Garage door completely open indicator?

Hi guys, so interesting ‘issue’, wondering if someone has come up with an idea for this. My wife’s car is very tall, so the garage door needs to be completely open before you back out. Right now you push the button and wait and think “ok, that should be long enough” and then you back out. What would be nice is if there was a way to perhaps have a contact sensor that changes to ‘closed’ when the door is completely up, and triggers a green light to turn on that’s mounted on the wall facing the windshield? Something like that? Anyone else come up with a solution for this?

Thanks!

Like you mentioned, a contact sensor at the top end of the garage door and the magnet attached to a fixed point where the sensor will register as closed. From there it’s just a matter of turning a green light on when the contact is closed using any smart app you feel comfortable with.

Reverse the contact placement if it makes it easier to install.

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For something like that I don’t even know I would waste resources using a smart app. A simple contact switch to turn on a light is easy enough and it’s instant. Using ST there could be a delay. No sense making something “smart” just for the sake of making it smart, unless you want to do something with that information. Sometimes dumb is better

The part that I’m missing is how to have ST turn on a light. Is there a device for this?

If you put a tilt sensor on the bottom garage door panel it will not register that it is horizontal (open) until the last (bottom) garage door panel is horizontal.

You can use this to make a tilt sensor out of a contact sensor http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1755263

As for a light that will turn on/off based on the state of the sensor buy a smart outlet and plug in a light socket like this (https://www.amazon.com/GE-54173-Adapter-Converts-Polarized/dp/B002DN2OEM/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1493666266&sr=8-7&keywords=light+socket+adapter+to+plug) then install a green lightbulb that will turn on with the smart outlet when the contact sensor/level sensor indicates the door is open.

Actually as Im writing this I’m realizing a simple RGB smart bulb would also work for your need and provide more options. With a RGB bulb you could have it change colors, door not all the way open = RED, door open = GREEN…

Do you have a Hub yet? Contact and Motion Sensors are popular devices to turn on/off stuff in ST. In your case, it sounds like it would be a regular contact sensor or a multi-sensor that has an accelerometer in it. A Green Light can comes in many forms.

Does the place you want to install the light have power? If so, how is it turned on? Do you need a light? Are you all’s phones connected as presence sensors? Can you just install a contact sensor and say if contact sensor stays closed for 5 seconds, send push notification “You May Exit The Garage Now. Drive With Care!”…

How long does it take for the garage door to open? Are there situations where it doesn’t open all the way? Does your car have sound proof windows? :joy: