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‎config.yml‎

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params:
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env: production
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defaultTheme: dark
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description: I'm Wuguang, a architect / software engineer / site reliability engineer based in Singapore. I write about tech including topics in software engineering.
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homeInfoParams:
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Title: Hi there, I'm Wuguang

‎content/posts/2025/11/home-automations/index.md‎

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‎content/posts/2025/12/home-automations/index.md‎

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---
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title: "Top Smart Home Automations That Make Life Easier 🏖️"
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summary: "Simplify daily tasks with smart home automations"
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showToc: true
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tocOpen: true
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date: 2025-12-14
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tags:
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- HomeAutomation
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cover:
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image: "home-automations.png"
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alt: "Home automations"
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caption: "Simplify daily tasks with smart home automations"
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---
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Having a smart home has been a game changer for me.
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It's not just about cool gadgets; it's about making your life more convenient, more efficient (think lower utility bills) and secure (notifications when I'm away from home).
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While the sky is the limit with automating your smart home, I've found a number of core automations that have become indispensable in my smart home.
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Here are some of my favourite home automations that I use and love.
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> [!NOTE]
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> My smart home is powered by [Home Assistant](https://www.home-assistant.io/) (HA) so any blueprint, automation or script shared here are based on that platform.
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> If you are using other platforms (Apple Homekit, Google Home, etc.), you won't be able to use my automation code.
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> However, you can still create similar automations since they have the same *triggers-conditions-actions* structure.
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---
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## 💡 Motion Activated Lighting
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Let's start off with the most basic and most commonly used automation - motion activated lighting.
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This automation is particularly a life-saver for me as I have a toddler at home.
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I have strategically placed a motion sensor near her bedroom to ensure that if she needs a nighttime trip to the toilet,
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the lights will turn on automatically which eliminates the need for me to fumble for distant light switches.
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> [!TASK] What you'll need
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> 1. Motion sensor
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> 2. Smart bulb, switch or light
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**How the automation works**:
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Most motion sensors are operated with a button battery and provide 2 attributes: a binary on-off state for motion and a numerical value for illuminance.
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These 2 values are used to activate the automation.
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**Triggers**: Motion is detected.
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**Conditions**: The illuminance is below the given threshold (we only want to execute the automation if it's too dark).
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**Actions**:
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1. Turn on the light.
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2. Wait for the motion sensor to clear (i.e. no movement detected).
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3. Turn off the light.
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> [!CODE] Automation: Motion activated lights
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> ```yaml
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> triggers:
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> - trigger: state
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> entity_id:
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> - binary_sensor.motion_sensor_motion
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> to:
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> - "on"
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> conditions:
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> - condition: numeric_state
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> entity_id: sensor.motion_sensor_illuminance
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> below: 20
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> actions:
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> - action: light.turn_on
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> target:
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> entity_id: light.ceiling
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> - wait_for_trigger:
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> - trigger: state
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> entity_id:
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> - binary_sensor.motion_sensor_motion
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> to:
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> - "off"
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> - action: light.turn_off
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> target:
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> entity_id: light.ceiling
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>```
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> [!TIP] Tip: Improving the accuracy of your motion sensor
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> 1. Shadows, reflections, and movement caused by wind (e.g. fluttering curtains) may trigger motion sensors.
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> 2. Motion sensors have a cone-shaped detection zone and typically have an optimal range where it can detect movement reliably.
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> Too close, you will be in its blind spot; too far, you will be out of the detection zone.
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> 3. Continue to fine-tune by re-positioning your motion sensor or adjusting its sensitivity and detection interval for the best results.
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## 🛋️ Adaptive Lighting
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This quality-of-life improvement can be used in conjunction with other lighting automations such as the motion activated lighting mentioned above.
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Its main purpose is to set up warm lighting and dimming the light during nighttime to reduce eye strain and for a cozy ambience as you wind down for the day.
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> [!TASK] What you'll need
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> 1. Smart bulb or light
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**How the automation works**:
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It's self-explanatory given the triggers and actions below.
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**Triggers**:
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1. By scheduled time.
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2. The light is turned on.
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**Actions**:
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1. Determine the brightness and color temperature based on the current time.
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2. Set the brightness and color temperature of the light.
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> [!NOTE]
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> I don't have any automation code to share here since I am using HA's [Adaptive Lighting](https://github.com/basnijholt/adaptive-lighting) custom integration to set this up.
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## ❄️ Turn Off the Air-conditioner When Doors/Windows Are Open
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This is an energy-saving automation which switches off your air-conditioner when your door (or windows) is open.
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> [!TASK] What you'll need
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> 1. Contact sensor
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> 2. <abbr title="Infrared / Radio Frequency">IR/RF</abbr> blaster (for controlling your air-conditioner)
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**Setting up the contact sensor**
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The contact sensor consists of 2 parts: the sensor body and a small magnet.
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1. Mount the sensor body on to the door frame.
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2. Mount the magnet on to the edge of the door. It should be positioned so that it is aligned with the sensor body when the door closes.
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**Setting up the IR/RF blaster**
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Most air-conditioners do not have smart home capabilities, so an IR/RF blaster is used for control.
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To set up the IR/RF blaster for use with your air-conditioner,
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1. Execute the `remote.learn_command` action on the IR/RF blaster:
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```yaml
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action: remote.learn_command
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target:
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entity_id: remote.ir_rf_remote
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data:
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command_type: ir
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device: air-conditioner # a user-friendly name describing the device
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command: "off" # a user-friendly name describing what the command does
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```
