10 Home Automation Ideas: Smart Notifications

Introduction

I’m going to show you 10 ways to take your home automations to the next level with smart notifications. These will help you remember to get things done, like taking out the trash, or picking up the kids from an activity.

But unlike a recurring calendar alert that notifies you no matter what, these notifications are smart, so they only remind you when necessary.

We’ll also look at a bunch of other helpful, smart notifications, like when it’s time to move the laundry, change a battery, arm or disarm the alarm system, and much more.

Main Points

Let’s dive right in, starting with…the refrigerator. Our fridge has some stubborn hinges, making it easier to open than to close. Sometimes, the door gets left open partially by mistake, or one of the kids is just staring into the void for several minutes hoping cake will magically appear. Whenever the fridge door has been open for a couple minutes, a notification is sent to our phones letting us know, along with a snapshot of the culprit so we know who to blame.

Speaking of the little munchkins, Ashley and I take turns picking up the kids in the evening on weekdays. We used to have calendar events that would remind us whose turn it is to pick them up. But my work day extremely full, and my calendar is packed, so it can be easy to miss a reminder when it’s the same every day, and I’m heads down on a project. Plus, the calendar would notify me to get the kids no matter what, even if I already was on my way. So, I created an automation that sends an alert to my phone, and announces on all the smart speakers that it’s time to pick up the kids, but only if I haven’t already left.

This made me look at the other recurring events in my calendar, and see what else needed to become smart. And that led me into…the trash. Every Thursday evening we set out the garbage, recycling, and organic material bins, which are picked up Friday morning. Now, I get an alert on my phone, and an announcement on the smart speakers that it’s time to take out the trash, but only if I haven’t scanned the NFC tag next to the bins which tells my smart home that the job is done.

Another weekly chore is doing the laundry. There’s no calendar alert that knows when it’s actually time to move the laundry from the washing machine to the dryer, and then out of the dryer. But of course, smart home can come to the rescue here. By placing a smart plug with energy monitoring on the washing machine, and a vibration sensor on the dryer, we get notified the moment the washer and dryer cycles complete. No more forgotten, wrinkly clothes in the basement laundry room.

When leaving or returning to the house, there are a few actions that we always consider taking, but maybe don’t always do, so we don’t want it fully automated.

One example of this is arming and disarming the alarm system. Maybe we’re stepping out for a brief moment and don’t want to fuss with setting the alarm. Or, we’re coming back home to grab something we forgot in the garage without stepping inside the home — we wouldn’t want the alarm to disarm if it wasn’t our intent. So, we get an actionable push notification asking us if we want to arm the alarm when everyone has left, or to disarm when we return home. We can click on the alert and choose the action that we want to take. This way, we’re always in control, and don’t have to bother with opening an app. I realize that may sound trivial, but when we pile out of the minivan, arms full of bags, chasing after a child like our hair is on fire — any additional convenience is welcomed.

We take a similar approach with the thermostat. For the same reasons as the alarm, we don’t always want the HVAC to turn off when we leave, or to turn on when we come home. But we do want to save energy. Actionable notifications to our phones remind and allow us to make decisions quickly regarding our energy usage.

One of the most consistent things that may bring you away from home is work. As I mentioned, Ashley and I take turns picking up the kids in the evening. Sometimes, you just want peace of mind that the other one is on their way. So, we both get alerts to our phones automatically as soon as the other has left work. If we’re both away from the home, this also triggers the thermostat to return to its last state when we were home, so that it’s comfortable by the time the first person returns.

The deeper you get into smart home and home automation, the more your device quantity grows. Many of these may be battery-powered devices, such as smart locks, door and window contact sensors, and more. Fortunately, the batteries generally last a long time — several years in some cases. But you don’t want to be caught with a device going offline because the battery died unexpectedly, particularly on a smart lock. That’s why I have an automation send me a daily alert if any device has a battery level below 20%. This way, I know to swap out batteries before it’s too late.

Outside of work and school, the grocery store is probably our most visited destination. Ashley and I manage our shared grocery list in Home Assistant, so no matter who goes, we know what’s on the list and can easily check things off. To make this even easier, we automatically get a notification on our phones the moment we arrive at the grocery store. A single tap opens up the list and we’re off and shopping — no need to open an app manually.

And finally, the video doorbell. If someone rings our doorbell, we get an alert on our phones that someone is there along with an image of the person. An announcement also plays across the smart speakers that someone is at the front door. But it will only make that announcement when no one is sleeping, and instead it will flash the main floor lights a few times to quietly indicate someone is at the door.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully you got some ideas for your own smart home notifications.

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Featured Tech

TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug Mini with Energy Monitoring: https://amzn.to/3O0G9PX
Aeotec SmartThings Multipurpose Sensor: https://amzn.to/47BIIix
Honeywell Home T5 WiFi Smart Thermostat: https://amzn.to/3Sz4XBf
Ubiquiti UniFi G4 Doorbell: https://amzn.to/3TsWW1m