Yes sir…
1 Like
- Washer and dryer done - no more loads forgotten/stinky or wrinkled (voice, light, and text notifications)
- Stove burner/toaster oven on warning - lights up a red LED strip around baseboard of cabinets if any gas cooktop burner or toaster oven are on. Keeps us from burning down the house, so relatively important.
- Auto-Off app, to turn off whole house fan and water recirc pump when they have been on for desired time (son had once left whole house fan running for an entire weekend, when he came by when we were out of town)
- Flume water main leak detection/warning, voice and text
- Leak detection connected to water main shut-off valve
- Door-open reminders (come on when doors have been open for a x amount of time, so we don't forget to close them), voice & text. Includes sheds, electrical panel
- Auto-off for one Ring camera we don't want on when we're home
- Take out the trash reminder (voice & text)
- Misc light automations based on motion
But really what is actually the best:
- Any automations my wife currently likes - if the most important customer isn't happy, then the company will go out of business.
6 Likes
That setup is pretty cool, I'll have to remember that if I need outdoor lux for automations. With my automation I'm trying to get an indoor lux value and the Zooz sensor and my rule setup doesn't seem to be able to do what I wanted and now that summer has started to show its ugly head I will have to wait for late fall to have any consistent cloudy days to test anything out.
Thanks for the reply
I've used a couple Fibaro Z Wave Motion detectors front and rear of the house (east and west) suitably enclosed to be waterproof and modified to be powered via 5V rather than battery. I have a boolean that triggers when the lux passes a specific level and that boolean can then be used within automations.
1 Like
As for useful automations (in no particular order)
Locks - Standard locks fitted with microswitches. Status displayed on dashboards - no more going out to the garage when I'm 99% sure I locked it....Unlocking front door brings on specific lights.
Goodnight - Sends resume to heating, closes living room curtain, switches lights on upstairs and bedside reading lights, turns alarm on, turns off all other lights after a delay, turns off TV.
Good Morning - Opens all curtains, turns on TV, turns off alarm (only if it was part set the previous night)
Notifications - Washer Complete, Dishwasher Complete, Fridge Door Left Open, Rat Trap Triggered. Notify phone, display on dashboards and clear dash notifications automatically. Rat trap triggered plays Rat In Mi Kitchen by UB40 on Sonos ('I'm gonna git that rat, that's what I'm gonna do....')
Auto Curtains - by sunset/sunrise with offset. Closing living room curtain turns off ambient garden lighting (no point in it being on if no-one can see it)
Heating - HE integrated with Honeywell EvoHome. Window/door contacts on alarm system (Honeywell Dimension) integrated via MQTT individually turn off TRVs when window/door opened and stays open.
3 Likes
1 Like
Could you post a photo and describe your setup? I’m curious to see what this looks like.
2 Likes
The roku integration on hubitat has the ability with roku tv's to provide on/off states of the tv. So Hubitat monitors for that stat to change and then sends the on/off command accordingly to the govee ambient tv lights via its integration.
It isn't instant as the roku tv has to be polled for its state but it works well. You also need govee devices that work with their cloud api. Not all devices do.
The path for roku boxes and strips are slightly different. I just use a zwave/zigbee strip that does power monitoring. Then when the TV power goes up/down enough, turn on/off the govee light strip.
Not the most "useful" but the ones I appreciate the most...
Freezer and fridge temperature sensors alert to doors left ajar
Water leak sensors automatically shut off water main if they detect water
Left the house and forgot to set the alarm - notification only
Litter box full and needs emptying
1 Like
Like many people, and in my original post, those that remind / alert me to actions I need to take certainly make my life easier, like laundry alerts, "dehumidifier full" alerts, etc.
But I must admit I do appreciate the convenience of a seamless lighting setup, i.e. one that turns the right lights on at the right time at the right level and colour. Personally I feel this provides the most tactile interaction with the "system" I have setup. If this is functioning then I feel happy with what I have setup.....
@ aaiyar. My four doors - front, side, rear bi fold and garage all have multi point locks - 2 have a mortice bolt that's thrown with the key and the other 2 just have hooks that engage in the frame when the handle is lifted (the key then locks the handle internally).
