Hey everyone, I’m a fellow Home Assistant enthusiast looking for a reliable way to detect room occupancy. Detecting if someone enters, leaves, or how many people are in a room seems crucial for optimizing tasks like heating and cooling. I’ve come across various creative solutions, but I’m not quite satisfied yet. Let me share my thoughts and maybe get some feedback from you!
One idea I’ve explored is using indoor cameras paired with object detection services like Doods. I set up a Raspberry Pi 4 with Doods and TensorFlow, which worked about 80% of the time. The system scans every minute and checks for people. If it doesn’t detect someone for five consecutive scans, it assumes the room is unoccupied. It also triggers on motion detected by MotionEye. However, this approach had some issues, especially when I went to bed. The camera couldn’t see me under the blanket, so it marked the room as unoccupied even though I was still there. I considered adding a sensor under the bed, but I’m too lazy to set it up right now. Maybe in the future!
Another thought was using motion sensors strategically placed near doors. By monitoring motion on either side of the door, I could infer the direction of movement and estimate the number of people in the room. However, this method isn’t foolproof. If two people enter and then leave together, the system might incorrectly think one person is still inside. It would require highly sensitive sensors to overcome this limitation.
I’d love to hear your ideas on room occupancy detection. Have you found a solution that works well? Whether it’s cameras, motion sensors, or something entirely different, I’m all ears! Let’s brainstorm together and find the best way to optimize our smart homes. Thanks for your insights!