The Ultimate Toilet Occupancy Sensor - Tutorial

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Do you recognize this problem? How did you solve this? Let me know in the comments!

[@hpsfresh]

moes tuya zigbee human presence sensor

[@SkillFullSheep]

I just used a wasp in a box sensor - does not require running electricity into an area with running water.

[@carballorj]

It helped me not just creating this kind of device but gave me a new perspective on how to create automations using conditions and trigger IDs.

[@Pabz2030]

The way I'd deal with this problem is the same way we deal with commercial occupancy solutions...that is detect entry and exit with seperate sensors. Turn the light on when someone enters and turn the light off when someone exits (for single occupancy). If you want to get "fancy" (and are "liberal" about the number of bathroom occupants) then you can count entry and exits and only turn the light off if the counter falls to

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

What if someone opens the door, decides not to go in and leaves it open? Some people use the Wasp in a Box concept, but I feel (but might be wrong) that that won't work for this scenario. I know, it's an edge case of course.

[@xlHitM3n]

BEST TUTORIAL!!!!!!!

[@sleepessence7566]

I had all the parts at home so set this up as a quick project this evening - works like a charm. Also set to run the fan for an additional five minutes for the obvious reasons....

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

So great to hear that you actually built this!

[@explosiveenterprises1479]

The solution is simpler than that just requires a bit of logic. So a motion and door contact sensor - if motion is ever detected and the door is closed logically the room cannot be unoccupied until at a minimum the door opens. So unless you do your business with the door open or with friends who come and go while you are in there this should work just fine.

[@souk-tv]

Yeah but if you're having a shit whilst sitting on the toilet drinking a beer, eating yesterday's left over cold curry and browsing ebay while no one else is home your method is kind of flawed though. 😢

[@explosiveenterprises1479]

@@souk-tv not exactly... as long as you close the door.... it's impossible for you to leave the room without opening the door or bailing out a window

[@MopH3ad]

Oh new idea, on off power isolation when walking in and out of my ham radio shack so when I'm not there everything is electraly isolated and join its configuration along with home made antenna lighting protection unit. This is so cool.

[@danielducu]

Nice, was thinking of this for a while , waving in front of the motion sensor while in creative mode on the toilet was getting annoying haha. Anyway, my only downsides to this , is making this battery operated and placement so that it doesn’t ruin the looks of the toilet (this needs a wife approval as always).

[@MopH3ad]

I experienced this only last night. I have some d1 mini left over from some slime vr units I was building for VR. I'll be having a go at this this evening. Thank you.

[@theshawfam20]

Thanks for the video, I think its time to do a mmWave presence sensor video. Thank you :)

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Yup...

[@stevephipps9305]

Ultra-sonic sensor rated at 5v, works ok with 3.3v supply. Thanks for another great video.

[@grahamshaw5531]

I now have all the bits. Just got to assemble it.

[@grahamshaw5531]

Got the bits. It's now built and working. Thanks. My cable management is a bit wild, it may have to go in a shoe-box. Coffee bought.

[@EsotericArctos]

I use to love making my own sensors and things, but the thing I hated was WiFi settings being hard coded. If you ever change the WiFi details or password on your main network, you have to remember to upload it to all the ESP devices before changing the details. Sometimes it's just easier to have out of the box things that can accomodate those sort of changes :). The distance sensors are great ideas for many things if you have time to play with them :)

[@Badg0r]

Netjes! Op dit moment heb ik veel stringing met mijn 3d printer. Zodra ik hem heb gemaakt zal ik dit model uitproberen. De rest van de benodigdheden heb ik in de "bekende tijden" ruimschoots ingekocht.

[@SimonLYW]

I solve this in my home using using a contact sensor where the Reed switch is swapped out for a couple FSRs. The FSRs sit on the toilet seat under PVC tape. It works well as a battery operated solution.

[@IdioticUsername]

I just finished a project using mmwave for human detection. I used the SEN0395 from dfrobot. Works very well. Paired it with a dht11 temp and humidity sensor. Used a ESP32 as controller. I just need to design and print a housing.

