Problems with Lights in the bathroom

Hey, I have an advanced flow for the bathroom.

If there is an activity that recognizes an movement, the lights should go on and then wait for 30 min. before it deactivates the light. Most of the time, the lights goes out after a few seconds as you can see in the activities.

This is the flow:

How can I create the flow better?

Can you maybe share your entire flow? Are the shower and bath sensors in the same room? I would personally add the “any” card, after the first cards from the bath and shower sensors. So than if “any” of those sensors detect movement, than it will continue the flow

Since you don’t show the entire flow, It could be that another device is preventing the lights from staying on

Hi
Ive had to translate your flow as best I can.

What is the shorter flow that branches off to the bottom?
Could you post the whole flow.

Few suggestions.
Group the lights - this will give you one strand to work with rathee than the one. Makes it easier to follow and fault find. All the lights appear to be doing the same thing so a group would work

Motion detected

Turn bathroom lights ON

Start / reset 30-minute timer

Timer finished

Turn lights OFF

Chronograph app works well for this sort of timer

Fixed timers will not work well

You need to reset the timer if there is movement again within the 30min.

As Welshsmarthome also mentioned

Otherwise these timers keep running and will disturb orher triggers.

It is easier to use the “zone activity” cards.

You will find them in the zones & devices area

Lights on with this

image

Lights off with this

(And probably you will lower the 30min now because you do not stay inactive in a bathroom that long…

2 Likes

Hi
Ive had to translate your flow as best I can.

What is the shorter flow that branches off to the bottom?
Could you post the whole flow.

Few suggestions.
Group the lights - this will give you one strand to work with rathee than the one. Makes it easier to follow and fault find. All the lights appear to be doing the same thing so a group would work

Motion detected

Turn bathroom lights ON

Start / reset 30-minute timer

Timer finished

Turn lights OFF

To Echo what Fkey says below.
Mine are not advance flows but the zone acrivity works well

Mine is as simple as

Zone active
After sunset
Lights on

Zone inactive for 5 mins
Lights off

It makes no difference whether you use an “Any” card between the sensors and the time card or not.

Every time one of the motion sensor triggers you are starting 6 ‘wait 30 minutes’-cards

This may cause overload.

Beter use a timer (Chronograph-, Countdown- or Flowbits-app) and check before the ‘dimming to 100%’ - cards whether this timer is already running.

So I have to configure a timer, after the bulbs are on for 30 minutes. And which one is ther right for wait until timer is at 0 with chronograph? There is nothing right in my opinion (or the translation is not good enough) :wink: Or should I start a new flow? If there is another movement within the bathroom, the timer should begin with another 30 min.

No, you do not have to use a countdown or timer, that’s bad practice.
If you do, you have to manage these situations:

  • What if you stay in the bathroom for 31 minutes?
  • What if you leave the bathroom after 10 minutes and someone else enters after 29 minutes?

Use zone activity as mentioned before. A zone has a card that triggers after x time of no activity, so no counters or timers to manage, let Homey do that for you!

I know but that’s why I said personally :wink:

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When you want to create a timer with the Chronograph app you have use the pick field. Type in the desired name and select ‘new’. (I always save the flow at this point and start the flow from this card.)

After that you have to add the trigger ‘timer xx ended’. If you you use the pick-field again you will see all the existing timers. If not use exactly the same name and select ‘new’. Connect this trigger with ‘turn lights off’ and ‘pause music’.

In short. Every new motion alarm will (re-)start the timer.
30 minutes after the last motion alarm, the timer will end and the lights are turned off.