Altering the Room Occupied Timeout value

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  • westernm
    Automated Home Jr Member
    • Apr 2008
    • 22

    Altering the Room Occupied Timeout value

    Hi All,

    I have a number of QLD/QRIs setup running from a combination of motion sensors and switches.
    I have found that I have a requirement to be able to periodically alter the Room "Occupied time out" parameter. For example in the bathroom I would like to set the timeout value to a large value during the day/early evening to accommodate bath time but would like to reset this to a much shorter value through the night for those early hour visits to the loo.
    I have looked into doing this via a macro or scheduled event but have had no luck. Is this possible at all?

    Regards

    Mark
  • westernm
    Automated Home Jr Member
    • Apr 2008
    • 22

    #2
    I have come up with a solution to this issue.
    It may not be the best option but here goes in case anybody else finds themselves in a similar situation.

    I have created a macro which after a specified time turns off the relevant lights.
    This macro is started when the rooms 'On Unoccupied Trigger' connection is activated.
    If motion is detected whilst the macro is running (i.e. if I walk back into the room), the rooms 'On Occupied Trigger' then stops the macro.
    I have enabled the macro to work during the wee ours only .
    So far so good.

    Regards

    Mark

    Comment

    • chris_j_hunter
      Automated Home Legend
      • Dec 2007
      • 1713

      #3
      interesting, thanks for positing ...

      we've a need to do the same, and also things like have less lights come on for shorter times when we're just passing-through rather than staying in a room ...

      wonder if General Logic might work as well or better than a macro ...

      in some situations, we've found virtual rooms a useful device, with virtual motion-sensors triggered by logic (eg: real sensors x y z on all at once for more than so-long), but it would be a big job to do this everywhere, not to mention the complications !

      hmm, food for thought ...
      Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 18 September 2014, 11:47 AM.
      Our self-build - going further with HA...

      Comment

      • Karam
        Automated Home Legend
        • Mar 2005
        • 863

        #4
        Just as a point of discussion ... The 'Occupied time out' parameter is really just there to safeguard against occupancy status errors rather than being the normal means of clearing occupancy status.

        By this I mean that if the system can accurately sense that you have left the bathroom (by transiting motion into the adjacent room and especially if through an opened sensed door), then it will clear the bathroom occupancy straight away leaving only the light timer to determine the remaining light on period. So in a more ideally sensed setup you can have a long occupancy time out parameter (eg. 30mins) but a short light timer parameter (eg. 10-20s) and the light would behave well for both long or short visits. For a long visit the Occupancy time out will gaurd against premature switch off in the event of infrequent re-triggering by motion or other presence sensors (sleeping in the bath tut tut..), whereas for a short visit the bathroom occupancy will clear upon exit so the light will then only stay on for the short light timer duration. If you have a sensed door and in the habit of closing it then accuracy can be much higher and you can probably afford even shorter light timer and longer Occupied time out parameters.

        But of course there will no doubt be situations were the sensing is not adequate or subject to ambiguity and you might have to concoct your own logic on top - as you have. One thing to watch out for here is what then happens to the automation aspect. If some logic requests the light to be turned OFF when the automation would otherwise have it ON then we have a kind of conflict. What typically happens is that Cortex will put the light into an override mode which will result in the light going OFF - but its not just a simple matter of turning the light off. What this means is that you can, by some means, remove such an override at a later time and the light will be back to operating in its normal automated mode (which you have to bear in mind can be under the influence of logic taking account of several signals). If you didn't have this concept then once you turned the light off it may not then come on automatically at a later visit as you might expect, so rendering the automation aspect a bit pointless.

        In some situations for home cooked logic it can be useful to change the override or even the operating mode directly and these parameters are available for manipulation.
        Last edited by Karam; 19 September 2014, 09:35 AM.

        Comment

        • chris_j_hunter
          Automated Home Legend
          • Dec 2007
          • 1713

          #5
          interesting …

          NB: we do indeed manipulate override modes in our virtual room arrangements … had to, really !
          Our self-build - going further with HA...

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