[@petrmazuch3344]

Actually works.. Just disable the real time protection in Setting. Wasnt sure that it would work .Awesome bruh..

[@richardhobbs4995]

I was getting the same reading of 0.1m after looking on the box of the Sensor it stated 5v, switched to 5V on D1 mini and boom perfect results. thanks for the guide.

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

There are two versions of this sensor. The 3v3 and the 5v sensor.

[@BELSERVICEMAN]

Thanks! I didn’t pay to download the code but it is surely worth something extra than my minimal support. I will play with this for some time!

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Thank you for your kind words Rich!

[@DanGentry]

I used this same hardware as a trash bin sensor. With some Hass logic I never miss trash day again.

[@BELSERVICEMAN]

Once again great video, I hope I still have access to see how the automations look in YAML with the new labels as I assume that is where having the extra details helps otherwise is is an extra step and the trigger ID is more important overall.

[@grahamshaw5531]

Thanks

[@boudewijndejong9134]

As I am not into soldering and tinkering, I’m going to attempt another solution in my new house: open/close sensor combined with a motion sensor. When the door opens, the light should turn on. When motion is detected 2 seconds after the door closes, the room is occupied. No motion, no occupancy. As long as the room is occupied, the light should remain on until the door is opened again.

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Let me know if this works. I suspect that motion is detected add soon as the door is opened, so it might be tricky with timing. And what happens if someone opens the door and decides not to enter the room, or partially enters the room and closes the door again right after that without being in the room?

[@jasonhnz]

@@SmartHomeJunkie I’ve done the above and it’s working well (door and motion sensor) it’s all based upon the door being closed and motion inside the room being active for x (2 or whatever) seconds. If you open and closed the door quickly or open the door and walk in and walk out, as the door is not closed , the “is occupied” helper I have never gets activated. As a catch all, I have a “clean up” routine that polls all states for my “is occupied” helpers and if any of them are active longer than my time out, it executes the turn off function for that room. (And each room has a different timeout as people are more likely to spend more time in a bath that a toilet) - hopefully.

[@boudewijndejong9134]

@@SmartHomeJunkie we’re still building the house, so haven’t achieved this yet. Idea is to wait until the door is closed before reading the occupancy sensor, and perhaps reading again after 5 seconds for confirmation. Will use Node-Red in HA, so still some viewing of your video’s needed.

[@boudewijndejong9134]

@@jasonhnz any chance of sharing the automations you’ve written for this? Would love to start with that.

[@jasonhnz]

@@boudewijndejong9134 can do. I’ve done it in NR too. Will post something tomorrow during my day to provide an overview

[@heiaheiaheiahei]

I am going to make one by following your video tutorial. : ) thanks.

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Awesome. Let me know how it goes.

[@stefanlindholm756]

Great Tutorial

[@s9550110]

I solved this issue using combination of a motion sensor and a contact sensor on the door. Light remains on if door is closed. Timer keeps light on for a couple of minutes if door is open and motion has been detected. I used Node Red to control the flow.

[@mousqy]

i sooo can relate

[@thebatu89]

I’d say the best (wireless) solution for me was a combo of zigbee motion sensor & pressure strips. Pressure sensor to keep the lights on if you’re sitting on the toilet seat longer than usual.

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Nice idea! 👍🏻 Just wondering if the pressure sensor is waterproof. Or isn't that an issue?

[@thebatu89]

@@SmartHomeJunkie it’s not so i just covered it up with white tape. Better option would be to just hotglue it.

[@thebatu89]

@Richard Homan i might need to see a diagram for that since i can’t quite see where to install it. As for my solution, i just placed the short pressure strip wired to reed switch (zigbee) underneath the toilet lid.

