Help with motion automation in Home Assistant OS

wgstarks · October 31, 2020, 8:19pm

I’m trying to setup a few basic automations in a new hassio install. I’ve created an automation to turn on a few flood lights with a motion sensor. Set the duration for 15:00. Do I still need to create an automation to turn the lights off?

123 · October 31, 2020, 8:31pm

Can’t possibly be all that “new” because it’s no longer called “hassio”. Hasn’t been called that for many months when it was renamed to Home Assistant OS. Check the docs; there’s no usage of “hassio”.

Yes.

From what I can see in the screenshot, you have created a trigger where motion must be detected for a minimum of 15 minutes before it triggers (or at least that’s what I assume it does; I don’t normally use the Automation Editor; the option is actually called for as opposed to the way the Automation Editor refers to it as ‘Duration’). The condition requires that this 15-minute interval of motion must occur prior to sunrise to permit the automation to execute the action (which is not visible in the screenshot). I assume the action turns on a light. It will remain that way until something else turns it off.

For future reference, it’s easier to share an automation in YAML format (text format) as opposed to a screenshot. If you’re using version 0.117, there’s a new feature in the Automation Editor that allows you to flip to YAML mode (and back). Once in text mode, you can easily copy/paste it into a forum post.

wgstarks · October 31, 2020, 8:53pm

Thanks. Found the YAMl.

alias: motion_activation
description: ''
trigger:
  - type: motion
    platform: device
    device_id: 24157696796a0d0045508adff42ff641
    entity_id: binary_sensor.motion_sensor_ii_54_57_5b_motion
    domain: binary_sensor
    for:
      hours: 0
      minutes: 15
      seconds: 0
condition:
  - condition: sun
    before: sunrise
    after: sunset
action:
  - type: turn_on
    device_id: 294247b81aa20bae5e0a25eaef4c5c85
    entity_id: switch.togglelinc_on_off_12_13_48
    domain: switch
  - type: turn_on
    device_id: 801b9d5a17f211eb9b57af25daa05fcf
    entity_id: light.driveway_light
    domain: light
mode: single

My goal is to turn on these two devices when any motion is detected (no time limit) and turn them back off after a 15 minute delay.

wgstarks · October 31, 2020, 9:59pm

I think maybe I’ve figured this out. I created two automations.
The first will turn lights on-

alias: motion_activation_lights_on
description: ''
trigger:
  - type: motion
    platform: device
    device_id: 24157696796a0d0045508adff42ff641
    entity_id: binary_sensor.motion_sensor_ii_54_57_5b_motion
    domain: binary_sensor
    for:
      hours: 0
      minutes: 0
      seconds: 0
condition:
  - condition: sun
    before: sunrise
    after: sunset
action:
  - type: turn_on
    device_id: 294247b81aa20bae5e0a25eaef4c5c85
    entity_id: switch.togglelinc_on_off_12_13_48
    domain: switch
  - type: turn_on
    device_id: 801b9d5a17f211eb9b57af25daa05fcf
    entity_id: light.driveway_light
    domain: light
mode: single

The second will turn them off-

alias: motion_activation_lights_off
description: ''
trigger:
  - type: no_motion
    platform: device
    device_id: 24157696796a0d0045508adff42ff641
    entity_id: binary_sensor.motion_sensor_ii_54_57_5b_motion
    domain: binary_sensor
    for:
      hours: 0
      minutes: 15
      seconds: 0
condition: []
action:
  - type: turn_off
    device_id: 294247b81aa20bae5e0a25eaef4c5c85
    entity_id: switch.togglelinc_on_off_12_13_48
    domain: switch
  - type: turn_off
    device_id: 801b9d5a17f211eb9b57af25daa05fcf
    entity_id: light.driveway_light
    domain: light
mode: single

I removed the condition in the second automation so that the lights will turn off even if it is after sunrise. Not sure if that was necessary or if maybe there’s a better way to do this???

finity · October 31, 2020, 10:48pm

At the risk of “starting something”, that’s not entirely correct.

hassio is still used in ~~the docs or at least in~~ HA itself in many places. It sure would be easier to convey the new paradigm if those instances would be wiped away. Well, except for the thousands of forum posts and potentially millions of internet references to hassio (including the two more I just created ). Those will never go away.

wgstarks · November 1, 2020, 1:40am

Must have something wrong. It doesn’t work.

