I would like to turn on mood lighting automatically when I’m taking a shower, what’s the best way to detect that?
- I’ve considered humidity sensors, but that will take a while to kick in and not immediately when the shower starts.
- I’ve also considered a water leak sensor but those are not meant to be trigger every day for a long time like 10-15 minutes. That would kill the battery, right?
- Smart valves can kind of work, but it feels like overkill because I don’t care about the valve functionality.
I would prefer the solution to be battery powered (don’t want to be messing with too many cables around a shower), but I can’t seem to find one.
You could use a classic dead man switch: Place several buttons around the whole place - basically everywhere except in the shower. Once you stop pressing any of these buttons for - let’s say - 30 seconds you can assume you’re taking a shower.
Multiple waterproof 4k cameras pointed at the inside of your shower from every angle and image recognition by some AI that detects when a naked person enters.
Don’t forget to use Wifi and no firewall
If someone wants to see my hairy ass they better have a 4k view of it
Made a flowchart for you:
< Do you feel wet? > | +-- yes --> < are you indoors? > | | | +-- yes --> < are you wearing pants? > | | | | | +-- yes --> [ you peed yourself ] | | | | | +-- no --> [ you're taking a shower ] | | | +-- no --> [ it's raining ] | +-- no --> [ you are not taking a shower ]I’d settle for the small lag with a humidity sensor. If you’re the type to run the shower for a minute before getting in, it should kick in in that time.
Could do a presence sensor or motion sensor pointed at the shower. Haven’t played with either, and you’d have to figure out water resistance.
How about a simple on off toggle inside your shower handle? Stupid simple and works anytime the waters turned on.
I … Didn’t think of that. I don’t have a lever shower but placing a simple button inside the niche for toiletries is such a simple solution. I’ll look for some IP67 buttons.
I feel tricked…
Flowmeter on the shower head or down in the supply lines to the tub/shower?
If you have a shower cubicle, could you put a door open sensor on it, and assume you’re showering if the door is closed? I think it’s normal to leave the doir open when not in use. It would probably also work if you had a shower curtain, so long as you always pulled it all the way closed in use.
I normally keep the door closed, but this is an elegant solution and I think I can work with this. Just gotta change my habit a bit
Without trying something similar yet, here are some ideas:
- motion sensor on top of your shower
- trying to detect the vibration of the water flow
- a simple switch that you hit before you get into the shower
Also think of other times you “use” the shower, like cleaning it. Some methods will also be triggered then.
Also think of other times you “use” the shower, like cleaning it. Some methods will also be triggered then.
Yep. Sometimes these automations with all exceptions get so complicated that it’s easier to just put a small button somewhere.
Good ideas, let’s see
motion sensor on top of your shower
That’ll detect my shower area motion not when shower in on. When I am cleaning the shower or sitting in a bathtub I don’t want mood lighting or other automations to be triggered.
trying to detect the vibration of the water flow
Vibration sensor can work but it’s a ceiling shower so I’ll have to see if I have enough space. This is the closest to a viable solution given my situation.
a simple switch that you hit before you get into the shower
Yeah that’s a fallback option, but I try to automate my home whenever I can and not perform manual tasks. I know my groggy morning self is forgetting to even hit this simple switch.
I would put a temperature sensor on the line feeding to your shower to trigger on a temperature rise, but it all depends whether it’s accessible somewhere. Setting your trigger to something like 33 degrees would mean it only triggers on warm showers, cold showers you’re on your own.
I would just go with special button, the most straightforward simple solution you have direct control over. Also sometimes you might need to use the shower without mood lights and then system based on humidity or water flow will just be annoyance.
If you use some tools when showering, like brush or spung, you can make a contact sensor into the hook/holder (more work, probably need a custom 3D print), but should also work and you don’t need to press anything
Not sure if you have access to the pipes leading to the shower, but the droplet does what you’re looking to do.
This is perfect, but I’m not in the US :( I’ll see if I can get it imported.
I use a humidity sensor, motion sensor and a helper that shows the change over a period of time. If the humidity raises fast (+2%/5m) and goes over a certain amount (unique, depending on your room’s climate) the bathroom automation changes tracks to hold the light at 100%, turn the extractor fan on, and well, how you stop the automation depends on you. I let it stay on for 15 minutes before waiting for motion. Small tips: For me the humidity triggers the automation within 15s-1m of showering, which is okay for me. Motion sensors typically use IR to see movement. If the room is too steamy it might struggle to see you. Also, it cannot penetrate glass. It must have a line of sight to you.
The best alt I think would be mmwave presence sensors, but they’re pricy and require a wired connection.
I already have a presence sensor (Tuya) in my bathroom. Maybe I can use that + humidity sensor, everyone is saying it’s faster than you expect so I’ll give it a shot.
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I experimented with a humidity sensor in the shower and was surprised how quickly it spiked. It’s how I woud do it. Other option would be a leak sensor in the basin but getting it to turn off at the right time would be very hard. You have a lot more control over this with a humidity sensor.
I’m using zwave for everything like this and wouldn’t be at all concerned about battery for either scenario. Both would last years, much like my door and window sensors do.
@batshit I tend to use the fact that I’m naked and wet as my cues.
I’ll try but I’m not the smartest tool in the shed
I bet you can rig up something microphone-based, there’s tons of software nowadays for analyzing audio, and you don’t need to run the analyzing software on the device with the microphone anyway. Though the analyzing would likely take a little bit longer that you’d want it to.
Microphone is certainly an interesting choice I hadn’t thought of before at all. It’s something I can test easily, I’ll have to see how well it plays with music too. I’ll give it a shot
Crossposted from showerthoughts
