunset

Catsitter mode is set using either Alexa or smart home panel. When in that mode things work like Away except front door which increments a catsitter hub variable and greets the sitter with an Alexa speaks message, and sends me a notification. This way I keep count of how many visits.

Also in Catsitter mode any access to our private rooms alerts us and issues an audible warning. They of course know better but just in case…

Catsitter mode is cancelled when garage opens or with a verbal Alexa command. I also set one of my lights double tap up and down to set and cancel Catsitter mode.

All modes can be triggered from one of my two HousePanel mounted tablets.

Still need to write some code to disable all smart panel functions when in Catsitter/vacation mode. Since I use my own HousePanel this is an easy option. Will probably write it to disable panel in a mode of the user’s choice.

"Day mode starts when my sock drawer is opened"

LOL, I would never get past step 1 most days. WFH* and barefoot or sandals depending on weather and work day.

*Unless traveling for work

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how do you make HE know that the phones are plugged in or unplugged??

I want photos of that housepanel !!!

There any good ZigBee ones?

Not sure if the Hue External Motion sensors do illuminance, but if not any Zigbee multi sensor could be fitted in a weatherproof box. A couple of quid on an IP65 enclosure from Screwfix/Toolstation, then just drill out the front and seal in the sensor so that it points through the hole. I'll take a pic of mine in the morning and add it to this post.

Edit: @Shaneb See below. The picture is of a standard Fibaro Z Wave Motion detector but could just as well be any Z Wave/Zigbee multi sensor. I have motion switched off and solely use it for illuminance and external temperature. TBH I could do with relocating it to a position where it is out of direct sunlight as the temperature is inaccurate when the sun shines on it. All I've done here is drill a 32mm hole in the front of the enclosure, and superglue the sensor behind the hole so that the lens peers through (I've applied white silicon around the edge so that water cannot get in). On the Fibaro model - rather than use a CR123 battery, I've soldered to the contacts and supplied it from a 5V DC USB supply but models are available that can be connected that way natively.

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I have a tasker profile that runs on my phone. If it is powered after 9:30, I'm almost 100% guaranteed to be in bed. It checks for having power disconnected again between 6 AM and 9 AM, or something like that.

I've also heard of some people monitoring the power on a smart plug their phone charger is plugged into.

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FYI in case it isn't known by others, the Tasker trick only works for Android phones. Sadly, there is no equivalent cool feature for iPhones.

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Here you go -- notice the sock drawer photo on the upper right...

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I was referring to a photo of his tablet on the wall, to get an idea

I'm traveling so I can't snap a photo right now but it basically looks just like this. The tablets are just web pages using the Kiosk browser.

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