Nothing on there is really crazy or complex. Just things like running the Roomba when I leave, or turning on lights at sunset.
I’ve found it to be very nice because I can automate common things around temperature, motion, waking up/falling asleep, and leaving/coming home. It also all integrates with HomeKit so I can control everything with Siri.
It’s definitely more in the hobby territory than something truly essential, but I would say that it is definitely useful and better than managing a bunch of random apps to automate lights or whatever.
For those who want something similar with way less work I'd use https://www.home-assistant.io/green
On the side of writing YAML, this was actually all generated by the UI and then exported to YAML when I decided I wanted to version control it. It's really nice because Copilot works pretty well for creating/editing automations.
your thermostat just happens to support that internally. not everyone's thermostats are 'smart' like that.
[0] https://www.ncelectrical.co.uk/product_images/FT24H-HiRes.jp...
I've definitely no "fashionable allergy" to digital forms of automation. I simply don't want the massive complexity that comes with it.
I'm also not advocating against it, I just don't see the point it in.
Your thermostat? Yes, based on the image above. The cooker? I'd say not. The lights? Definite yes.
What I like about my thermostat timer is that it's simple, local, and requires nothing else. No networking, no app, no maintenance over changing the timer for if I'm away, etc.
The behavior is broadly as follows: Consider a thermostat heating schedule that is programmed for 64F overnight, increasing to 70F at 7:00am. A regular thermostat would begin heating at 7am, and take e.g. 40 minutes before reaching 70F. So between 7:00 and 7:40 the temperature is "less than 70F."
With adaptive recovery, the thermostat figures out (or is hand-tuned to know) that it will take 40 minutes to raise eight degrees, so begins the schedule at 6:20 so that it hits 70F right at 7am.
If that's not what you were saying then, uh, ignore me.
The first time I had someone over, I got into bed and hit all-lights-off, only to hear "Hey! I'm in the bathroom and all the lights just went out!"
Not once I found anything it allow actually useful. Cool? Yeah maybe the first time, bulb that can switch color is cool.
Beside that, utterly and completely useless.
- Lights on when the first person living here arrive after sunset
- Shutdown every lights when the last person living here leave
- Main switch to shut every lights at night
- 30min light sequence from red to white every morning, everywhere, before playing the "birds" playlist on sonos : waking up like this and not having to deal with switches and darkness while my head is up my ass changed my life.
- Ungrouping every sonos devices each night a 5am and setting volume to each so I don't wake up to full volume and I can have birds in the bedroom, music everywhere else. Screw you Sonos for not making it in your app.
- Gently tone down lights when something is played after 8pm on Apple TV
- Gently lights up when something is paused or stopped on Apple TV
- Setting "night mode" on automatically on sound bar every night at 11pm
- Setting it off automatically every morning at 7am
- Using dirt cheap Ikea remotes for eveything connected, without limitation or Ikea Bridge.
Everything is possible thanks to Home Assistant and some efforts. Because manufacturers either don't care, don't want to be compatible with other brands, or want to keep new exciting features for the future.
Motion activated lights switch is also very useful for corridors and definitely not for lazy people as I often read.
For all of that, thank you HA and its beloved and passionate community !