Automate Your Amplifier, AC and TV (And Forget How To Use The Remote) ($30)

  • Imagine a world where you never have to fumble around for your remote control again! All your devices—your TV, AC, and amplifier—can be controlled seamlessly through automation.
  • Utilizing an IR (Infrared) / RF (Radio Frequency) hub, you can set up a system that automates your devices based on triggers, conditions, and actions.
  • Difficulty Level: Intermediate. You need some basic understanding of smart home ecosystems and how to configure devices via apps or code.
  • Costs: Low – you will only need RF or IR hub to start with
Can you impove this automation? This is not for profit attempt to give back to smart home community all the fun we were having with automation. Please add your comments, ideas improvemetns so we can share it with everybody.

How does it work?

  • As the example the automation can be triggered when either someone enters the room, it’s 7 PM, or a custom voice command “movie time” is issued. If the room temperature is above 25°C and the TV is off, the automation will turn on the AC, TV, and amplifier, and set the TV source to “HDMI 1”.

Trigger

  • Voice Commands (e.g., “Hey Google, movie time”)
  • Time of Day (e.g., 7 PM every day)
  • Device Status (e.g., TV is turned on)

Condition

  • Occupancy (e.g., someone is in the room)
  • Temperature (e.g., room temperature above 25°C)
  • Device Mode (e.g., TV is not in “Game” mode)

Action

  • Turn on/off AC
  • Change TV channel
  • Adjust Amplifier Volume

What do you need?

For this automation, you’ll need a Home Assistant setup, an IR/RF hub like Broadlink RM Pro, and optionally an occupancy sensor and a temperature sensor.

  • IR Hub - helps you to integrate non-smart devices like TVs, AC / HVAC units and similar. Top choices are Broadlink RM4 pro Smart IR/RF Remote ($49.99) which is a battle tested devices which has great integrations with smart hubs. Bestcon RM4C Mini Universal IR Blaster () is the new kid in the block which has good pre-setup IR base and also neat up that you can use out of the box."
  • Motion Sensor - This sensor detects any motion and ideally combined with luminance sensor. Our advice is to go for Zigbee (Matter) and battery operated. Eve Motion Sensor (Matter) ($46.99) is our top chose as supports Matter (future proof), has luminance sensor and good battery life. If you want to go fancy, Linptech mmWave human body sensor ($29.99) would work, but you will need to sort out wired power supply

Advance Uses / Ideas to customise

  • Integrate with smart lighting to create the ultimate home theater experience.
  • Add weather-based triggers to adjust the AC temperature automatically.
  • Use NFC tags for instant activation of specific automation routines.

Generic Step-by-Step Setup Guide

  1. Install the IR / RF Hub: Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to set up your IR / RF hub.
  2. Connect to Your Home Network: Make sure the hub is connected to your Wi-Fi network.
  3. Scan Devices: Use the hub’s app to scan and add your devices like the TV, AC, and amplifier.
  4. Set up Triggers, Conditions, and Actions: Use the app to configure your automation routines.
  5. Test the Automation: Run a test to make sure everything is working as expected.

How-to create IR based automation in Home Assistant?

As set in the generic list, you need to connect IR devices and also the action devices to home assistant. Once done follow the steps below using YAML file provided. Non yaml way is even simpler.

Total Cost:

30

USD

Things Needed?

IR hub

Steps to configure automation to prevents leaks in Home Assistant?

Step 1

Add IR / RF Hub: Go to Configuration > Integrations > Add Integration and search for your IR / RF hub.

Step 2

Paste it into your automations.yaml file in Home Assistant.

Step 3

Save the file and reload automations from the Home Assistant UI.

automation:
  - id: 'unique_id_for_this_automation'
    alias: "Automate TV, AC, and Amplifier"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.occupancy_sensor
        to: 'on'
      - platform: time
        at: '19:00:00'
      - platform: event
        event_type: custom_voice_command
        event_data:
          command: 'movie time'
    condition:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: sensor.room_temperature
        operator: '>'
        state: '25'
      - condition: state
        entity_id: media_player.tv
        state: 'off'
    action:
      - service: switch.turn_on
        entity_id: switch.ac
      - service: switch.turn_on
        entity_id: switch.tv
      - service: switch.turn_on
        entity_id: switch.amplifier
      - service: media_player.select_source
        entity_id: media_player.tv
        data:
          source: "HDMI 1"

Explanation of YAML

  • Trigger: This automation will be triggered when any of the following occurs:
    1. The occupancy sensor detects someone in the room.
    2. It is 7 PM.
    3. A custom voice command “movie time” is received.
  • Condition: The automation will only proceed if:
    1. The room temperature is above 25°C.
    2. The TV is off.
  • Action: If the conditions are met, the following actions will occur:
    1. The AC will turn on.
    2. The TV will turn on.
    3. The amplifier will turn on.
    4. The TV source will be set to “HDMI 1”.

Step-by-Step Guide for SmartThings

  1. Install SmartThings Hub: If not already installed, set up your SmartThings hub.
  2. Add IR / RF Hub: Go to Devices > Add Device and search for your IR / RF hub model.
  3. Configure Automation: Use the SmartThings app to set up your automation routines.
  4. Test the Automation: Run a test to make sure everything is functioning correctly.

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Last update on 2024-03-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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