Many years ago, I put our washing machine on the internets, and it was fun but quite hacky, quite fragile. Now I have Home Assistant it's time to take another look... this looks a good hack and I'm going to do it. There are links there to some smart monitoring plugs1, so I'm getting a couple of those, they're cheaper than I remember. I will get the door sensor too1, that's what makes this a clever hack, I would not have thought of using a door and window sensor to monitor the washing machine door.
I'm impressed with Home Assistant. Everything becomes a sensor, that you can then use to control other things. So sensors I can use include an Octopus energy event starting, a phone being put on charge, a phone being taken off charge, anything being turned on or off, anything changing battery level, plus obvs the pir sensors and light switches. Then as a friend at work pointed out today, because I can use "something was turned on" as sensor, I don't need my button that I fixed to my chair that sets the lights to my liking. That was a long sentence. Instead of sitting in the chair, turning the TV on, and setting the lights, I can just monitor when the TV is turned on, and use that to set the lights.
So, the only thing I'd actually set up in Home Assistant now needs to be redone. I reprogrammed the light switch I keep by the side of the sofa, I removed it from the IKEA set up and added it directly to Home Assistant. It is set to check the time of day, if it's past sunset then set the lights; turn the two lamps beside the sofa on and turn the other lights off. Now I can set this to happen when the TV comes on, no need for the switch. Maybe next I can find a way of using just the chair to set everything up?
There is a presence sensor1, I could put it in the lounge, and it can tell where the people are in the room. I could use this to work out when someone's sat in my chair (probably me). We could also use it to work out if all four of us are in the room, in which case it's safe to turn all the other lights off. Clare says no to this though, too creepy.
Ten years ago today Clare and I went to The Magic Numbers, in Ashford! Nothing happens in Ashford!.
Paul Clarke's blog - I live in Hythe in Kent. Married + dad to two, I'm a full-stack web developr, and I do js / Node, some ruby, python, php ect ect. I like pubs, parkrun, eating, home automation and other diy stuff, history, family tree stuff, TV, squirrels, pirates, lego, + TIME TRAVEL.