Dimming and turning off light with dynamic script

Configuration
1

Hi folks.

I am trying to make some light dim after x seconds, and if no movements within a given timespan, the light should turn off completely.
I am trying to avoid having a script pr. room, so therefore, I am trying to send some variables from an automation to the script. However, I am stuck in my last condition, where I check, if there has still not been any movement in the room for x seconds.

My yaml looks like this:
Automation:

- alias: 'sluk lys wc 1 sal'
  initial_state: 'on'
  trigger:
    - platform: state
      entity_id: binary_sensor.wc_1_sal_1627738
      to: 'off'
      for:
        seconds: 180
  action:
    - script: script.turn_on
      entity_id: script.sluk_lys
      data_template:
        sensor: wc_1_sal_1627738
        light: wc_1_sal_gruppe

Script:

sluk_lys:
  sequence:
    - condition: template
      value_template: "{{ is_state('light.[light]', 'on') }}" 
    - service: light.turn_on
      data_template:
        entity_id: "light.{{ light }}"
        brightness: >
          {% set bri = 'states.light.[light].attributes.brightness' | int %}
          {{ [bri-50, 0] | max }}
    - delay:
        seconds: 30
    - condition: state
      value_template: "{{ is_state('binary_sensor.[sensor]', 'off') }}"
        for:
          seconds: 30
    - service: light.turn_off
      data_template:
        entity_id: "light.{{ light }}"

Anyone doing something similar?

2

You might run into “script already running” errors doing it this way. Particularly with that 30 second delay.

HA is not able to run multiple instances of the same script.

3

Aaaah yes ofc! Did not think about that one. That might be a stupid way of doing it then.
But I guess, the script can just be put directly into the automations action, since that is basically a script.
And I have an automation for listening for an off state on the binary anyway.
I’ll look into that.
Thanks for the feedback :blush:

4

script has some syntax errors.

sluk_lys:
  sequence:
    - condition: template
      value_template: "{{ is_state('light.'+light, 'on') }}" 
    - service: light.turn_on
      data_template:
        entity_id: "light.{{ light }}"
        brightness: >
          {% set bri = state_attr('light.'+light,'brightness') | int %}
          {{ [bri-50, 0] | max }}
    - delay:
        seconds: 30
    - condition: state
      value_template: "{{ is_state('binary_sensor.'+sensor, 'off') }}"
        for:
          seconds: 30
    - service: light.turn_off
      data_template:
        entity_id: "light.{{ light }}"

and, to avoid @tom_l’s error.

- alias: 'sluk lys wc 1 sal'
  initial_state: 'on'
  trigger:
    - platform: state
      entity_id: binary_sensor.wc_1_sal_1627738
      to: 'off'
      for:
        seconds: 180
  action:
    - script: script.turn_off
      entity_id: script.sluk_lys
    - script: script.sluk_lys
      data_template:
        sensor: wc_1_sal_1627738
        light: wc_1_sal_gruppe

so your syntax errors are because you are trying to place variables into strings and that’s not possible the way you are handling it. Putting bracket’s around a variable will not work and have it automatically place said variable into the string. You can put variables in strings but the strings themselves need a specific format and you need to call the format function:

'states.light.{light}.attributes.brightness'.format(light=light)

or

'states.light.{0}.attributes.brightness'.format(light)

or

'states.light.{}.attributes.brightness'.format(light)

but it will still leave it as a string and not an object, making all these examples not work.

the proper way to do what you were trying to do was to call the object_id (what you labeled as light and sensor) from the object directly.

states.light[light].attributes.brightness

2 things to note here:

  1. no quotes around it, that makes it the object
  2. No dot after the first light. That means you are accessing an attribute/key of the states.light object.
5 
  action:
    - script: script.turn_off
      entity_id: script.sluk_lys
    - script: script.sluk_lys

Won’t restarting the script leave some of the lights on?

6

Yep, but it’s the same light in that automation. If other automations call it, then yes it will.

7

Yeah that’s what I was worried about considering @WonderMoose’s original intentions:

I am trying to avoid having a script pr. room, so therefore, I am trying to send some variables from an automation to the script.

8

Hi guys, thanks for your help.

I ended up just building it into the dimm automation, and scipped the script.