Turns on/off lights in the corridor, hallway or foyer when you came to the house late.

This routine is part of the Automation Bank, a community-driven list of over 50 practical automation ideas for your smart home. Read more about Automation Bank or search ideas by room, by device or by use case. Also, have a look at best home automation ideas as voted by our users.

How Does It Work?

  • Trigger: A motion sensor in your hallway, and a door sensor on your front door
  • Condition: Should only work at dark and the lights are not on
  • Action: Switch on and off lights or smart switch

What Do You Need?


                

                
                            
                            
                            
                    
        


                                                        DeviceOur RecommendationPrice




        

            
IR hub

A dedicated bridge
that emulates your 
IR remote
    

  • Broadlink RM Pro4  ($38.24) is best IR blaster to use. It is simple to install and easy to operate
    • 

$10 - $30        

            

            
Comms Sticks

Use Z-wave and Zigbee with your smart hub		$40 - $50        

            

            
Home Assistant Server

Use Z-wave and Zigbee with your smart hub
    

  • If you are new to Home Assistant, start with CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 4GB Starter PRO Kit - 4GB RAM (). It will cover your basic needs and easily expand. 
    • 

  • No products found. () once you understand how cool Home Assistant is, go for NUC. There are dedicated images for NUC which makes it great to use and simple to set up. 
    • 

$80 - $400        

            

            
RF hub

RF bridge that emulates your Remote


 
    

  • Sonoff RF Bridge ($24.85) is our favourite RF bridge. The first thing you need to do is to flash it with Tasmota. This will allow you to connect to your bridge but also just control the bridge better.
    • 

$20 - $30        

            

            
Shut off valve

A valve that will close and open water supply		

    

  • leakSMART Water Leak Detection Kit ($282.57) is a more expensive option. It has all you need to set you up shut off valve. There are some negative comments on the hub but it works well in general.
    • 



    

  • Grohe 22503LN0 ($554.99) is even more expensive. For the additional price, you have flow sensors capable to detect the pipe bursts without the sensors and better overall build quality. At the same, it has fewer options for integrating with your smart hub.
    • 

$99 - $400        

            

            
Door/Window Sensor

Reports if a door or window is open or closed
    

  • Zigbee:  Linkind Door Window Sensor ($23.99) is the best sensor by BeSense. Reliable, good battery life, and looks amazing
    • 

  • Z-wave:  Z-Wave Door & Window Sensor ($35.79) is the sensor we recommend by Ecolink. It is easy to install, has up to 3 years of battery life and great customer feedback
    • 

$20 - $30        

            

            
Motion Sensor 

Detects any motion. Ideally combined with luminance sensor.		A relatively simple device, with the price, mainly depends on the protocol you are using:


    

  • Z-wave Motion Sensor: Our favouritez-wave sensor is  Aeotec TriSensor ($44.99) for a good battery life, responsiveness and price. It also has luminance sensor built in. For a multisensor we recommend Zoos 4 in 1 multisensor ($44.95) or Aeon 6 in 1 ($59.99).
    • 


$25 - $60        

            

            
Multisensor 

Measure several environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, or light levels		This is a more complicated device than a motion sensor and can be used where multiple environmental factors need to be detected:


    

  • Z-wave: Our favourite z-wave sensor is Aeon 6 in 1 ($59.99) for its reliability and flexibility in use. It detects motion, humidity, temperature, light lux, UV, vibration sensor and has 2-year battery life
    • 



    		$20 - $60        
    
            
    
            
    Water leak detector
    
A sensor that will trigger the shut-off valve to work
      

    • HomeSeer HS-LS100+ Leak sensor ($40.43) is the most affordable and simple solution. At this price, you should cover all the areas in your house. Requires A Smart Hub
      • 

    

      

    • FIBARO Flood Sensor ($49.99) is a very good Z-wave leak detector. It has great battery life, easy to pair and very accurate at alarms. Requires A Smart Hub
      • 

    		$20 - $55        
    
            
    
            
    Outlet 
    
Allows you to remotely switch on and off. Can be retrofitted to any existing devices. 
      

