I have 2 sensors, Door A and Door B. Door A being external door and Door B being internal door. Currently have an automation that triggers based on Door A being opened (if Door B is open = it is an exit, if Door B is closed = it is an entry).
However, sometimes Door A is left open and opening Door B will thus not trigger any automation.
Wondering if anyway to specify if Door A has been open for more than X minutes, opening Door B will trigger an automation (regardless of entry/exit), as I know condition only works based on exactly specified X minutes instead of on > (more than) X minutes.
No, the for: time in conditions is at least that time. i.e. that time or greater than that time. You can use it.
I’m going to call them door_internal and door_external for clarity.
- alias: entry
trigger:
platform: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.door_external
to: 'on' # open
condition:
condition: or
conditions:
- condition: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.door_internal
state: 'off' # closed
- condition: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.door_internal
state: 'on' #open
for:
minutes: 10 # true if open for 10 minutes or more
action:
- service: yadda_yadda...
I would tend to agree with Tom
But I’m conscious that I have worked at locations where such measures have been defeated by a wedge or a convenient weighty object (a brick)
Some justifications are valid “it’s hot and this creates a breeze”
You could have the door being open for > x mins to sound an alarm, but people then justify violence (to the sounder (sometimes with the brick) ) or the clever ones to the sensor (I’ve seem contacts bridged or magnets dug out of walls and taped to the trave etc.)
It’s often better to make an individual responsible and give them a silent alarm (a light in the corner or something)
You could also use magnetic door locks and enforce an airlock system, just hope you never have to bring a ladder in through the opening or paint the door frames (both doors wedged open).
As @tom_l said, the time specified in the for option of a state condition means it has been in that state for at least that amount of time. To get the behavior you asked for, try something like this:
trigger:
platform: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.door_b
to: 'on'
condition:
condition: state
entity_id: binary_sensor.door_a
state: 'on'
for:
minutes: X
action:
...
Don’t get the for option for triggers and conditions confused. What you described is for triggers. I.e., when the state changes to the specified value and stays that way for X minutes, then at X minutes after the state changed it will trigger.
For conditions, it would be nearly impossible for an entity to have been in the specified state for exactly X minutes when the automation triggers (due to probably some unrelated event.) Hence, for conditions, the for option means that it has been in that state for at least X minutes.
Also, conditions don’t “trigger”. They are either true or false when they are evaluated. Triggers trigger.
Is this method still valid? I’m trying to follow the logic here to turn off a light “after hours.” I want to turn off the Beta tank light if it’s turned off after 9pm or before 10am, but I want to do it only if the light stays on for 10 min (testing below for 10 sec for quicker response to test the automation) and it’s not turning off.
alias: Beta Lights Auto Off
description: ''
trigger:
- platform: state
to: 'on'
entity_id: switch.smart_energy_switch_2
condition:
- condition: time
after: '21:00:00'
before: '10:00:00'
- condition: device
type: is_on
device_id: 5c2ac5a7135d7f0be55767f4b5015838
entity_id: switch.smart_energy_switch_2
domain: switch
for:
hours: 0
minutes: 0
seconds: 10
milliseconds: 0
action:
- type: turn_off
device_id: 5c2ac5a7135d7f0be55767f4b5015838
entity_id: switch.smart_energy_switch_2
domain: switch
mode: single
