Help on gate program and time

[AnthemAVM]

I am looking to create a program or programs and could use some help.

My lights on the side of the house come on at sunset and off at 10pm. 

What I would like is if it is after 10:01pm and the side lights are off, and the gate sensor is on(gate open) that the side lights come on for 5 minutes and shut off.  The problem is this doesn't turn the lights off.

Using this program to start.

Gate On/Off Lights - [ID 0072][Parent 0016]

If
        From    10:01:00PM
        To      Sunrise (next day)
    And 'SideGate-Opened-Opened' Status is On
 
Then
        Run Program 'Side Gate On' (If)
 
Else
   - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')
 

Which triggers this program.

 

Side Gate On - [ID 0073][Parent 0016]

If
        'Exterior Lights / Laundry Room Exterior Light' Status is Off
     Or 'BBQ Island' Status is Off
 
Then
        Set 'BBQ Island' On
        Set 'Exterior Lights / Laundry Room Exterior Light' On
        Wait  5 minutes
 
Else
        Set 'Exterior Lights / Laundry Room Exterior Light' Off
        Set 'BBQ Island' Off
 

 

 

[larryllix]

Why would your lights already be on after 10:00 PM? Manual switch or is there some other way / program that would turn them on?

[AnthemAVM]

Why would your lights already be on after 10:00 PM? Manual switch or is there some other way / program that would turn them on?

It would be that someone turned on manual switch. I don't want them to go off if someone turned on for a reason.

Thanks for your help Larry.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[larryllix]

Your first (trigger program) looks good.

The second one should work like this. 

Side Gate On - [ID 0073][Parent 0016]

If
        'Exterior Lights / Laundry Room Exterior Light' Status is Off
     Or 'BBQ Island' Status is Off
 
Then
        Set 'BBQ Island' On
        Set 'Exterior Lights / Laundry Room Exterior Light' On
        Wait  5 minutes        Set 'Exterior Lights / Laundry Room Exterior Light' Off
        Set 'BBQ Island' Off

Else
       Set 'Exterior Lights / Laundry Room Exterior Light' Off <------ needed for a change in statuses (2)  terminating the Then section
        Set 'BBQ Island' Off

Edited January 14, 2019 by larryllix

[larryllix]

You may need a third program for the manual switch operation that cancels the time out and perhaps (for the just-in-case situation)  provides a long term timer.
Automatic lights get left on a lot when turned on manually.

If
       control  'Exterior Lights / Laundry Room Exterior Light' is switched 'On'     <---- control detects the paddle
AND
       control  'Exterior Lights / Laundry Room Exterior Light' is not switched 'Off'  <--------- Not runs the else
Then
       set program 'Side Gate On' Stop   <----- no interference with this program
        Set 'BBQ Island' On
        Set 'Exterior Lights / Laundry Room Exterior Light' On
        Wait  5 hours
        Set 'Exterior Lights / Laundry Room Exterior Light' Off
        Set 'BBQ Island' Off

Else
       set program 'Side Gate On' Stop
        Set 'Exterior Lights / Laundry Room Exterior Light' Off
        Set 'BBQ Island' Off

Edited January 14, 2019 by larryllix

[oberkc]

2 hours ago, AnthemAVM said:

What I would like is if it is after 10:01pm and the side lights are off, and the gate sensor is on(gate open) that the side lights come on for 5 minutes and shut off.  The problem is this doesn't turn the lights off.

What are "side lights"?  Is it the laundry room exterior lights?  BBQ lights?  Both?  Either?  What if someone manually turns on the BBQ lights but does not turn on the exterior lights, what do you want to happen: timer or no timer?  What do you want to happen if the timer is already in progress, THEN someone manually turns on one or both of the lights?

