I’m new to HA, so apologies if this is something that’s blindingly obvious to those of you who’ve been here for a while…
The lights in our attached garage are sometimes left on overnight. I’d like to get some sort of monitor that will send me an alert (perhaps via the App on my phone) if the lights are still on - say at 11pm. I don’t really want/need remote control, and don’t need to know how much power they’re using - a simple “this circuit is live” monitor would be sufficient, or perhaps “it’s light in here”.
At the moment I am running HA on a Pi4 with a ZBT-1 Zigbee interface. If I can find the right monitor device, I reckon I’d be able to sort out the config myself. Cost is a concern - there’s no point in spending loads of money just to save a few pence!
Zigbee switches might be a better approach - you’ll know when they are left on and you’ll be able to switch them off remotely (or automatically). Depends on how far away the garage is, though - Zigbee may not extend that far without adding a few routers.
Thanks. I’d thought about that, but I’m not the only person who needs to go into the garage and switch the lights on. My wife wouldn’t be keen on the idea of having to use an app every time she goes into the garage - she can never remember where she left her phone!
You setup a motion/presence sensor with a timeout, add in a door sensor and you can setup an automation to state when occupied leave lights on and when no motion detected after the door is closed then turn off the lights after x time.
Smart switches (relays) generally have input for “normal” light switch.
Depending on wireless connections available in garage, you can pick the device.
Also many inexpensive motion sensors have LUX-sensor incorporated, if you prefer to go with “monitoring only”.