I’m trying to use the Aqara Vibration sensor to detect when the dryer stops. I have the sensitivity working properly and I’m using this blueprint https://community.home-assistant.io/t/blue-print-to-work-with-aqara-vibration-sensor-for-automation-to-trigger-notification-or-other-action-when-dishwasher-or-washing-machine-is-done/282553
I’m just wondering what Timeout people are using? It seems when I set it to 0 it just constantly detects vibration even when there isnt any?
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Ok, I’m still in the process of mentally figuring this out myself but here’s what I figure.
In your automation you want to set up your Trigger as:
- vibration_sensor vibration started detecting vibration.
- Duration: ~10 minutes ← This number will vary depending on how your dryer works. Ours typically runs for about an hour on a large load but if the vibration sensor is constant for 10minutes chances are the dryer is running and it’s not just you loading the machine. Set this number to be longer than the typical cycle type but less than the shortest load you could run.
Then Do (Actions):
- Wait for a trigger command
- Timeout (Optional) ← If you want it to stop waiting after some time and continue to prevent hangups
Embed a device trigger inside the ‘wait’ trigger section:
- vibration_sensor stopped detecting vibration.
- duration ← I did 20 seconds to remove any nuisance detections
Then continue on with your action outputs as you want… light blink, send notifications, etc.
Basically what we want to do is to say: When my vibration sensor is detecting that the dryer is running, wait a few minutes while the sensor is still detecting vibration to make sure it wasn’t just the cat jumping on the machine… then wait for the vibration sensor to stop detecting motion (~20 second duration to remove any cycle changes from the dryer) and then perform the automation output like sending a notification that the dryer is stopped.
Considerations:
Go to the ‘History’ tab on the left bar to view a typical load cycle to get the times you need. I’m going to run a similar automation on the clothes washer but that one fills, drains, spins, etc. and fine tuning the [WHEN] duration section is key.
Adding in some And If: Conditions in your automation to stop the automation from texting us if we’re in the room when the dryer stops… like if the light is on, or occupancy is detected in the room, etc. You can embed these in to an And or Or statement depending on your requirements.
Sorry about my post formatting, I’m new here.