[@steevk2174]

This solution also works for my use case, which is to turn on my workbench light when I am in the midst of a messy project. I need to turn on the lights when my hands are dirty or holding tools. I have the sensor configured to toggle the light with a wave of my hand in close proximity (0.5 m) to the device. The light stays on until I wave again. This does require the timer to be set at a much smaller interval, 300 msec. I hope this more frequent event activity is handled within the D1mini, and isn't spamming HA?

[@calebjpryor]

You need to use the wasp in the box method. Motion and open close sensor combo

[@remcoverhagen192]

Great video again! but i don't think many people have a outlet in there toilet to power the sensor

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

You can also put it on the ceiling and get the power from the ceiling lamp...

[@bryanversteegen5719]

I created it and Its working like a charm but were can i find the stl to print the casing?

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

It's in the download file. The link is in the description.

[@shaygus]

This is nice and informative. But why not do it with a mm wave sensor? Those are becoming not so expensive.

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

There are multiple ways that lead to Rome. The mmwave serverfout is about 30 euro more expensive than this one. This sensor is not that expensive imho. 🤷🏼

[@sleepessence7566]

Another good option to put in the house for sure - do you have the link for the file for the printed box to house it all

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Yes, it's in the download file on ko-fi

[@lsaarave]

would it be possible to power it by using 5v usb phone power bank?

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Yes sure!

[@vaughanza]

Thanks for a fantastic video however just wondering how I am going to power this sensor seeing there is no power in my Toilet. Fantastic idea anyway .

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Thank you. Maybe you can place it on the ceiling and use the mains power of your toilet lamp?

[@vaughanza]

@@SmartHomeJunkie Good idea, thanks

[@sagetx]

@@SmartHomeJunkie... But that would be the lamp that would need to be controlled by the sensor. A catch 22.

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

@@sagetx Yes indeed, there is constant power going to that lamp as long as it's a Smart bulb.

[@sagetx]

@@SmartHomeJunkie Oh! Smart bulb. I have switches. That makes sense.

[@andygrichting]

Great project idea I thought, so I built it last weekend with my nodemcu and a 3d case, cool fun. I don't know if it's the HC SR-04 in general or just mine, but the readings are all over the place. My toilet is 1.5m in total from wall to wall. If someone sits on the toilet, the distance should be about .3-.4m, but the sensor so often jumps up and down, which makes this sensor pretty much useless, as it turns the light on and off at random. I was hoping you could maybe let me know if you get random readings which don't make any sense as well? I tried with 5s readings, 1s reading, 10s readings, and literally every reading returns a different value. I'd much appreciate some feedback. I even went as far as trying to use statistics to get some more average values with maybe like 5-ish samples, but didn't help either. Otherwise I would be such a cool project and it even looks cool with those 2 googly eyes👀 😂

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

There are two versions of this device. The 5v and the 3v3 version. If you connect the 5v version to the 3v3 pijn, the readings will be nog correct. Maybe that's the issue here?

[@andygrichting]

@@SmartHomeJunkie Thanks a lot for the reply. I do have the 5v version I had to realise :) as on 3.3v nothing at all happened, so the sensor is running on 5v already. Maybe it is indeed a broken sensor... Just wanted to double check with you whether you always get consistent readings of distance every time or if your sensor jumps up&down in distance too.

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

@@andygrichting Ah okay! Can be a broken sensor indeed. At the moment the mmwave sensors are hot and maybe even more suitable for a user case like this!

[@andygrichting]

@@SmartHomeJunkie Nice, I wasn't aware of the mmwave as yet, was still waiting for the FP1 to be available here 😅 I see whether I try another SR-04 or maybe use a presence sensor. The cool thing about the SR-04 was, I had it at home with all other components, didn't cost me a thing, kinda 😁 Thanks a lot for your responses anyway. Looking forward to more content from you 😃 Take care

[@dudefromkeene]

Can I hook this up directly to the gpio pins on the raspberry pi running HA?

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Never tried that.

[@BELSERVICEMAN]

Ok, so while I watched I thought, how could I do this and wondered if you had much difficulty setting up things position wise. Do you have an overhead view/drawing showing the relative position of sensor with respect to the human occupant? Example does it works as well from a side position as it does face to face?

