How to Set Up Temperature and Humidity Automations on HomePod

[Will Co]

Agree. My app can display smart power plug usage, but not HomeKit. Also with HomeKit basic stuff like turning on and off a smart plug is limited, there's the option to turn off after a given time, but the max is 4 hours... why limit to 4? I too wish there would be some "if... then... else"

Try the Home+ app in the App Store. It's a paid app (nothing to do with me) but not too expensive. I don't like its interface (it's not terrible - just my preference) but it does give you access to ALL of the HomeKit features that Apple didn't bother to surface in their UI. I only use it for configuration - I prefer the Home experience. It's not necessary to keep it installed either (although why would you delete it?). It's purely a config tool. Not needed for anything else.

 

[KesslerPeak]

I’m very frustrated with the very limited automation and Shortcuts integration, but my situation is a little unique.

My wife likes to sleep with the window open in the winter time. I argued it for a long time because it’s a huge waste of energy, but finally caved when she agreed that the door to the rest of the house needed to stay closed, so it didn’t affect the thermostat in the other room. We leave the door unlatched so the cats can come and go, but it swings closed if they push it open.

With the new capability enabled in the HomePod minis, I tried to create a a Home Automation through Shortcuts. The issue is, if I click “Convert to Shortcut”, I can’t really do anything Shortcut’y. I want to get a notification on my phone if the room temperature is lowered than 60º F, which means she didn’t close the window when she got up. Unfortunately that functionality doesn’t seem to be allowed. It makes some sort of sense, since Shortcuts is local to my phone, but it would be nice if HomeKit had the ability to do more than just trigger another HomeKit accessory. Wish there was a way around this.

 

[gaximus]

I wonder if you can somehow use Shortcuts for this?

IF (Kitchen + Living Room + Bedroom) / 3 < 72 THEN Turn on the furnace

let occupiedSensors = 0
let totalTemp = allSensors.reduce((total, currentSensor) => {
 if (currentSensor.isOccupied) {
    total += currentSensor.temp
    occupiedSensors++
  }
})
if (totalTemp / occupiedSensors < 72) then turn on furnace

 

[HorstBockman]

It works from my experience, over many years of using it, with and without Internet connection. If you want to go and find some documentation, help yourself.

I wouldn't base plans for spending many hundreds of (if not well over a thousand) dollars on home automation on your claim. If your iPhone was involved, then it would likely have cellular connectivity when the Internet is down.
I already have a home automation solution that only uses the Internet for notifications and off-site control. All automations function normally with or without Internet connectivity and there's no reporting of activity to Apple, Google, etc.

 

[Will Co]

I wouldn't base plans for spending many hundreds of (if not well over a thousand) dollars on home automation on your claim. If your iPhone was involved, then it would likely have cellular connectivity when the Internet is down.
I already have a home automation solution that only uses the Internet for notifications and off-site control. All automations function normally with or without Internet connectivity and there's no reporting of activity to Apple, Google, etc.

This is exactly what I’ve just said. It works. Without Internet access. No mobile data.

 

[ErikGrim]

All my devices are updated to 16.3 (iPhone, iPad, 3 OG HomePods, 6 HomePod minis and 2 AppleTVs) as well as a Mac on the latest 13.2 beta. No calibration. No temperature readings. Have checked all Home apps on each device that support it :/

EDIT: Restarting the HomePods enabled them in most, but not all. Curious

 

[goet36]

So i Updated to the beta 16.3 but i see no sensors or read outs! Could these features also be geo-restricted!!? (Im from Greece btw.)

 

[Tutburymac]

So i Updated to the beta 16.3 but i see no sensors or read outs! Could these features also be geo-restricted!!? (Im from Greece btw.)

I had to restart my HomePod to get the functionality to activate.

 

[_Spinn_]

You should also know that the HomeKit protocol, and in particular the conditional rules that are supported, is actually far richer and expansive than the functionality surfaced within the native Home app. For example, within the Home app, you cannot configure a rule that says "At Sunrise, turn on this water feature, but only if the temperature of my garden sensor is > 3 degC". There are similar looking things that come close, which you can create, but not one with that specific conditional structure. If you look at some of the third party apps available there is a heck of a lot more you can do with your HomeKit accessories. For example, using some of the tools you can configure more complex rules, such as the one above, and weirdly they will be displayed correctly by the Home app, although you cannot edit them. You would have thought that Apple, having defined the entire HomeKit protocol, would have created a UI that surfaces all of it. Seems that the UI team are still playing catch up with the rest of the HomeKit system.

