Hey everyone, I’ve been messing around with my Aqara setup for the past few months and just wanted to share a couple of weird-but-useful ideas I stumbled upon. Might help spark some inspo for fellow automation nerds out here.
So first off, the door/window sensor — yeah, classic security go-to, but I stuck one on the lid of my trash can. Now I get reminded when it hasn’t been opened in 2 days (aka I forgot to take it out again). Surprisingly effective accountability buddy lol.
Another one: I mounted the motion sensor under my couch, angled just right to detect when someone sits down. It triggers ambient lighting + turns on the TV via IR blaster after sunset. Feels like living in a movie.
And perhaps my proudest moment — used the temperature/humidity sensor inside my greenhouse box (DIY-style, nothing fancy) and connected it to a switch that powers a small USB fan. Hot day? Fan kicks in automatically. Low key has kept my greens alive all spring.
All of this is done through HomeKit + a bit of Node-RED for logic. Not too hard once you get the hang of it.
Would love to hear if you folks (uh—people) have any oddball uses for your devices. Anything that made you go, “Why didn’t I try this sooner?” Drop your hacks below!
