Automation ideas

When all of your devices talk the same language, and they’re connected to a powerful automation engine such as Home Assistant, the possibilities are endless. Here are some ideas to get you thinking.

Holiday security trickery

If you’re going away for a few days, you could instruct Home Assistant to switch on your lights at certain times, creating the illusion you’re still home. So far, so HomeKit, but using HA you could inject a dose of randomness so that lights switch on and off over the course of the evening, to really create a sense of movement.

On-air light

We’re all spending a lot more time making video calls, and this means the ever-present risk of a partner or child barging in and causing chaos. But if you’re a Mac user, an app called Camera Usage can send a “webhook” request to Home Assistant whenever you activate your camera, enabling you to turn your lights red to send a signal that you’re busy, and everyone should leave you alone.

Did I leave the garage open?

Save yourself a trip outside by using a contact sensor, such as the Sonoff DW2, to detect whether or not your garage door is open or closed. Has it been open for longer than ten minutes? Then send a push notification to your phone and play an alert noise on a speaker as a reminder.

Watch your property

If you’ve got connected CCTV cameras, then you may be able to log on to check activity, but Home Assistant can help you keep watch in real-time. With the help of the Telegram plugin, you can have your cameras automatically grab a screenshot whenever someone is detected near your house and have it instantly send you the picture, wherever you are in the world.

Make dumb gadgets smart

Some brands of smart plug, such as those made by Samsung, have a special property. They don’t simply switch power on and off; they also monitor the energy usage of whatever is plugged in. This made it possible for me to turn my dumb microwave – which doesn’t even have a screen – into something a little smarter. When Home Assistant sees plug energy usage drops below 30W, it knows the microwave has finished cooking, so it will send a push notification to my phone saying “Ping!”, so I’ll know that my lunch is ready.

De-stink your cats

Finally, another favourite automation from my house. My cats’ litter tray is in the bathroom, and I have the bathroom fan connected to Home Assistant using a Shelly Wi-Fi relay installed behind the switch. I also have an Ikea Zigbee motion sensor on the roof of the litter tray. I’ve told Home Assistant that when the motion sensor detects a cat doing its business to wait two minutes, then activate the fan for ten minutes, which does wonders for creating a more fragrant house.