My Christmas gift to Marge arrived a few weeks late, but it did arrive. She now has a smart office, the smartest room in our smarter home.It took a little bit of hardware and a smaller bit of configuration for her dark office to light up by simply entering the room. If she’s gone for 3 minutes the lights will turn off, waiting for the next entry.
To sense someone in the room takes a sensor, we are using a millimeter microwave with included luminance sensor. A table lamp has a smart bulb. Home Assistant talks to these devices over the zigbee network they create. A second sensor provides temperature and humidity in the room.
The code is real simple. If the luminance meter indicates less than 20 lux and the presence sensor indicates a person is present, then turn on the light and keep it on as long as someone is in the room. If no one is in the room for 3 minutes, turn the lights off.
When creating dasboards there are lots of options, from the tools to use to what you want to see or do from the dashboard. This is the one I set up for Margie. Able see the status and to control much of house, from her easy chair or beach chair.
I have a different dash for my view. Each is a tab, so it is easy to swipe between the two, or add more as desired.
HA is doing a good job of being an assistant. Adding calendars, weather forecast, live front door feed to HA shopping lists, or a gazillion other ways to tailor it to your needs and desires is truly making our homes smarter and taking us into the age of George Jetson.
Notifications from HA are the new norm. Don’t have to wonder if the mail was delivered.
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