So what automations are getting thumbs up from the fam?

I did this one too! I have two so I know when a car drives in or out.

Oh yes, I forgot this one. One of my favorites, since gabarge is my responsibility (part of my wife's pre-nup agreement :wink: ) and if I don't remember the night before it's an unpleasant wake up to the rumbling of the garbage truck and then a frantic dash in my PJ's to roll out my stuff before the truck leaves our cul-de-sac. :astonished: :weary:

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We do something similar for robot vacuum days. All the dimmers start flashing green, reminds us to make sure toys and things are picked up and out of the way. Luckily garbage day is Mondays so I have all weekend to remember that one.

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We have dogs, and one day did not pick up an, um, accident that one had in the office before we ran the robovacs.

That was a very, very bad day...especially since there is evidently a codicil in my wife's pre-nup that includes that as well.

That sucks. Apparently the latest roomba can avoid that.

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Speaking of fur babies, I created a rule that turns on the patio lights when the back door deadbolt is unlocked at night to let the dog out. It also turns out the light when the deadbolt is locked. I also have a rule that flashes the shower light when someone opens the front door, but I think my wife's favorite is the automation I created for our front door.

Thoughts on a doorbell - #5 by Vettester

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Apparently my wife dosnt use any of my smart stuff....
But boy do I know about it if it doesn't work.

Shut the house down at bedtime all lights, heating, tvs etc.

Shut the house down when we leave and set the hoover going ( did I get it in the ear when I bought the hoover, fast forward a couple of days and shes raving about it)

Auto dimming of lights so no need to adjust.

Turn on the cinema with just one button.

Towel rads on when taking a shower or bath

Utility heating and dehumidifier auto turn on when washing hung up.

Reminder that the milk is in the coffee machine.

And the list goes on

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Eh? This sounds interesting. Leak sensor in the milk comparment that goes off when it's wet? :slight_smile:

I have similar set up for our late night (and sometimes 2AM, damn their eyes!) doggie potty-breaks. Mine are motion-based, w/sensor on front porch setting things off first, supported by multiple sensors in the front yard to maintain motion status and keep the lights on, 10m time out just in case, and Pico on the entry way table to turn the lights off when we come back inside so we don't irradiate our neigbors too badly. :slight_smile:

That doorbell automation sounds crazy, in a way I kinda like. :slight_smile:

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Our coffee machine has a milk container that sits inside the machine so I've fitted a contact sensor inside the machine.
So when contact is made it starts a timer and when it times out google starts talking untill you remove the milk container.

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Love it, great idea.

I had an all-in-one coffee machine some years back and could have used that automation, wish I had thought of it at the time. I ended up w/some pretty smelly milk every once in a while when the container sat on the machine all day during the summer. Yuck!

Heh. See my "expected" comment above.

One other tricky one that is the only saving grace for my hobby. (Mentioned above). This is the one when it doesn’t work, I hear about smart home disaster from all.

Two exterior doors and one hallway door lead into our laundry/mudroom. The exterior doors use ring door sensors, hallway door hue motion. Lights turn on with motion (ie carrying in laundry basket, hands full) or doors opening and turn off with doors closed and after 4 min of no motion.

One of the tricks is one of the exterior doors is the one we let the dogs out at night, so when that door opens, all back exterior lights switches turn on. The door is just around the corner from the hue Motion. When that door is open, the motion also cancels the inactive shutoff turning off the lights while waiting/out with the dogs.

Use the unofficial ring app for this one to run.

+1 to many of the ones above.

Our fam’s two favorites are alarm auto arm/disarm when we leave and return, and announcements around the house when a door/window is opened or left open.

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The newest one is for holiday lights. My wife wants to see them in the morning, but the time on changes. So now the lights turn on when she turns on the coffee maker (a signal she's up and staying home).

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How do you do the sonos part? i have 2 of them that are always on and i don't have much if anything using TTF so i don't need them on all the time.

Just with zigbee outlets.

Should clarify: I have Sonos Connects (no speaker/they are connected to my receiver), so they get turned on when I initiate a Harmony Activity in my living room or den.

You can use zigbee outlets with a regular Sonos too of course, but you may need to turn them on manually (or turn them off at night or something).

How do you do this is there a guide on how to turn off the Roku if it's not being used. I would love to be able to turn off the lights and the Roku TV when we leave the house. Kids always forget to turn off there TV's.

Wouldn't you just put the Roku (and maybe your TV as well) on a smart outlet and cut the power when your presence detection indicated everyone was away?

With a Roku tv you just treat it as a switch. I posted an example in another thread

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Ah cool thanks I have been skimming that thread..

I have Roku as well but have not yet integrated it. The "nuclear" option works if you just want to power things off I guess and minimize your custom apps count.

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