Not all automations are created equal. Some are technically impressive but practically useless — the automation that turns off a light you were already going to turn off manually. Others genuinely change behavior and make a measurable difference in how you live.
Here are eleven automations I’m actually proud of, in no particular order.
1. The adaptive morning alarm
My alarm doesn’t go off at the same time every day — it adjusts based on my calendar. If I have a meeting before 9 AM, the alarm is 90 minutes before the meeting. If my day starts later, I get to sleep in. The logic runs in Home Assistant and reads my Google Calendar.
2. The leaving routine
One button (or leaving the geofence) that: turns off all lights, locks the door, arms the security system, lowers the thermostat, and sends a confirmation notification with a photo from the doorbell camera. The photo confirmation was the feature that made my partner actually use the system.
3. Dishwasher done notification
A power monitoring plug on the dishwasher. When power draw drops below threshold after being above threshold for more than 20 minutes, it sends a notification: “Dishwasher is done.” Sounds trivial. Profoundly useful.
4. Adaptive lighting
The color temperature of every light in the apartment shifts throughout the day — warmer in the morning and evening, cooler and brighter in the afternoon. Completely automatic, never think about it.
5. The leak detector response
If the leak sensor under the sink triggers, it doesn’t just send a notification — it also turns on the relevant light (so I can see the problem), sends the notification with urgency markers, and texts my phone rather than just pushing a notification (which I might miss).
This is placeholder content — full descriptions for automations 6–11 are coming.