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Yes, and it also works if you place it on the ceiling looking downwards.

[@marc3793]

1 month on, I'd be interested to know how reliable it's been and if you've had many false positives of the light turning on when not in there. I've started using the LD2410 mmWave sensor for the past month and it is incredible. Even if the sr04 is doing the job for you I highly recommend checking it out and perhaps doing a video on it. It's quite cheap, has an app and an android app for the LD2410b.

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Ooh, that one seems very interesting as well! I did not get a lot of false positives tbh.

[@ShantiSprengers]

Hoi Ed, top video... En zelfs ik als bijna totale newbe kon het namaken... Ik had wel hulp nodig bij de ultrasone sensor, want die liep op 5 volt en dat duurde even voor ik dat gevonden had... Ik heb er twee identiek gemaakt... Nu heb ik twee sensoren die precies hetzelfde zijn en er wordt er maar eentje herkend... Moet ik die tweede weggooien of kan ik die nog weer gebruiken?...

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Je zou ze beiden moeten kunnen koppelen. Ze moeten niet dezelfde naam hebben denk ik.

[@ShantiSprengers]

@@SmartHomeJunkie (Ze werken allebei apart, maar niet samen)... Dus jij zegt als ik de naam verander van eentje, dan zou het moeten werken?... Ik dacht ergens in een ID een cijfertje te verwisselen door een ander cijfertje... Dan er een nieuwe bin-file van maken en weer opnieuw uploaden naar de Wemos... Dan zou ik met mijn JanBoerenFluitjesVerstand denken dat het misschien zou kunnen gaan werken... Maar waar en in welk getal moet dat ene cijfertje dan veranderd worden?... En moet dat dan één keer anders of twéé keer, want als een gedefinieerd ID niet overeenkomt met een gepresenteerd ID, dan weet ik zelfs met dat JanBoerenFluitjesVerstand ook wel dat het niet gaat lukken... Ik zie door het bos de bomen niet meer... Overigens grote dank voor je snelle antwoord... Ik was erdoor verrast... Een fijne dag nog...

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

@@ShantiSprengers Als ik even tijd heb, zal ik er eens naar kijken.

[@Joseph-ko2kl]

So I assume this is powered by mains using a phone charger type plug? That would limit my use case since there is a half wall separating the toilet area from the rest of the bathroom and no plug near toilet so it would not be able to trigger :(

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

It needs power by mains indeed. You can also hang it on the ceiling and get the power from your ceiling lamp.

[@Joseph-ko2kl]

@@SmartHomeJunkie That is an excellent idea I had not thought of that!

[@Shaq2k]

This is a huge problem actually. But your solution needs a power outlet. You should make a video on how to add a battery pack to your sensor.

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

As I explain in the video, a battery is not an option for ESP devices. You can also place this on the ceiling and get the mains power from the ceiling lamp.

[@Rafal-yutube]

Hi, can you provide the link of the 3D box?

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

It's in the download link in the description.

[@Rafal-yutube]

@@SmartHomeJunkie Thank you very much

[@mikegodin23]

Muito bom. Obrigado.

[@maxm6983]

Hi youtube.com/@SmartHomeJunkie, I'm attempting to use this to detect toilet occupancy but when someone is sitting on the toilet, the sensor either times out or reports a distance > 2 meters. Is this a problem you ran into or do you have an idea on what I can try to fix it?

[@gismoscherer]

How about a moisture/leakage or water level sensor within the water flush tank?

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

I'm not sure how that would show if someone is in the toilet room. While you're sitting on the toilet, the water tank level stays the same or am I missing the point? 🤷🏼

[@gismoscherer]

@@SmartHomeJunkie technical you're 2 spots in a bathroom where you "hold still"; sitting on the loo or taking a bath.. When you water meter measures a bathtub full of water and humidity going up, it's clear you take a bath... And you can keep the light on till you register movement to confirm the loop... Once movement is ending you can turn your light off plus the humidity fan on. For the loo, the water level sensor will indicate the flush took place... Actually I don't know if you can submerge a leakage sensor and if it will be water free enough after flushing to trigger the event... But I'm sure that's somehow possible... Even with a vibration sensor...

