Home Automation- A Guide to Timed Events

timer-iconHaving something happen at a particular time is common in home automation.

Common examples are

  • Turning lighting on/off.
  • Turning central heating on/off
  • Turning irrigation systems on and off
  • etc





Timer Types

There are several timer types

  • Countdown Timers
  • Time of Day Timers
  • Sensor Activated Timers

There are also two approaches to implementing timed events and they are:

  1. Standalone Timers -On Device Timing
  2. Central Timing

Countdown Timers

These can be activated from a control App or in response to an event e.g motion sensor.

Time of Day Timers

These are set to activate at a particular time and on a particular day. They can be central or on device timers

Sensor Activated Timers

These are common for security lights and are activated by motion sensors. They are almost always countdown timers

On Device Timing

Many devices have inbuilt timers which means that they can be programmed to operate at a particular time and are not dependent on a central control.

Tasmota devices can be configured with up to 16 independent timers see Setting Tasmota Timers with MQTT.

Shelly has a single timer but this is generally enough.

The problem with on device timing is that it it isn’t easy to know what has been configured unless you have incorporated this into your dashboard.

Central Timing

This is accomplished using your control system e.g Home assistant, node-red,Alexa etc.

This is easier to manage as you have a better overview of what devices are being controlled, but you need a connection to the device for the timer to trigger the action. See Home Automation Timer with Node-Red.

Using Standalone and Central Timers

You can of course use a combination of standalone and central timing but this can be very confusing and so is not really recommended.

Questions to Ask when Planning Timers

  • Do you need flexibility in making changes?
  • Do you need to integrate timers into home automation systems
  • Do you want timers to adjust for sunrise/sunset
  • Do you want timers to only react when certain conditions are meet. e,g Only turn the lights on when someone is at home.
  • Do you need a countdown timer or a recurring timer?
  • Do you need to be notified if the timer fails?

Summary

Timed events are common in smart homes but keeping track of timed events can be tricky if you have too many, and they are set on the device itself.

Related Tutorials and Resources:

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