Need help on logic and how to structure changing smart plug use

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So I have a number of smart plugs (Hue plugs to be precise). Every year I re-purpose these plugs to control the Christmas lighting, but the rest of the year they are re-used to control things like Air Fresheners or Fans.
I’m struggling to get my head around the logic of how to structure my setup so that I can easily choose (from a dropdown?) what the function of a smart plug is rather than having to continually delve into my automations to change the plug numbers around christmas and then again in january!!

I am imaging I can use a template sensor (or multiple thereof) of some kind to help me control what a smart plug is controlling but I dont know if you can template the actual entity id in a template or not or even if this is the correct way of thinking??!!

Need help please!! Thanks hive mind

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Get outlets for those other purposes, give 'em their own automations, and store the holiday outlets with the holiday decorations?

I can say that because by the end of last calendar year I ended up with smart-outlets to spare. YMMV. Just a thought. :slight_smile:

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Thanks Bob but not really the answer I was looking for(!), I need to utilise what I have already rather than buying more to fix this issue. Thanks for the suggestion though

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Maybe you could try to figure out somehow based on elapsed time and current used what is hooked up to those smart plugs.
But as someone already said I will also go with smart outlets. I’m gradually installing smart outlets and going to abandon smart plugs where ever is possible.

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ok so lets assume im not going to buy smart outlets or more smart plugs, then what…

To give further info, I have around 8 smart plugs. Attached to those will be various changeable things from a list (xmas tree, air freshener 1, air freshener 2… etc)
I then have various automations that are currently based around a plug entity but my plan is to base my automations around the items in the list

To give a (very crude) example:

  • Current automation
    ** Turn on “Plug1” at 9am on 25th December

  • Planned automation
    ** Turn on “Xmas Tree” at 9am on 25th December

… where “Xmas Tree” will know to reference “Plug1” through some sort of templated entity (where I’ve chosen the use-case from a dropdown list)

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I believe what you are trying to do will be very complex.
Perhaps not impossible, but since it will be a year between each reconfiguration then I would at least have forgotten most of how it’s set up and what to do.

I believe the best option is to create two automations one for most of the year and one for Christmas.
Then you buy a label machine and you print labels with what each plug is in your automations.
Like “air freshener 1 & Christmas tree”.

Unplug, read where it’s going and place it there then disable the normal automation and enable Christmas automation.

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this is pretty much what i currently do - im sure what im after is possible but as you say, its probably very tricky and my brain cant cope!!

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im wondering if something similar to this might work, where I create a new entity (template?) by adding the existing entity_id to the use_case selected to create a brand new entity that can then be automated upon
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i wouldn’t know how to go about achieving this though :pensive: