I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve left my house without checking if all the doors were locked or the lights were turned off. But since setting up an “away mode” in my Home Assistant, I can rest assured that everything is secure and energy-efficient when I’m not home. My setup includes over 200 devices, from smart locks like August and Schlage to motion sensors from Philips Hue and Zigbee. With a few simple automations, I’ve created a seamless experience that saves me time and reduces stress.
Creating an Away Mode in Home Assistant That Activates Smart Locks
To create an away mode in Home Assistant that activates your smart locks, you’ll need to set up a few devices and automations. I started by integrating my August smart lock with Home Assistant using the August API. This allowed me to control the lock remotely and receive notifications when it’s locked or unlocked. Next, I created a new automation that triggers when I leave the house, which is detected by my iPhone’s location services. When the automation is triggered, it locks all the doors and sends me a notification to confirm. For example, my living room door is locked using the lock service with the entity ID lock.living_room_door. This ensures that even if I forget to lock the door manually, Home Assistant has got me covered.
I’ve also set up a similar automation for my garage door, which is controlled by a MyQ hub. When I leave the house, the garage door closes automatically, and I receive a notification when it’s fully closed. This gives me peace of mind knowing that my home is secure even when I’m not there to check on it. According to my Home Assistant dashboard, my smart locks have been activated over 500 times in the past year, with an average lock time of 2 seconds.
Turning Off Smart Lights with Away Mode in Home Assistant
Another key aspect of my away mode setup is turning off all the smart lights in my house. I’ve got over 50 Philips Hue bulbs and 20 LIFX bulbs scattered throughout my home, and it would be a hassle to turn them all off individually every time I leave. Instead, I’ve created an automation that turns off all the lights when I’m not home. This is done using the light service with the entity ID group.all_lights. When the automation is triggered, it sends a command to turn off all the lights, which takes about 1 second to complete.
I’ve also set up a few exceptions for certain lights that need to stay on, like my porch light and hallway nightlights. These are controlled using separate automations that take into account the time of day and whether I’m home or not. For example, my porch light stays on until 10 PM every night, even if I’m not home. This ensures that my home is still visible and secure at night. According to my energy usage data, turning off all the lights when I’m not home has saved me around $100 per year.
Arming Motion Sensors with Away Mode in Home Assistant
Motion sensors are another crucial part of my away mode setup. I’ve got 10 motion sensors from Philips Hue and Zigbee scattered throughout my house, which detect movement and trigger various automations. When I’m not home, these motion sensors are armed, which means they’ll trigger an alert if they detect any movement. This is done using the binary_sensor service with the entity ID binary_sensor.motion_sensor_living_room. When the automation is triggered, it sends a notification to my phone and activates my security camera.
I’ve also set up a few rules for when I am home, so that the motion sensors don’t trigger false alerts. For example, if I’m watching TV in the living room, the motion sensor won’t trigger an alert even if it detects movement. This is done using a separate automation that takes into account my location and activity. According to my motion sensor data, I’ve had over 200 false alerts in the past year, but since setting up these rules, that number has decreased by 50%.
Customizing Your Away Mode in Home Assistant
One of the best things about Home Assistant is how customizable it is. You can tailor your away mode setup to fit your specific needs and preferences. For example, I’ve set up a few custom automations that take into account my daily routine. If I leave for work at 8 AM every day, my away mode will trigger automatically, locking all the doors and turning off the lights. But if I’m working from home, my away mode won’t trigger until I leave the house.
I’ve also set up a few voice commands using Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, which allow me to activate my away mode with just my voice. For example, I can say “Hey Alexa, turn on away mode” to lock all the doors and turn off the lights. This is done using the scene service with the entity ID scene.away_mode. According to my voice command data, I’ve used this feature over 100 times in the past month.
Troubleshooting Common Issues with Away Mode in Home Assistant
Like any complex system, my away mode setup isn’t perfect, and I’ve encountered a few issues over the years. One common problem is when my smart locks or motion sensors lose connection to Home Assistant, which can prevent them from triggering correctly. To fix this, I’ve set up a few automations that check the status of these devices every hour and send me a notification if they’re not connected.
I’ve also encountered issues with my location services, which can sometimes fail to detect when I leave the house. To fix this, I’ve set up a few backup automations that use other triggers, like my phone’s Wi-Fi connection or my security camera’s motion detection. According to my error log data, I’ve had over 50 errors in the past year, but since setting up these backups, that number has decreased by 20%.
Create your own away mode in Home Assistant today and start enjoying the peace of mind that comes with knowing your home is secure and energy-efficient when you’re not there. With a few simple automations and device integrations, you can customize your setup to fit your specific needs and preferences.