I use Vera partially as a security system by turning on lights at preset times. My neighbors mentioned to me that they know when we are not home by watching my lights turn on at the same time each day. If anyone is casing my house they would notice this and assume it is automated. What I would like to have is a check box option in the time setting page that automatically creates a random time within 10 minutes of either side of the set time a scene activates. Each time the scene is triggered the time would be randomized. Is there anyone else who would find this function useful?
I have seen this setting in other HA controllers… it should be something they implement in the future.
+1 on this…was just thinking about it the other day!
You can set up your scene event driven. When you use sunset or sunrise as a trigger your scene will work every day some minutes earlier or later.
An old X10 controller I used to use had this feature, it was called Security setting. I liked it, and it would be a good addition I think.
I can’t use sunset or sunrise at my location because I don’t have Internet service, I must rely on timed events. I tried using my HSM100 light sensor to trigger the scene when the light level is <5% but it triggers on both sunset and sunrise since they are both <5% light. I’m trying to figure out the Lua coding to trigger between selected times only.
While I, too, would love to see this “Random”/“Security” option for Timers, and figure it can be implemented as a Luup plug-in, I honestly hope we DON’T see it added as a hack of that nature, or (worse) as a big, fat new button called “LUUP TIMER” in Scenes. :-/
Next time you have guests over for dinner, record the evening. Also record the morning chit chatter. Then record some other random sounds. Mash up 24 hours of random sounds (plates clanging, shower running, television, “Whose that outside? I don’t know” etc). Create a CD or buy a Logitech squeezebox and when you “Arm” your house, have a zwave plug turn on the CD player or squeezebox and play the random sounds while your gone. Also during the “Arm” mode have your low wattage lights turn on for 15 minutes and then off for 2 hours at different start times so they overlap.