FabianThis week I would like to deal with a question that I have probably already answered several times. But there are always new readers – and they should also be familiar with this basic function. The impetus for this is a question from Hannah in our small community area:
I have some outdoor lights that switch on automatically in the evening and then switch off again automatically when controlled by Hue. I have now bought an outdoor motion detector. This is supposed to switch the light on for two minutes at night when there is movement. It does this reliably. However, it also reacts when movement is detected in the evening. The light is already on then. After two minutes, however, it always switches it off. How can I prevent this?
These are my two suggested solutions
There is no corresponding function for this problem directly in the Hue app, but only small detours are really necessary. Here are my two suggested solutions:
- in the Philips Hue app, tap on the “Hue Labs” section in the Automations area and search for the “Do not disturb my scence” formula there. Set this up and the problem will no longer occur.
- if you use the recommended iConnectHue app, you can activate the “Only react when groups are off” option when configuring the motion detector.
Both methods ensure that the motion detector no longer sends a switch-off command if the light is already switched on when motion is detected. Both solutions work with the Hue motion detector for indoor use and also with the Hue Outdoor Sensor.
Hue Outdoor Sensor
$49,99 / £54.99 / €59,99
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A long time ago I set this up at my dad’s house for his garden lights.
I set up two scenes:
1. a “night” scene, that has the lights on in a dimmed state.
2. a “movement” scene, that has the lights much brighter
a. The night scene just turns on at sunset, and off at midnight
b. The motion sensor turns on the “movement” scene when there is movement, and when movement ends it “returns to previous scene”, meaning the dimmed state if the lights were on, or off after midnight. It does this only when it is dark (so also after midnight).
There was no need for different apps or Hue labs.
Right! And if one of the predefined scenes does the job there is no need to create an user-defined scene at all.
It’s actually quite funny how we all – me included – tend to “overthink” things from time to time, wanting to “go over the water” to get at it 😅
🤷♂️ This was meant to be a reply to the post of @Sander. Sorry for this, but you get it 😎