If you want to make the most of your Smart Home, smart sensors are incredibly useful for automation. A home is truly smart when everything turns on or off automatically based on your actions. You won’t need a smartphone, smart speaker, or remote control; everything happens entirely automatically. Below, we provide some examples of how you can use smart sensors in your automations.
Smart Lighting and Sensors
Smart lighting is ideal for automations. If you purchase a motion sensor, you can set which lights turn on, how bright they should be, and whether they turn off after a certain time. For example, you can set it up so that when you walk into the hallway, the hallway light turns on. Depending on the time, you can also set it not to turn on at all or, for example, to 10% brightness at night.
Another application is in a walk-in closet. By attaching a door sensor such as the Aqara Door- and Window Sensor P2 to the door of the walk-in closet, it’s straightforward to turn on the smart lighting in the closet by opening the door and turn it off by closing the door. This way, the light in the walk-in closet only turns on when the door is open.
For more advanced automations, it’s also useful to purchase a light sensor. In some products, such as the Philips Hue Motion Sensor, this light sensor is already built-in. This sensor measures the amount of light (lux) in your home, allowing you to estimate whether it’s dark or light in the sensor’s area. You can set it up so that the motion sensor only turns on the lights in your home when it’s dark inside, not during the day when the sun is shining. This way, your lights only turn on when necessary.
Other Applications
In addition to smart lighting, you can also apply smart sensors to almost all your other smart devices. For instance, you can attach a vibration sensor to your bed frame to start an automation when you go to bed. You can set it up so that, for example, the lights turn off, the door locks, the thermostat turns off, and your music pauses. As you can see, the possibilities are endless, and you can customize everything to your situation.
Another option is to combine door and window sensors with your smart thermostat. You can set it up so that your smart thermostat turns off when you open a window or door. These sensors can also be useful for securing your home. It’s very easy to receive a notification on your smartphone if someone opens a door or window while you’re away. If you have a smart camera, you can even watch what’s happening and potentially communicate with the person in your home through your camera.
