I just moved into a new place and am in the process of upgrading switches and lights and adding motion sensors. Right now I have my living room lights controlled by a motion sensor after sunset. The problem is that if I watch a movie and turn off the lights I don’t want that action to get triggered and turn the lights back on if someone moves.
How do other people go about implementing this? My first thought was adding an actual new mode that would be identical to “Home” but I would just exclude it from all the motion sensors. It just seems odd to me that you can’t add a mode in the ST app and you have to do it via the API, so is there some other way to do this that I am missing?
Hi Jason. I use a Mode (Movie Time) to limit or change the behavior of my automations when I’m watching a movie. I also use other Modes for different situations (BBQ Time, Bed Time…).
Sorry, but I don’t know why SmartThings does not have an option to add a Mode on the ST App.
How about something different…
place a pressure pad under the sofa cushion connected to ST via a dry contact and have movie mode start automatically when you sit down?
:)
Use a virtual switch. Turn on the switch when you are in movie mode and tell your automations to not turn on the lights if the switch is on. Turn off the switch when you are done and your automation start working again.
Interesting ideas, I didn’t know about virtual switches and actually forgot to add my harmony hub to smartthings since I’ve had it for so long. I think I should be able to flip a virtual switch when my harmony starts an activity, then I can just check for that on the motion sensor lighting. Seems simple enough, thanks guys! Also, I’ll think about that pressure sensor under the couch cushion, maybe for the next version
