Vacation Lighting. Anyone have it running?

šŸ“ Rule MachineĀ® All things Rule Machine
28

Hi.. Is this the latest version? Does it only fire when all users are out of the geofence?
Do i need to set anything or,does it just turn on random devices at random times between sunset and a specific time?

29

When you install there are settings you apply in the HE console

  • what lights to use
  • when to turn on/off
  • what it is using to decide to run or not (could be presence, or a mode setting, etc).

So install, and apply setting you wish after installing.

1 Like
30

Howdy, I just found this on Hubitat Package Manager and installed it for away and vacation coverage. It Looks great!

I noticed thereā€™s an option for how long lights are to remain on, is this a Max on time and the actual duration is randomised within that range?

Btw, itā€™d be great if the end time could be a randomised definable off range eg

11:30pm = off time
Off Range = 1 hour (make user definable)

So then VLD would randomly switch off between 11:00pm and 12 midnight

This would make the simulated bed Time more realistic.

31

I use it and it works for my needs. I see you have Package Manager installed. Bryan (@bptworld) wrote a nice simulator you might be interested in. -Joel

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1 Like
32

Hi @nh.schottfam is there any chance you can add a seperate group of switches that can turn on & off switches (in my case virtual ones) to turn a (or more) speakers on & off. Could also turn your TV on & off.
Adding this would better simulate being home, although there would need to be 2 seperate times setup as naturally lights don't need to go on during daytime, & the speakers or TV would.

33

You can run a separate instance for this if needed:

see:

34

I haven't worked it out, so I've just done it with RM. I have 4 different rules, over alternating days, AM & PM was pretty easy to do

35

There is an updated version out today.

It further optimizes operations on HE, and has instructions if you want to install multiple versions.

It also can turn logging off after 2 hrs.

It is available in HPM. Vacation Lighting Director.

1 Like
36

Thanks for this app, saved me hours of headaches....
A couple of questions, can I change it to leave the lights on between the selected times? I don't want them to cycle.
can I get a notification when it runs?

thanks again.

37

So you want it to leave a light on when VLD is off?

VLD can log, but it does not have push notifications...it seems this is more debugging that normal operating state?

38

No, I want the lights to stay on between the times I selected, for example Sunset to midnight.
If I am out of the house, I would like to receive a notification like Rule Machine does when the rule is triggered. is that too complicated to add?

thanks,

Sam

39

I think it is easiest for you to create a virtual switch, and have VLD turn it on for the duration of the run (it does this now) and it turns it off when done.

This will give you start and stop of VLD.

If you are using VLD from HPM it has the feature

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40

I think I understand it. my question is with the top part of the app, where it says how often to switch the lights. does one override the other? it's mandatory so I couldn't skip it.

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here's what I have

41

So what you have means

If mode is away AND time is between sunset to 23:59 randomly turn on 2 switches from the list kitchen light and loft light for a duration of randomly around 180 mins

You also have set turn on for the entire time the same two lights

Given you only have 2 switches in the list, and you ask for 2 on, it won't be very random.... (as well as you ask for the two switches to be on the entire time)

So I think you want the first set of devices to be different than the 2nd set

I also think you want the first set to be more than 2 devices so there is some random behavior.

42

thanks!
I want it to do only the second part but I can't bypass the top part, the part with the cycles they all have the mandatory *.
let me know if you find a way to run a notification when it runs.

thanks again

43

Is there a way to pause or stop/start VLD. I want to configure it and then be able to initiate it when I go on vacation. I donā€™t use presence or HSM.

44

HE supports pausing an app

HE console -> apps

  • there is a check box to disable the application

Not sure if this is what you are asking

45

Thank you. Totally forgot about that little grey X.

46

This still working for people? Seems to not work recently for me...

47

I use this app all the time

What is not working?