I’m trying to automate my Good Morning and Goodnight routines so that they arm/disarm SHM automatically (and adjust the thermostat), but I’m not sure the best way to trigger these to reduce false positives.
Just curious what you do, if anything, to automate these. Primarily motion (and lack of motion)? Time-based? Manual?
Is there a way to trigger based on light status (e.g., Goodnight runs if all of the lights have been turned off for >15 minutes)? Probably need something more configurable like RuleMachine?
I prefer to use my goodnight automation as the back up.
Meaning - the plan is to always manual press the good night routine when I actually go to bed. But I also have an automated routine that will arm based on time, just on the off chance I would forget.
I do the opposite for good morning. The automatic routine happens based on time slightly before I actually get up. (or at least it does when ST isn’t broken). Like most people, I look at my phone right when I get up and I can tell if the routine ran. If it didn’t, then I do it manually. If I have to get up super early one day, then I just do it manually.
I also have lighting that changes for good night and good morning so I have a visual indicator.
For good night, I either manually change it or I have a rule that when I turn off my bedroom lights after a specific time, my house runs the routine. In the morning , I manually run it as I don’t require much to turn on (I do not use SHM)
Different things will work for different households. The following thread was created based on questions about using motion sensor triggered lights in the bedroom, but a lot of the same ideas apply if you want to use motion sensors to change mode.
At our house, there is a motion sensor on the side of the nightstand pointing towards the bed so it can’t get accidentally triggered by anything. I trigger with an intentional hand wave as I am getting out of bed. So that’s one option.
The following thread covers ideas on automating good morning. You’ll see a lot of variation because it just depends on each particular household’s routine.
If and when smartthings ever releases the smart sleep sensor, which is a device that goes under the mattress and tracks sleep, that would be a good way unless you’re a household where people take naps during the day.
Good morning - Runs at a fixed time. We have a 1.5 year old that consistently wakes up around 7 am every day and I always wake up during the week at the same time for work, so any time before those two events works for us.
Good night - I have a virtual switch that triggers this via rule machine. We tell Alexa to turn the switch on as we are heading to bed.
I also have a contact sensor on our bedroom door that disarms and re-arms SHM (when it’s working) when ST is in night mode in case i need to do downstairs to let the dog out, get a bottle for our 1 month old, etc.
Thanks everyone. I see each person’s case is different. I think I found what works for me.
I now use Circadian Daylight (modified the code for less orange in the morning) and Gentle Wake Up for a 30 min. simulated sunrise in my bedroom. Once Gentle Wake Up is complete, I then have it trigger the Good Morning routine. Seems to work for the most part, except when my husband gets up earlier than me and starts opening doors.
The following thread was created based on questions about using motion sensor triggered lights in the bedroom, but a lot of the same ideas apply if you want to use motion sensors to change mode.