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2. The IR/RF blaster will wait for the IR signal. Point the remote of your air-conditioner at the IR/RF blaster and press the corresponding "off" button.
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3. The IR/RF blaster captures the IR signal and saves it for future use with the `remote.send_command` action.
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**How the automation works**:
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The automation is triggered by the contact sensor's state change after 2 minutes (or any amount of time you have configured).
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The IR/RF blaster sends the "off" command by mimicking the IR signal from air-conditioner's remote, turning off the device.
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**Triggers**: Door is opened for more than 2 minutes.
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**Actions**: Send "off" command using remote.
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(Possible variations include playing a chime on smart speakers as a reminder.)
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> [!CODE] Automation: Turn off air-conditioner when door is opened for 2 minutes
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> ```yaml
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> triggers:
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> - trigger: state
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> entity_id:
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> - binary_sensor.contact_sensor_contact
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> to:
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> - "on"
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> for:
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> hours: 0
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> minutes: 2
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> seconds: 0
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> actions:
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> - action: remote.send_command
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> target:
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> entity_id: remote.ir_rf_remote
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> data:
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> num_repeats: 1
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> delay_secs: 0.4
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> hold_secs: 0
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> command: "off"
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> device: air-conditioner
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> ```
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## 🔊 Announcements for Home Appliances
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For the ultimate relaxation, announcements beat notifications since they provide information to you without you having to grab your phone.
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For example, play an announcement when the washing machine has completed its cycle.
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Take a load off your mind - no more worries about mildew and musty odor!
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> [!TASK] What you'll need
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> 1. Smart speaker
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> 2. Smart appliances (for example, washing machine and dryer)
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**How the automation works**:
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When the washing machine has finished running, play an announcement every 15 minutes
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(or any amount of time depending on how frequent you want to be reminded) until the dryer starts running.
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**Trigger**: The washing machine has finished running.
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**Actions**:
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1. Repeat until the dryer is running.
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2. Say "The washing machine has finished running" on speaker.
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3. Wait until the dryer starts to run with a timeout of 15 minutes.
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> [!CODE] Automation: Announce "washing machine has finished running"
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> ```yaml
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> triggers:
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> - trigger: state
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> entity_id:
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> - binary_sensor.washing_machine_wash_completed
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> to:
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> - "on"
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> actions:
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> - repeat:
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> until:
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> - condition: state
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> entity_id: sensor.dryer_process_state
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> state:
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> - Dry
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> sequence:
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> - action: tts.cloud_say
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> data:
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> message: The washing machine has finished running.
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> cache: true
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> entity_id: media_player.all_speakers
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> - wait_for_trigger:
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> - trigger: state
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> entity_id:
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> - sensor.dryer_process_state
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> to:
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> - Dry
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> timeout:
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> hours: 0
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> minutes: 15
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> seconds: 0
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> milliseconds: 0
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> ```
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## 🚨 Network Video Recorder (NVR) Notifications
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This automation utilizes a NVR to monitor for movement or persons in IP camera streams.
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When there is a detection, it sends a notification containing a sample video of the event.
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> [!TASK] What you'll need
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> 1. NVR
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> 2. IP camera
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For the NVR, I choose [Frigate](https://frigate.video/), a free open source solution since my hardware has a supported integrated GPU (iGPU) required to perform the detection.
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**Setting up the NVR and IP camera**
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The set-up for IP cameras varies based on the manufacturer, but the typical steps will involve the following:
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1. On your IP camera, configure the credentials for the <abbr title="Real Time Streaming Protocol">RTSP</abbr> stream. This allows you to securely and remotely view live feeds over the network.
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2. On your NVR, add the camera's RTSP stream.
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3. Configure the NVR detector (for example, detection zones and persons) for the RTSP stream.
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**How the automation works**:
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Frigate sends a JSON formatted MQTT message when it detects a person.
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We then configure the trigger of the automation to filter for MQTT messages that match your desired camera and event type.
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For the actions, we simply wait to capture sufficient footage for a preview before including it in your notification.
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**Trigger**: The NVR detected a person.
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**Conditions**: No one is at home.
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*Side note: There are many ways to determine "Away" status.
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You can use a toggle switch, Wi-Fi SSID status of your mobile, geofencing of mobile location or presence sensors.*
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**Actions**:
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1. Wait for 30 seconds (or any amount of time) to record some footage.
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2. Send the preview as a notification to your mobile.
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The automation code is rather complex,
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but you can use the community created [Frigate Mobile App Notification 2.0 Blueprint](https://github.com/SgtBatten/HA_blueprints/blob/main/Frigate_Camera_Notifications/Stable.yaml) to easily create the automation through a few mouse clicks.
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## Conclusion: General Guidance on Automating Your Smart Home
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Home automations are highly personalized and what I've shared may or may not suit you.
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The key is to identify repetitive tasks, the rules for triggering and the actions for buildidng your own automations.
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Here's some general tips:
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- **Keep automations simple**. It might be tempting to create a single automation that handles all scenarios for a device.
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However, that might lead to a complex automation with triggers and conditions that interact in unexpected ways, resulting in an unreliable automation that's difficult to understand and troubleshoot.
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- **Make automations intuitive for family members.** Explain how the automations work so any automated behavior does not feel bewildering.
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- **Retain manual control.** Sometimes sensors fail, run out of batteries or your smart home platform becomes unresponsive (crashes, system updates, etc.).
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Always ensure your home remains functional even when your smart home capabilities are offline.
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For example, standard light switches for turning on/off lights.

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