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This article is a technical piece from the ‘Hansi Bian’ forum, authored by misLia. Thanks to the author! The copyright belongs to the original author, and any infringement will be pursued.
Discussion on using door and window sensors to detectthe working status of washing machines.
Background Story
My wife went to the hospital over the weekend, and before leaving, she instructed me to take the clothes out once the washing machine finished. I was a bit groggy in the morning and forgot about it. When my wife returned, she was not pleased. The most critical part is that I’ve been playing with Home Assistant for two years, and I’ve basically exhausted all the functional hardware and automation projects at home, leaving me feeling a bit empty. This led me to the idea of adding a status monitoring feature to the washing machine.
Solution
When I first started with Home Assistant, I considered adding a status monitor for the washing machine. The simplest method would be to buy a smart plug with power monitoring to determine if the washing machine has stopped working based on real-time power consumption. However, I found some issues. First, the plugs stack on top of each other, which is not aesthetically pleasing. Second, the price is not attractive; a smart plug costs over 50, which doesn’t fit my persona. Third, the cheaper options are from small workshops, and I wouldn’t want to risk them with high-power appliances.So after some thought, I came up with a second method. Washing machines will definitely vibrate when in operation. If the vibration stops, it indicates that the washing cycle is complete. My first thought was to use the Aqara vibration sensor. However, I learned from some videos that the Aqara vibration sensor has a cooldown period for state detection, making it unsuitable.
I searched for vibration sensors on an online marketplace and found a patch-type vibration sensing switch.
This reminded me of the working principle of a seat sensor I previously modified using a membrane pressure sensor and a door/window sensor. If feasible, I could stick it on the side of the washing machine, making it compact and discreet.The purpose of this post is that my electrical knowledge is limited to high school physics. I would like to see what the experts in the forum think about the feasibility of this idea and discuss their opinions.
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