Timing in Reactor 3

Plugins & Plugin Development Reactor
1

Hi,

I have a question on a how to on Reactor 3

setup: 1 light switch and 1 motion sensor

my needs:

  1. When turning on the light (and not tripping the motion) the lights must turn off after 10 min
  2. when tripping the motion, the 10 min counter must restart.

can that be done in Reactor ?

2

Absolutely, and this will be the subject of my third YouTube video (forthcoming) because it’s such a common HA task. I’m still working on those–will be recording and editing today.

For now…

Conditions
Group 1 - “No Motion Timer” (click the group name to edit it), AND operator (default)

  • Device State: your motion sensor, choose Tripped variable, is FALSE operator; open the condition options by clicking the downward-pointing chevron/arrow in the condition row, and where it says Sustained for choose at least and enter the number of seconds delay (e.g. 600 seconds = 10 minutes).

Activities
“No Motion Timer is TRUE”

  • Device Action: select your light, turn on/off, value 0 (off)

“No Motion Timer is FALSE”

  • Device Action: select your light, turn on/off, value 1 (on)

That should do it.

How It Works
The condition is inverted from the way we might normally think about it. That is, the condition checks that no motion has been detected for 10 minutes. When that condition is true (there has been no motion for 10 minutes), the group it’s in will also be true, and the activity will turn the light off. If motion is detected during the delay period, the condition becomes false; cancelling the timer until no motion is again signaled by the detector, when the timer is then restarted. Also, when motion is detected, the light is turned on (this is inconsequential if the light is already on).

One thing to note about motion sensor devices. Most motion sensors have a “reset period”, which comes from their history as alarm system devices. The reset period mutes the sensor for some time after motion is first detected. During this time, the device does not send a “no motion” signal–it waits until the end of its reset period. So, the actual delay in turning off the light will be the sum of your configured delay in Reactor plus the device’s reset period. Some motion sensors (like Aeotec) allow this to be configured by the device’s configuration settings (found in the Device Options tab of the device, and you’ll need their documentation). Others simply use jumpers or DIP switches, and some have no controls whatsoever. A typical default reset period, though, is quite high–2 to 4 minutes. You can watch the Status tab of your ReactorSensor to see how your device behaves, and adjust the delay timing to compensate and tune it for just the right length of time.

EDIT: Sorry, I realize now that @cokeman’s post requires delay on manual turn-on of the light, which this simple configuration does not address. I didn’t get that from my first read of his requirements, but I see now he needs it. I will address it in the video and link it here. As @charettepa later points out, DelayLight may be a simpler approach to this, but just for fun, let’s see what I can accomplish in the video.

3

@rigpapa would this function not be better served by your delay light plugin

4

Hi again,

one question here, if I only turn on the light by the switch, and not entering the room. then there is no motion, how do the timer start.

5

You are absolutely correct. DelayLight also works great for this–it’s exactly the purpose of that plugin. But a simple implementation like this can be done in Reactor if you are already using it for other things, and spare you installing yet another plugin. It’s a choice.

6

That’s a different problem, and you are now at the stage where @charettepa’s recommendation is the best course of action: use DelayLight. This additional requirement crosses the tipping point.

7

Yes and no

Delay Light does not allow a light switch as a trigger. I need 2 triggers

  1. Light switch
  2. motion in the room
8

Any light that DelayLight controls is automatically a trigger for manual timing.

9

Nice, then thats the way to go :smiley:

10

And I realize now that I didn’t glean the manual timing requirement from my first read of your original message. So I edited my initial reply to you with that info, and I’m going to see what I can do with it in the video. Sorry for the miss there!