Hey everyone, just wanted to drop in and share a little trick that completely changed the vibe in my house.
So I recently moved into an older place with creaky doors that love to sing at 2 AM. I’m also a light sleeper, and my dog has zero chill when it comes to pacing at night. So yeah, not a great combo.
Enter the Aqara door sensors.
Instead of the usual security setup, I got a bit creative. I paired the door sensors with a couple of smart lights and a Hub M2. Now whenever a bedroom door opens at night (I set it only between 10PM–6AM), soft hallway lights turn on at like 20% brightness. No blinding lights, no loud doors, just smooth movement.
Even better—I added a condition where if the door opens again within 2 minutes, lights stay off. That way my dog walking around doesn’t light the whole house up repeatedly. It’s made nighttime so much more peaceful.
Bonus: no more unintentional jump scares when I walk out for a midnight snack and the hallway is pitch black.
If you’re dealing with nighttime noise or motion, I highly recommend trying this out. Anyone else using their door sensors for non-security setups? Would love to hear some ideas!