[@gismoscherer]

For taking a bath, you can even dim the light to enhance the atmosphere ;)

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

@@gismoscherer ooohhhh, cosy

[@lpeter1172]

This doesn't work with 3V3 as shown in the wiring diagram. I always got the same miniscule reading like 0.00128m. My HC-SR04 needed 5V to operate.

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

As you can see in the video, it works with 3v3. There's also another (waterproof) type version of this sensor that needs 5V. Maybe you've got that one?

[@marc3793]

I believe there are older and newer versions of the hc-sr04. The newer v2 ones apparently have a wider voltage range and will work at 3.3v.

[@elspaldo]

What needs to change for this to work with a NodeMCU?

[@marc3793]

Not much at all. Just the board type in the ESP code. Also choose different pins and change them in the ESP code. E.g. "GPIOxx" instead of "D5"

[@BELSERVICEMAN]

So I built this sensor on a breadboard, all new components even DuPont cables, things went well but my sensor was and is reporting the same distance in the logs or when I visit the device in settings, always 0.01 Meter Any suggestions? WiFi signal is good.

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Did you buy the 3v3 version? I suspect that you bought the 5v version. What happens if you connect it to the 5v on your D1mini? Be careful though. You might kill it.

[@BELSERVICEMAN]

@@SmartHomeJunkie I thought having same number made it correct but Description: The module has stable performance and accurate distance measurement: Comparable with SRF05, SRF02 ultrasonic distance measurement modules, etc. Module accuracy, blind spot (2 cm) is super close, stable range, this product is launched to the market under the strong! Features: Voltage: DC5V Static Current: Less than 2mA Level Output: High 5V Level Output: 0V End Sensor Angle: No Over 15 degrees Detection distance: 2cm-450cm High precision: up to 0.3cm Connections: VCC, TRIG (control side), echo (receiver side), GND

[@BELSERVICEMAN]

@@SmartHomeJunkie so you think I can disconnect the D1 from power and move VCC to 5vdc instead of 3.3v? And this could fry it?

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

@@BELSERVICEMAN Well, according to your description yours is 5v, so you should be fine.

[@BELSERVICEMAN]

@@SmartHomeJunkie I just looked and don’t see any that say they work off of the 3.3 volts and not 5 volts. I followed your wiring from the video saying VCC of SR connected to 3.3

[@hpsfresh]

Take a look at moes tuya zigbee human presence sensor

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

Yeah, that think is just a lot more expensive.

[@riesmoos]

This distance D1-mini + distance sensor method is a lot cheaper and the D1-mini leaves you with enough IO pins to expand future usage like adding a relay that turns on a fan, drive a LCD display with some useful info, turn on a 'occupied' light sign outside the toilet to let other people know they need to be patient etc etc.

[@danielfern2312]

Or you could just put a contact sensor on the toilet seat

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

I would say use a vibration sensor as long as it's waterproof...

[@danielfern2312]

I have a contact sensor on the toilet seat, then when the toilet lid is up, the light is blocked from turning off. The bath and shower are also solved in a similar way but with a leak sensor.

[@johanintveld5791]

At my work. The toilet has the sensor in the room where the sink is and al the doors to the toilets. Not in the toilet itself. So when I go I have to use my phone light to wipe my ass.

[@pronstorestiffi]

What a time to be a live.

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

😂😂😂

[@riesmoos]

Johan, be careful not to accidentally swap the phone and toilet paper.

[@robcork2620]

Eat more fibre, visit to the small room will be over in no time!

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

😂😂😂

[@LeonCB23]

Shit happens 🙂

[@TechySpeaking]

First

[@SmartHomeJunkie]

💪🏻