We have several heated cat beds throughout our house. They don't draw a ton of power but some draw 4-5 times as much as the others.
In an effort to save energy, I've had them plugged into smart outlets. I'm not a fan of them running while a cat isn't using them.
What I'd like to do is use Hubitat and HD+ to have an on/off option (which exists now) and another option that turns the outlet on and off at 15 minute intervals. This would effectively keep the beds heated but not on 24/7.
just hook them up to a contact sensor when contact is met bed turns on cat enjoys a nice nap? then when contact is not met for lets say 5 min bed turns off
edit: i have no idea if this exact sensor will work more of an idea to go with
if u try this let me know. to be honest i may give it a try lol.... could be an interesting way of triggering a couch cushion
It would be more expensive than the above option but if you don't want to solder wires and such use a pressure mat. I will attach pictures of I use for a different application. Cut the end of the wires off and attach the end of the wires to one screw each on an Aqara water sensor. The mat has two wires the water sensor has two screws. One wire each screw.
Then place it under the cats bed. If cat is in the bed the water sensor shows wet, write the rule to turn the plug on. Then when the cat leaves sensor shows dry and the plug turns off.
I don't know how cost effective it would be for several car beds but would work great for a couch cushion or two.
