I’ve been a bit frustrated with some Homey flows (automation) recently because I’m not able to re-trigger them before the first automation has run its course.
Let me give you a couple of examples of what I mean.
One flow that we have goes something like this:
if it’s night time, and
if vibration is detected at the dining table, then
turn on the light and leave it on for 20 mins
However, if vibration is detected anytime after triggering that initial flow, it would make sense to re-trigger that automation so that the dining table light doesn’t turn off in the middle of dinner. Well, that makes sense to me anyway.
So far, I’ve only been using Homey in the mobile app and it has been a pleasure to use. However, I can’t for the life of me see anywhere to toggle ON/OFF the ability to allow an automation to restart before it finishes.
I cover everything talked about in more detail in the above video.
If this is possible in “advanced flows” on the website experience, please let me know because this is a feature that I really want.
Another example of how this could help is with our Aqara P1 motion sensor that we have outside our front door. I have a Homey flow setup that goes something like this:
if it’s night, and
if motion is detected, then
turn on the light and leave it on for 8 mins
However, similar to the flow mentioned above, I’m finding that if I come and go within those 8 minutes, before the first automation is complete, a fresh 8 minutes doesn’t start. Instead, there are still only x minutes remaining, based on the time of the initial trigger event.
Again, if this is possible, please let me know how to do it because it’s driving me batty!
Aqara P1 motion sensor range
Something else that isn’t quite the way that I’d like it to be is the effective range of the Aqara P1 motion sensor. On the box and in the product information that comes in the box, there are mentions of 170 degrees field of range (great) and 5 years battery life (also very impressive).
However, I can’t see any mentions of the effective range of the sensor.
So, I tested it and measured it for myself.
Based on my testing, I think the range of the Aqara P1 motion sensor is somewhere in the 8-10 feet range (about 2.5-3m).
This is less than ideal for me because I’m using it in our outdoor lift/elevator lobby area which is L-shaped and runs out about 10 feet from the front door and then hooks around to the left and runs about 40 feet down that way.
After measuring and testing, I now have the sensor positioned about 9 feet from the front door, and it’s perfect if we’re leaving home. In those cases, as soon as the door opens and we take one step outside, motion is detected and the lights turn on. Great.
However, it’s less great when we’ve been away for a while and we’re returning home. On those cases, the elevator door opens, we step out and we need to walk in to range before the automation is triggered and the lights turn on.
It’s not terrible because it’s never completely dark out there and we can always see at least a little bit, but it would be much better of the range of the P1 motion sensor was sufficient to catch us when we first step out of the furthest away elevator 30-40 feet away.
Besides that, I’m very happy with everything and it’s not just me, my wife, mother in law and my dad all seem to think it’s pretty cool too.
I don’t know how the range of the Aqara P1 motion sensor compares to the newer P2 motion sensor, but if you happen to know what the range of the P2 is, please leave a comment below so other people can see it in the future too.
What’s Next?
Next up, I’ve got some fantastic looking Govee RGB backlights to add to our living room television experience and we also have a camera that I need to get setup and start playing with too.
Homey Pro hub:https://amzn.to/3MaktQf (Amazon affiliate link)
Aqara P1 motion sensor:https://amzn.to/3XUv2wf (Amazon affiliate link)
Aqara T1 water leak detector:https://amzn.to/4cVp5EP (Amazon affiliate link)
Aqara vibration sensor:https://amzn.to/4gn9VuX (Amazon affiliate link)
Govee RGBIC TV backlights:https://amzn.to/3Ng93e9 (Amazon affiliate link)
Learn more about Automated Home here.