JerryR Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 We are about a week away from heading out on a 10 day family vacation. I've done some minor vacation mode programming in the past, but this year I really want to kick it up a notch. Add some variable lighting scenes to make any would be burglars think someone is home, beef up notifications in case anything out of normal is sensed by the system, ensure the thermostat is set to warmer then I could tolorate (and stay that way the entire time instead of the normal thermostat programming), and anything else. Also as a question, if you set the temp on the thermostat to a certain coolpoint and then have Composer turn the thermostat into vacation mode, will that keep it from cycling through normal daily thermostat settings? Or do you need it to click to a permanent setting and then have the system take it off permanently once you switch vacation mode off? Do you have anything good you've done in the past to put your house in vacation mode? If so, share it here. Figure this is a good time for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggzlot Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Why program lights? 2 years ago I purchased the always@home driver which records my lights and tv usage over 2 weeks and when I start the driver it plays it back with slight variation. There is now a free driver from control4 called mockupancy which does the same thing and has 1-2 extra features too including playback of audio and putting lights at a lower percent to help save power Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy.trochez Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 I have a vacation bottom on my front door keypad. This is what it does: Sets thermostat to away mode. This will keep the temp fixed, it won't cycle. Switches the screensaver in my T3s to blank Switches Mockupancy from recording to playback. This is the feature where lights and A/V turn on and off randomly to make it look like someone is home. Mockupancy does all the work, no scene programming needed. Your dealer can add the driver to your project. I get a notification that Vacation mode is active. (This is useful for when someone activates Vacation mode by accident) Integrating in the next few days: Turn hot-water recirculating pump off. Shut off water main Vacation mode is not complicated at all, it's just a couple of settings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Lowe Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 if we leave the pets at home, i will have mockupency include audio and video as well for the dogs so they know when its time to get up and go to bed and they don't feel as lonely. also activates all motions so if there is motion i am notified of it, and snapshots are sent via cameras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryR Posted July 9, 2016 Author Share Posted July 9, 2016 I hadn't even heard about Mockupency. Sounds great as a tool to use. That said, when I'm gone on vacation for a week or 10 days I don't know that I need the house to fully look like someone is home. Just turning on lights in one room for a bit, then off and a light in another room later for a while. It's not as if I live in a bad enough area that I really need to make it look like the entire family is home all night long. I did add some programming such as push notification if the thermostat changes and if any motion sensor senses motion. Just as an added layer of security. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMHarman Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 I hadn't even heard about Mockupency. Sounds great as a tool to use. That said, when I'm gone on vacation for a week or 10 days I don't know that I need the house to fully look like someone is home. Just turning on lights in one room for a bit, then off and a light in another room later for a while. It's not as if I live in a bad enough area that I really need to make it look like the entire family is home all night long. I did add some programming such as push notification if the thermostat changes and if any motion sensor senses motion. Just as an added layer of security. That's where the dimming feature saves electricity. Also you choose which lights are mockupied so not all lights in all rooms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy.trochez Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 4 hours ago, JerryR said: I hadn't even heard about Mockupency. Sounds great as a tool to use. That said, when I'm gone on vacation for a week or 10 days I don't know that I need the house to fully look like someone is home. Just turning on lights in one room for a bit, then off and a light in another room later for a while. It's not as if I live in a bad enough area that I really need to make it look like the entire family is home all night long. I did add some programming such as push notification if the thermostat changes and if any motion sensor senses motion. Just as an added layer of security. You can specify energy saving settings in the Mockupancy driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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