Do you have a third party apple recommendation? This sounds very useful.

 

[venkavis]

All my devices are in 16.3 beta. Before upgrading the architecture, my home app showed beta updates for HomePod in the settings. Now I don’t see that option at all and I am not able to activate the temparture sensor on HomePod as described in this article.

Any pointers ? Thx in advance

 

[Will Co]

Do you have a third party apple recommendation? This sounds very useful.

Home+

 

[Lethen]

Why can't I create a Home automation that sends me a notification or a text, when (HomePod) temperature is below a certain threshold ?

When we ventilate our bedroom we sometimes forget to return 5 minutes later and close window and turn our oldschool termostat back up (closed during ventilation to save energy). Would be nice with an automation to get notified if temperature drops below a certain threshold. Not possible, but I hey I can turn on a light or activate a scene when it happens . Apple: please ad notification/text as action on automations.

 

[JJM]

OK, I guess this is a newbie question, but I don't understand how if you have a "dumb" thermostat, that is say 10 years old, how my home-pod mini, once set up properly, will communicate with that thermostat and regulate temperatures with the home-kit software. Sorry.

 

[Lethen]

OK, I guess this is a newbie question, but I don't understand how if you have a "dumb" thermostat, that is say 10 years old, how my home-pod mini, once set up properly, will communicate with that thermostat and regulate temperatures with the home-kit software. Sorry.

I want it to communicate to me (my phone) that I need to go to my bedroom and close the window and turn on the thermostat again (after ventilation), otherwise I will go to bed in a very cold bed and bedroom.

 

[dsaponaro]

Anyone able to get the sensors to actually trip any automations?

All my HomePods are updated and showing temp/humidity in the home app correctly but any automations set up based on this info (For example: Turn on Livingroom fan when temperature rises above 75 in the Livingroom) fails to run.

 

[Takeo]

Umm… why would a Thermostat (literally a temperature sensor) need help from… a temperature sensor. A better example would be turning on a smart Fan or a fan plugged into a smart outlet or closing a smart window blind.

What I find very confusing about these temperature based automations is… do you need two? One to turn on about a temp and another to turn off below a temp? Apparently so according to the article but… you’d think a single automation could be an on/off toggle… that one automation that turns off above X would also turn on below X

 

[Takeo]

Anyone able to get the sensors to actually trip any automations?

All my HomePods are updated and showing temp/humidity in the home app correctly but any automations set up based on this info (For example: Turn on Livingroom fan when temperature rises above 75 in the Livingroom) fails to run.

I’m using an EcoBee as my temperature sensor to control a dumb fan plugged into a smart IKEA outlet and… yes and no. When the outlet is on and I go to bed and the temperature dips below X degrees my automation will turn the fan off in the middle of the night but once it’s off it never turns back on after the temperature goes back up… even with a second automation specifically set up to turn the fan ON when the temperature goes ABOVE X degrees. The whole thing feels buggy and confusing TBH.

 

[dsaponaro]

Umm… why would a Thermostat (literally a temperature sensor) need help from… a temperature sensor. A better example would be turning on a smart Fan or a fan plugged into a smart outlet or closing a smart window blind.

What I find very confusing about these temperature based automations is… do you need two? One to turn on about a temp and another to turn off below a temp? Apparently so according to the article but… you’d think a single automation could be an on/off toggle… that one automation that turns off above X would also turn on below X

I’m not trying to get the blower fan controlled by my thermostat to turn on based on the sensor of my HomePods. I am trying to do as you mentioned... Turn on a smart outlet that has a floor fan plugged into it based on a HomePods temperature sensor. Unfortunately, none of the automations that should trigger by the HomePods sensors seem to run. For the most part all other automations seem to be functioning as intended.

 

[javiercarrillo]

I’m looking to get the HomePod mini for some music and automation in a detached garage: between 7am and 9am, if temperature is less than 15 degrees Celsius, turn on the space heater”.

I got an Amazon echo and Amazon Air Quality Sensor which does this but it has a major flaw: the target temperature has to be “pass-through” during that timeframe. So, if at 7am the temperature was already at 13, the automation won’t work (it only works it between that time the temp went from 16 to 15).

So, my question is: does the automation with the temperature on the HomePod Mini have the same problem?

Thanks!