Recently, I embarked on an exciting project to automate my terrace’s irrigation system using a solenoid valve connected to a Shelly 1. After setting up the Smart Irrigation integration via HACS, I noticed that manually controlling the valve was a bit tricky. Here’s my journey of discovery and how I overcame the challenges!
Automating Irrigation with Smart Irrigation
I configured the Smart Irrigation integration to water my plants automatically 1 hour after sunrise. While this worked perfectly for scheduled watering, I wanted the flexibility to manually irrigate without disrupting the automation. Initially, toggling the valve from Lovelace didn’t work as expected—it required navigating to the settings each time, which was inconvenient.
Manual Control Integration
To address this, I decided to create two separate automations: one for automatic irrigation and another for manual control. I set up conditional cards in Lovelace so that enabling one automation disables the other, ensuring seamless switching between modes. This setup allows me to manually irrigate by simply toggling a switch in my dashboard.
Lessons Learned
- Automation Flexibility: Integrating both automatic and manual controls provided the flexibility I needed without compromising on automation efficiency.
- Dashboard Customization: Using conditional cards made the interface user-friendly, eliminating the need for complex navigation.
- Community Support: While troubleshooting, I found the Hubitat and Home Assistant communities invaluable for tips and solutions.
Looking Ahead
I’m now exploring more advanced features like weather-based automation to adjust irrigation duration based on precipitation and temperature. This project has been a fantastic learning experience, and I’m excited to continue enhancing my smart irrigation setup!
If anyone has tips on integrating weather data or suggestions for optimizing manual control, I’d love to hear them!