123 · November 1, 2020, 1:44am

OK, show me just 3 places (in the user docs).

123 · November 1, 2020, 1:49am

Which part? Turning the lights on or off? Or both?

wgstarks · November 1, 2020, 2:35am

Wouldn’t turn on by activating the motion sensor. Not sure about the “off”. Is there an automation log I can check?

123 · November 1, 2020, 3:54am

Try this:

alias: motion_activation_lights_on
trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.motion_sensor_ii_54_57_5b_motion
    to: 'on'
condition:
  condition: or
  conditions:
    - condition: sun
      after: sunset
    - condition: sun
      before: sunrise
action:
  - service: homeassistant.turn_on
    entity_id: switch.togglelinc_on_off_12_13_48, light.driveway_light
mode: single

alias: motion_activation_lights_off
trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.motion_sensor_ii_54_57_5b_motion
    to: 'off'
    for: '00:15:00'
action:
  - service: homeassistant.turn_off
    entity_id: switch.togglelinc_on_off_12_13_48, light.driveway_light
mode: single

EDIT

Corrected the first automation’s condition. The test cannot be performed as a single sunrise/sunset condition but as two separate, logically ORed conditions.

anon43302295 · November 1, 2020, 7:57am

The condition will always return false as it can never be both before sunrise (midnight to say 6am) AND after sunset (say 6pm and midnight) at the same time.

wgstarks · November 1, 2020, 11:38am

What condition should I set to only have the lights turn on at night?

123 · November 1, 2020, 11:51am

Oops! You’re right! I had even skimmed Sunrise-Sunset Condition, and failed to notice that it explicitly cites this example as NOT how to implement a “when it’s dark” condition. You have to separate it as two, logically ORed conditions. I’ll use the excuse that “It was late …”

The correct way, clearly shown in the documentation, is like this:

condition:
  condition: or
  conditions:
    - condition: sun
      after: sunset
    - condition: sun
      before: sunrise

I’ll correct my previous example.

See my amended example above. As per the example in the documentation, to check if the current time is between sunset and sunrise, you have to use separate Sunrise-Sunset Conditions and logically OR the two conditions.

Jonah1970 · November 1, 2020, 12:00pm

Or wrap it all into one automation like this:

alias: motion_activation_lights_on
trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.motion_sensor_ii_54_57_5b_motion
    to: 'on'
condition:
- condition: or
  conditions:
  - after: sunset
    after_offset: -00:30:00
    condition: sun
  - before: sunrise
    before_offset: 00:30:00
    condition: sun
action:
  - service: homeassistant.turn_on
    entity_id: switch.togglelinc_on_off_12_13_48, light.driveway_light
  - wait_template: '{{  is_state(''binary_sensor.motion_sensor_ii_54_57_5b_motion'', ''off'')  }}'
    timeout: 00:15:00
  - service: homeassistant.turn_off
    entity_id: switch.togglelinc_on_off_12_13_48, light.driveway_light
mode: restart

I have converted all my light automations to a single one like this. The offset is useful as it is normally still dark before sunet and after dawn, the mode: restart ensures that the automation is restarted if motion is detected within the 15 minute timeout period.

123 · November 1, 2020, 12:54pm

Are you saying the timeout behavior in this:

  - wait_template: '{{  is_state(''binary_sensor.motion_sensor_ii_54_57_5b_motion'', ''off'')  }}'
    timeout: 00:15:00

is identical to the behavior of the for in this?

  - platform: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.motion_sensor_ii_54_57_5b_motion
    to: 'off'
    for: '00:15:00'

It’s my understanding that timeout and for serve different purposes.