    • Wifi outlet: Kasa Smart WiFi Plug (price for 2 - $28.89) is the best for price and local connectivity.
      • 

    

    		$20 - $35        
    
            
    
            
    Plug with Energy Monitoring
    
Reports the power consumption    		

      

    • Z-wave outlet: Aeotec Smart Plug  (Price not available) is a good practical device that does not take a lot of space and work perfectly
      • 

    

      		$23 - $32        
      
            
      
            
      Smart Color Bulb
      

      A colour bulb you can remotely control 
      		$24 - $35        
      
            
      
            
      White Bulb
      
Practical bulb that would work for majority of use cases      		$10 - $20        
      
            
      
            
      Switch US
      
Switch to turn on and off lights. Require neutral wire in the box.      		$30 - $45        
      
            
      
            
      Voice assistant:
      
AI driven device that can respond to voice commands
      There is no right answer which Voice Assistant to choose, but we have the following recommendations:
      

        

      • The most comprehensive: Amazon Alexa ($99.99) has a lot to offer. Zigbee radio means potentially one hub less (although we still recommend getting a dedicated hub). It also has the biggest ecosystem to tap into (including Ring, Phillips Hue, TP-link)
        • 

      • The most intelligent: Google Home is using the brains behind the biggest search engine in the world to deliver the best answers for your questions. It is definitely more capable compared to Alexa
        • 

      		$100        
      
            
      
            
      Smart Blinds
      
Motorised shades that automatically open and close the blinds      		

      Read more: Best Motorized Blinds
      		$40 - $279        
      
            
      
            
      Smart Buttons
      
A convenient way to trigger routines and specific actions      		$8 - $50        
      
            
      
            
      Irrigation System
      
Make sure your plants are always watered      		$180 - $220        
      
            
      
            
      Outdoor Lights
      
Lightning for your garden protected from water      		$49 - $70        
      
            
      
            
      Smart TRV
      
Thermo Regulator Valve that can be controlled remotely      		$60 - $200        
      
            
      
            
      Outdoor Outlets
      
Protected plugs for outdoors      		$40        
      
            
      
            
      Outdoor Cameras
      
Cameras that would work well outdoors
        

      • Best Overall Outdoor Camera: Amcrest 5MP UltraHD Outdoor Security IP ($57.99) is a great quality outdoor camera. It has 5k resolution making it perfect for large outdoor areas. It is ONVIF protocol compliant making it easy to connect to almost any NVR
        • 

      

      More: Detailed Review of 4 Best Outdoor Cameras
      		$70        
      
            
      
            
      Outdoor Sensors
      
Protected sensors for your garden      		HomeSeer HS-FLS100+ Z-Wave Plus Outdoor Floodlight Sensor (Price not available) is a AC powered motion and lightning sensor. It would work with your smart home but also control floodlights.$40        
      
            
      
            
      Moisture Sensor
      
Reports the level of humidity      		$30        
      
            
      
            
      Security Alarm System
      
System to alarm you of any unauthorized entry to your house
        

      • The best for the majority users: SimpliSafe 8 Piece Wireless Home Security System ($119.77) has all the main things for a good security system. Great customer service, main sensors included for the most users and good quality hardware.
        • 

      • More affordable security system: WiFi Alarm System Kit Smart Security System DIY ($59.99) is a cheaper no-monthly-fee system. It will be more difficult to integrate with your hub but can be done with Sonoff Bridge. 
        • 

      • More capable security system: No products found. () is a great option for more sophisticated needs. The system has great good integration with hubs, an optional monthly-fee system, and a well-designed mobile application. 
        • 

      		$89 - $300        
      
            
      
            
      Robot Vacuum
      
Little helper to clean your house
        

      • Best Overall: iRobot Roomba 690 ($490.00) for great value, good quality and connectivity to all major smart hubs
        • 

      		$300

      How To Set It Up?

      Section below will have step by step instructions how to set this automation routine in the most popular smart hubs like SmartThings, Home Assistant, HomeSeer and Hubitat

      Please leave comments below if you have any questions, or interested in the instruction for a specific system. This will help us to better focus our effort.

      Last update on 2021-10-24 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API