Kinda funny, we spend hours/days on automations we'll hopefully never have to use

As I sit here writing an automation for my new smoke detector, detector and what I want HA to do if triggered, the usual internal diaolgue starts…

  • what if we both arent home?
  • what if we both are home?
  • what if im not home, but wife is?
  • I dont want the gas to turn off if its just smoke from cooking, but how do I get around that?
  • will wife be able to overrride it, if it manlfunction?
  • {{insert 500 more questions here}}

Which then got me thinking about all the time I spend writing, testing, verifying all these automations for things I hope never happen (fire, water leak, burglar, etc). Automations that hopefully will never have to be used. And at the same time, automations that worry me the most because of the fact they aren’t being used daily which is a sort of self test in itself; so I learned that I need to test monthly and make sure they still do. Cause who knows if I changed an entity name and didnt realize an automation relied on the previous name

I just had to laugh that I possibly spend more time on automations that will never see the light of day, then automations that run everyday.

Just my Sunday morning thoughts… (I still enjoy figuring them out though, lol)

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So true, so very true.

Totally agree. I spend a lot of time too on ones I hope to never have to use, but they probably are the most important to work if there’s a fire, break in, leak, etc

Everything is true, so I use a separate alarm that is not integrated in the HA and contains the necessary sensors.

what about automating something, as a one-off kinda thing, but then in reality, doing it manually would actually be quicker, but more mundane…

The time I spent on swicth a light whilst moving around and not all at home… if I would have spent that on flipping the switch manually I would probably be switching it for 3 years :slight_smile:
In many cases the real ‘business value’ is low to very low but the main thing is… it is fun to have control !!!

Well, here’s a pleasant thought. What if the first event to hit your house is a thunderstorm and a lightning induced surge fries your electronics, taking out HA and related flood, fire, etc. sensors and alerts? Personally, I’m spending a good bit of time upgrading my surge suppression on power and data lines.

Let’s bè honest… It’s our hobby!

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