Light/switch controlled by motion sensor and with manual override

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1

tom_l shared a great example how to automate light based on a motion sensor. I’m sharing another version that supports human override. This automation behaves like this:

  1. When motion sensor is triggered off -> on, turn on the light only if it’s off.

    • If the light is already on, it’ll stay on regardless of whether motion is sensed or not.

  2. Wait for the motion sensor to change back to off for more than 1 minute, and then turn off the light
  3. If the light is manually turned off while the motion is still going on, the automation stops immediately.
##========== Auto backyard light ==========##
- id: auto_backyard_light
  alias: "Auto backyard light"
  trigger:
    - platform: state
      entity_id: binary_sensor.backyard_motion # CHANGE THIS
      from: "off"
      to: "on"
  condition:
    condition: and
    conditions:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: light.backyard_light # CHANGE THIS
        state: "off"
      # Add any other condition you would like, e.g., is_day_time
  action:
    - service: light.turn_on
      target:
        entity_id: light.backyard_light # CHANGE THIS
    # Wait for the motion to stop for 1 minute
    # or the light is manually turned off
    - alias: "wait"
      wait_for_trigger:
        - platform: state
          entity_id: light.backyard_light # CHANGE THIS
          from: "on"
          to: "off"
        - platform: state
          entity_id: binary_sensor.backyard_motion # CHANGE THIS
          from: "on"
          to: "off"
          for:
            seconds: 10
    # Stop execution if the light is turned off manually
    - condition: template
      value_template: "{{ wait.trigger.idx == '1' }}"
    - service: light.turn_off
      target:
        entity_id: light.backyard_light # CHANGE THIS
2

Hi, is this the complete config or do I need to add extra?
I have the above copied into YAMAL (with my own updated entities) but light doesnt turn on upon motion.
Thanks

3

Yes it’s the complete automation. You may need to trim the condition section to add/remove more conditions for this automation to run/not run. Also don’t forget to change the entity ids.

1 Like
4

That’s an awesome idea!

If the light is manually turned off while the motion is still going on, the automation stops immediately.

Do you a way to make that condition like

If the light is manually changed (brightness, scene, turned off), the automation stops.

I have a list that is switched on with minimum brightness on motion. Often, that is enough. Sometimes, I require more brightness and use the wall switch to change. This also means, I do not want it to be switched off anymore.

Do you see a way to achieve that?

5

You can change more conditions to the wait_for_trigger list. See how to trigger on attribute change

6

I was able to achieve it using that automation, based on your ideas:

alias: Bewegungssensor Küche
description: ""
trigger:
  - type: motion
    platform: device
    device_id: c42cc5888a0c7349d8425023efdedac7
    entity_id: 28b1c57400b2c8bc5930b8889505edcb
    domain: binary_sensor
condition:
  - condition: device
    type: is_off
    device_id: 60d046de365503c23541fa3495052a69
    entity_id: d82817412c5a9edad36dee61f005e857
    domain: light
  - type: is_illuminance
    condition: device
    device_id: c42cc5888a0c7349d8425023efdedac7
    entity_id: 5b8a7b8c728871a277993dbcd55fe26d
    domain: sensor
    below: 10
action:
  - action: scene.turn_on
    metadata: {}
    target:
      entity_id: scene.kueche_nachtlicht
  - delay: 
      # this delay is required, otherwise the state 
      # change trigger below is fired immediately
      hours: 0
      minutes: 0
      seconds: 1
      milliseconds: 0
  - wait_for_trigger:
      - type: no_motion
        platform: device
        device_id: c42cc5888a0c7349d8425023efdedac7
        entity_id: 28b1c57400b2c8bc5930b8889505edcb
        domain: binary_sensor
        for:
          hours: 0
          minutes: 2
          seconds: 0
      - platform: state
        # triggers on any change, i.e. also when changing from the Hue app.
        entity_id:
          - light.kueche_decke
  - condition: template
    value_template: "{{ wait.trigger.idx == '0' }}"
  - type: turn_off
    device_id: 60d046de365503c23541fa3495052a69
    entity_id: d82817412c5a9edad36dee61f005e857
    domain: light
mode: single

it uses devices, rather then entities. Looks better in the visual editor, awful in the in yaml. Not sure what the effective difference is.