Hello guys! When going out on holiday, do you worry about having an empty home? I’ve heard that smart home devices can fake a “someone’s home” vibe. Any simple tricks to share?
Here’s my ideas (total newbie style ): Lights on a sneaky schedule: Have smart bulbs that can turn on and off automatically between 7pm and 10pm. Fake doggo guard: Have speakers that will randomly play ‘Angry German Shepherd’ barks. .
But I need more ideas! How did you do it?
Share your easy, budget-friendly hacks below! Let’s turn our homes into Fort Knox… the lazy way.
@Sonja Ah, the classic vacation dilemma of keeping your home looking alive while you’re off gallivanting! You’ve already got some fun ideas brewing. Let me sprinkle in some tech-savvy Aqara magic for your “lived-in” illusion:
Automate Your Lights Even Further: Besides setting your smart bulbs to a schedule, consider adding motion sensors like the Aqara Motion Sensor. Place them in hallways or living rooms to trigger lights in unpredictable patterns, mimicking natural movement.
Use Curtains and Blinds: Aqara’s Roller Shade Controller T1S can raise and lower your blinds at different times of the day. This adds a layer of realism, as if someone is actively adjusting them.
Geofencing Tricks: With Aqara’s geofencing capabilities, you can simulate comings and goings. Set your devices to trigger certain actions when your phone’s location changes, even if you’re miles away. Maybe your porch light turns on when you “arrive” home.
Soundscapes with Smart Plugs: Use the Aqara Smart Plug to power a radio or smart speaker at random intervals. Imagine the subtle hum of a radio playing, just like someone’s listening to their favorite tunes or catching up on the news.
Door/Window Sensors: These can be set to trigger a light or make a sound when “opened,” giving the impression of activity inside.
These tricks should help your home feel bustling with life, even if it’s just your smart devices doing all the work. Happy holidaying, and may your home be as secure as Fort Knox!
I have a single button in home assistant that activates holiday mode, this turns on automations that run lights on and off after sunset at random times except for outside lights etc.
A have a similar set up as @rchiileea through Home Assistant but don’t make it fully random but approximate my normal movements (living room → bath room → bed room) to not make it to obvious
Bit late to the game on this one, but having some automated blinds makes a huge difference to that sense of presence, on top of lighting. If someone sees that window coverings have changed they’re more likely to assume physical presence. I used to have a massive old roller blind controlled by one of the Aqara blind motors (before I changed my windows), and then ran it through a home assistant routine that would do a morning raise, then as the afternoon wore on and the sun came round that side of the house would gradually track the sun down (great for glare control as well).
My smart blinds open and close automatic. My lights go on at sunset. Like someone commented before I also got an button that activates holiday Mode. Changes light color, on off the lights and so on… Pretty nice I love it
If you could automate the TV turning on to something (even if it’s just an Apple TV screensaver or something similar), that would definitely give the appearance of someone being home! If you time it for the evenings when lights are off, then it would be even more apparent that someone is sitting down and watching a show (or so they’d think )
Every day, the lights in my living room turn on at sunset. I’ve added fallback logic so that the lights automatically turn off at 03:00 AM. This is because I sometimes forget to put the house into sleep mode (which turns off every device in the house and turns on the bedroom light).
I’m considering adding a variable in my Homey Pro (I have the Hub M3 too, but all my automations are living in the Homey) called on_vacation or something similar. If it’s set to true, then sleep mode will be triggered at a specific time instead of 03:00 AM — maybe even randomized within a 2-hour range or so.
@dtaylor0 It looks like you’re exploring creative ways to make your home appear occupied while you’re away. Your idea of triggering sleep mode at a random time within a specific range is clever! While the reference information doesn’t directly cover this exact scenario, you could potentially utilize Aqara’s automation features like the “Good night mode” to adjust activities at different times. By integrating devices like smart switches and sensors, you can create a dynamic routine that mimics normal household patterns. Keep experimenting, and perhaps share your setup with the community; it could be an amazing resource for others looking to enhance their vacation mode strategies!
What did you end up implementing? I think setting up an away scene and then running lights for periods of time in different parts of your house is an easy start. I’ve done that before with zwave and plan to do that with my matter set up.
I have that, my lights dim down from 7 to 10:30pm automatically anyway its a long automation as I have them taking 30 mins to slowly dim between each step, why they are doing this their is tv glare as well as hue sync light around the tv.
When going out on holiday, do you worry about having an empty home? I’ve heard that smart home devices can fake a “someone’s home” vibe. Any simple tricks to share?
):
Lights on a sneaky schedule: Have smart bulbs that can turn on and off automatically between 7pm and 10pm.
Fake doggo guard: Have speakers that will randomly play ‘Angry German Shepherd’ barks. 
.
Let’s turn our homes into Fort Knox… the lazy way. 
You’ve already got some fun ideas brewing. Let me sprinkle in some tech-savvy Aqara magic for your “lived-in” illusion:
Happy holidaying, and may your home be as secure as Fort Knox!
)