Depending on answer to the questions above, I would probably take a different approach than Larryllix.  I would probably keep it two programs:

If
        From    10:01:00PM
        To      Sunrise (next day)
    And 'SideGate-Opened-Opened' Status is On

and

(

'Exterior Lights / Laundry Room Exterior Light' Status is Off
     Or 'BBQ Island' Status is Off                                            <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<this may need changed to AND depending on your answer to my first question

)
 
Then
        Run Program 'Side Gate On' (then)
 
Else
   - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

 

If
   nothing     
Then
        Set 'BBQ Island' On
        Set 'Exterior Lights / Laundry Room Exterior Light' On
        Wait  5 minutes
         Set 'Exterior Lights / Laundry Room Exterior Light' Off
        Set 'BBQ Island' Off

Else

       nothing

 

Edited January 14, 2019 by oberkc

[larryllix]

@oberkc That's what I was eluding to, but I was trying not to complicate things  just yet, by combining the logics, and I was hurrying to provide an answer. (excuse, excuse)

Then the manual lock on / turn off and cancel comes in. The whole thing looks too complicated now and I don't like that,  but comfort comes with familiarity.

Being more familiar with the light placements would help understand the logic needed to provide better answers and logic. I have found simpler programs for more  lights usually works better down the road when I come back and wonder WTF did I do?

[oberkc]

8 hours ago, larryllix said:

That's what I was eluding to, but I was trying not to complicate things  just yet, by combining the logics, and I was hurrying to provide an answer. (excuse, excuse) 

I have always felt that many underestimate the nuances of these types of automation programs.  This is definitely a scenario that is worth thinking about in terms of requirements before programming.  I agree with you that better understanding of the lights and requirements is needed to provide better answers.  The program I proposed, for example, would not halt itself should someone manually toggle the lights while the timer is running (not sure whether this is important or not).

I suspect this program will get more complicated still as AnthemAVM thinks further about what he wants to accomplish.

[builderb]

I’ll offer this as an example of an override I use. Might be helpful in your situation.

My porch lights turn on via motion sensor, and after a minute not sensing motion, the ISY turns them off. However, there are times when I want to keep the porch light on (guests coming, etc.). So if someone uses the physical switch to turn on the porch light, I also have the ISY disable the one minute timer program that turns the light off. The motion sensor still sends on commands when it senses motion, but that’s fine, the light is already on.

Then, when the switch is physically turned off, the timer program is reactivated.

I also have a 6 hour timer on the on/disable command to ensure that even if someone *ahem* forgets to turn the porch light back off, it will restore itself to normal function without intervention.

[larryllix]

11 minutes ago, builderb said:

I’ll offer this as an example of an override I use. Might be helpful in your situation.

My porch lights turn on via motion sensor, and after a minute not sensing motion, the ISY turns them off. However, there are times when I want to keep the porch light on (guests coming, etc.). So if someone uses the physical switch to turn on the porch light, I also have the ISY disable the one minute timer program that turns the light off. The motion sensor still sends on commands when it senses motion, but that’s fine, the light is already on.

Then, when the switch is physically turned off, the timer program is reactivated.

I also have a 6 hour timer on the on/disable command to ensure that even if someone *ahem* forgets to turn the porch light back off, it will restore itself to normal function without intervention.

Yes those all-else-fails timers are important with HA. People get to expect lights to turn themselves off and forget they turned them on manually. I use that with voice commands also. With the low powered LED bulbs these days it is not so critical though.

[oberkc]

5 hours ago, builderb said:

I also have a 6 hour timer on the on/disable command to ensure that even if someone *ahem* forgets to turn the porch light back off, it will restore itself to normal function without intervention.

You do the same thing that I do, except here.  Mine revert to "normal" function at dawn.

[oberkc]

5 hours ago, larryllix said:

People get to expect lights to turn themselves off and forget they turned them on manually.

My wife is one of those.  She claims not to have to turn off lights because they are automated.  The problem is also that she gets concerned also when I use geofencing to determine whether she is home (it is creepy, apparently).  Between a rock and a hard place.

[builderb]

15 hours ago, oberkc said:

You do the same thing that I do, except here.  Mine revert to "normal" function at dawn.

Did you use a separate program to reset it at dawn? As I recall, I put it on a timer because it was as easy as adding a couple lines to the "then" statement.

[oberkc]

Yes.  I have a backup program that turns lights off at dawn and, among other thngs, resets the motion programs.

[AnthemAVM]

Hi Guys,

 

Thanks very much for all your help on this. 

 

What I am trying to accomplish is if someone opens the gate after the backyard lights go off at 10pm, that they go on and off after a few minutes.

 

Thanks again for your input and excited to see if I can get this to work.  I have many more ideas based around this concept, so it was really helpful.

 

Michael

Edited January 30, 2019 by AnthemAVM