What I've done is put a lever type microswitch behind the keep for the mortice bolt so that the bolt pushes the lever in when locked. For the two doors that don't have mortice bolts, I've done it in a similar fashion but put the switch in the opening for one of the 'hooks' that engages in the frame (that's not ideal TBH because if you pull the handle up, it'll show locked when it isn't, so I intend to replace the lock gearbox on these doors when I get chance)
For three of the doors I have the microswitches connected into my alarm and they are monitored by HE using MQTT. For the fourth door I couldn't do that as they are bi-fold and the keep for the lock is in a door panel that moves (so I can't cable to it). For that one (shown in pics) I simply used a Aeotec contact that will take a wired input and cabled between the microswitch and contact. The contact is secured in the recess between adjacent hinged panels so is only visible when the doors are fully folded back.
Lastly (not needed) I put a Virtual Thermostat on HE. In RM I've a Rule that 'sets' the temperature of that to 0 when all doors are closed, 1 if the front door is open, and 2 if any door other than the front is open. I use that to change the colour of a SharpTools supertile. If the tile has no colour everything is locked, if it's green I know the front door only is unlocked and if it's red I know that another door other than the front door is unlocked. This is just so that I can see from across the room the status of the door locks at a glance on the tablet.
PS The photos are actually the right way up but this forum turns portrait photos on their side!
6 Likes
Don't worry, for those of us nearing bedtime they are the right orientation...
6 Likes
Ooooo...now that's more like the Jetsons.
@johnwill1 Currently refurbing the house and this is a great idea! Do you have a pic/link for the micro switches you used? I'm installing alarm cables everywhere and looking to use konnected for the alarm system so this should work nicely with that set up.
Would you say sharp tools is better for the dashboard side than HE?
1 Like
@baldog I don't have link but you'll be able to get them from Amazon. Basically they're the same as the ones used for alarm external sounder anti tamper switches - I've pulled one out of an old sounder to take a pic for you. The lever can be bent/cut to suit:
I've just never managed to get my head around the Hubitat Dashboard - it's the least user friendly aspect of Hubitat (for me - I know that's not the case for everyone) - I find Rule Machine far easier than Hubitat Dashboard! The benefit of the Hubitat dash is that it's completely local and doesn't require internet. The benefit of SharpTools:
- Easy to setup
- Fast (I don't see any delays even though it is web based)
- Custom tiles, Super Tiles
- Drag and drop
- Better icons
- Another great community (like this one)
- Staff are great - really helpful and quick to respond (take a bow @josh !)
- I could be wrong but I think it might be easier to add other links - url's, media etc to their dash
Get a trial and have a play. I have a main dashboard for each tablet that is specific to the room it's in showing a camera, all controllable items in that room, weather, links to Life360 etc. Then separate common dashboards for CCTV, Lighting, Heating, Curtains, Security.
PS Many people aren't fussed about dashboards at all and I understand they see it as a glorified remote control. I have a lot things automated with Rule Machine and most of what I want is automatic - however I like the dashboard for visual confirmation of what's on and off and the fact I can link into other apps from within the dashboard without leaving it. I just like having everything integrated in one screen.
4 Likes
I concur with your thoughts and also like the ability to direct sms notifications which I used heavily. The support from @josh and @JamesLiu is beyond fantastic.
4 Likes
perfect thanks!
I'll give sharp tools a go the HE dashboard if you're not a developer is horrible and I've never been happy with what I've created in it.
Agree about the dashboard its nice to have some in wall ones located in main areas but voice control for the majority of the system
1 Like
I rarely use voice control. I tend to get tongue tied forgetting what I'm asking for 'Alexa - switch on the err, thingy.....errr bollocks....cancel"
4 Likes
Not in any particular order:
- Coffee maker automatically starts when spouse is returning from morning walk (this one is fairly complicated to handle special circumstances and has worked well for several years).
- Turn off all the lights when everyone has left (but make sure you disable this if you have a houseguest: my guest thought the power went out).
- Outdoor lights on a schedule and/or with motion.
1 Like
