I’ve been diving into the world of smart lighting automation lately, and it’s been a fascinating journey! 
One of the things I’ve been working on is setting up automated lighting in my garden using Advanced Flows. The idea is to have the lights turn on at a specified time when we’re at home and switch off automatically after a certain period. However, I’ve encountered a bit of a hiccup with my sensors and the hourglass app integration. Let me walk you through my experience and what I’ve learned so far.
I have two sensors set up in my garden, which reset every 30 seconds and measure activity every 40 seconds. I’ve configured the hourglass app to last 500 seconds, with the intention that it refills every time activity is detected. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be working as intended. The hourglass counts down, and the lights turn off, which isn’t what I want. After some research, I suspect that the zone activity line might only trigger once, which means it doesn’t continuously refill the hourglass as I hoped. If that’s the case, I might need to switch to using both sensors in parallel as triggers for the rule instead of relying on zone activity.
This experience has made me realize how important it is to thoroughly understand the behavior of each component in a smart home setup. It’s also highlighted the value of community support—knowing that others might have faced similar challenges and found solutions is incredibly reassuring.
On a lighter note, I’ve also been experimenting with RGBICW lighting effects, and they’ve added a whole new dimension to my home’s ambiance. It’s amazing how a little creativity with lighting can completely transform a space! 
If anyone has tips or tricks for optimizing sensor integration or suggestions for alternative automation strategies, I’d love to hear them. Let’s keep the conversation going and continue learning from each other! 