The timeout ensures wait_template doesn’t wait forever for the template to evaluate to true. It represents the maximum waiting time before it ceases waiting and proceeds executing the balance of the action. It will also cease waiting the moment the template evaluates to true which can easily be less than the timeout value. Wait Timeout
The for specifies how long the state must remain unchanged before the trigger occurs. Holding a state

I believe we would need to use wait_for_trigger to duplicate the desired behavior where the lights are turned off only after there’s no motion for 15 minutes:

alias: motion_activation_lights_on
trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.motion_sensor_ii_54_57_5b_motion
    to: 'on'
condition:
- condition: or
  conditions:
  - after: sunset
    after_offset: -00:30:00
    condition: sun
  - before: sunrise
    before_offset: 00:30:00
    condition: sun
action:
  - service: homeassistant.turn_on
    entity_id: switch.togglelinc_on_off_12_13_48, light.driveway_light
  - wait_for_trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.motion_sensor_ii_54_57_5b_motion
        to: 'off'
        for: '00:15:00'
  - service: homeassistant.turn_off
    entity_id: switch.togglelinc_on_off_12_13_48, light.driveway_light
mode: restart

As a refinement, I suggest adding another State Condition that checks if the switch and light are currently off. This is to prevent needlessly turning them on if they are already on. This is a plausible possibility because a motion sensor can toggle frequently while people are milling around.

Jonah1970 · November 1, 2020, 1:10pm

Ah, you have spotted a vital omission on my part - I have a ‘delay: 00:15:00’ before the ‘wait_template’ in my config. This has been working great on all my automated lights for many weeks however I think your suggestion using a ‘wait_for_trigger’ is perhaps a little more elegant so I will give that a try.

Dolores · November 1, 2020, 1:13pm

Use a state condition with the sun as the entity, and below_horizon as the state. If you look under dev tools> states, you can see for yourself that the sun’s state is either above or below horizon.

You could also just make your second automation at wait for trigger in the first automation. That way it is all in one place, and if you turn on your lights for some other reason they won’t go off after 15 minutes of no motion (which may or may not be desirable, only you know ).

Edit: someone beat me to the punch

123 · November 1, 2020, 1:19pm

Still not the same as what a for does.

A delay simply waits for a fixed time to pass. There may still be motion in the 14th minute of the 15-minute delay period. In contrast, for requires 15 continuous minutes of no motion before it triggers (given the way it is used in the first example).

Jonah1970 · November 1, 2020, 1:34pm

I think it probably achieves the same thing because having ‘mode: restart’ restarts the automation whenever motion is susequently detected. That means that you can only get past the delay when no motion has been detected for 15 minutes.

wgstarks · November 1, 2020, 1:38pm

I saw the state condition and added it to the yaml-

alias: motion_activation_lights_on
description: ''
trigger:
  - type: motion
    platform: device
    device_id: 24157696796a0d0045508adff42ff641
    entity_id: binary_sensor.motion_sensor_ii_54_57_5b_motion
    domain: binary_sensor
    for:
      hours: 0
      minutes: 0
      seconds: 0
condition:
  - condition: state
    entity_id: sun.sun
    state: below_horizon
action:
  - type: turn_on
    device_id: 294247b81aa20bae5e0a25eaef4c5c85
    entity_id: switch.togglelinc_on_off_12_13_48
    domain: switch
  - type: turn_on
    device_id: 801b9d5a17f211eb9b57af25daa05fcf
    entity_id: light.driveway_light
    domain: light
mode: single

I’ve actually got two motion sensors at slightly different location s on my driveway and wanted to use both as triggers so I created a group-

group:
  driveway:
    name: driveway motion detection group
    entities:
      - binary_sensor.driveway_motion
      - binary_sensor.motion_sensor_ii_54_57_5b_motion

I can’t figure out how to use this group as a trigger though? I don’t see it listed as a device or entity and I don’t see an option for “group” in the trigger type.