- It is essential to use a smart plug with real-time energy monitoring to detect electricity consumption.
- A delay or confirmation time should be set to avoid false alerts during pauses in the wash cycle.
- Using Helpers in Home Assistant allows you to manage states like Running or Finished for more robust control.
How do I receive a notification when the washing machine finishes using Home Assistant? Has it ever happened to you that you put the laundry in early and, at the end of the day, you realize that the clothes are still wet inside the drum? It's a classic: the noise of the washing machine blends in with the rest of the house, and by the time you remember, the clothes have already taken on that feeling. that musty smell is so annoying. which forces you to wash everything again. It's frustrating, especially if you rely on the sun to dry.
The good news is that you don't need to spend a fortune on a state-of-the-art smart washing machine to solve this. With a little ingenuity and Home AssistantWe can set up a system that alerts our mobile phone or even has Alexa shout it to us throughout the living room. The key is... monitor electricity consumptionbecause the power behavior of these appliances is like a fingerprint that we can easily read.
The necessary hardware: not just any plug will do
For this trick to work you need a smart plug with energy meterBe very careful here, because there are thousands of cheap plugs that only turn the light on and off, but they don't tell you how many watts the appliance is using. If it doesn't have real-time energy monitoringYou won't be able to detect when the cycle ends.
If you're looking for recommendations, the Tapo P110 It's the most balanced and straightforward option for most people. If you're an advanced Home Assistant user and prefer to avoid the cloud, the Shelly Plug S Gen3 It's probably the best choice for its local control. There's also the Meross MSS310 if you're working within the Apple ecosystem. The important thing is that the device supports the maximum power of the washing machine (usually around 2200W), so make sure you use standard 16A power outlets and avoid power strips at all costs.
Logic of operation and the problem of false positives
The principle is simple: when the washing machine is running, energy consumption is high; when it finishes, it drops almost to zero. However, if you set the alert to trigger at the exact moment the power drops, you'll be overwhelmed. Washing machines have pauses during rinsing or rest periods where consumption drops drastically before the final spin cycle.
To avoid these scares, the key is to implement a confirmation delayInstead of alerting instantly, we configured Home Assistant to keep the power low (for example, below 5W or 10W) for at least 2 or 5 minutesThis ensures that the machine has finished the program and it's not just a technical pause. Additionally, it's important to note that some modern machines have functions anti-wrinkle or FreshCare which rotate the drum every so often, generating small spikes in consumption that could fool the system if the delay is too short.
Step-by-step setup in Home Assistant
For the system to be robust, ideally it should not be based on a single automation, but rather on creating a Dropdown HelperThis assistant will manage the machine's states: "Off," "Running," and "Finished." This allows the system to know what stage it's in and avoids sending pointless notifications, which is very useful if you decide to... create a control panel for a tablet.
- Start detection: We created an automation that, when the power exceeds 5W or 10W for about 3 minutes, changes the assistant's state to "Working".
- End detection: When the power drops below 1W or 5W for an extended period and the status is "Operating", the system changes the status to "Finished".
- The final warning: The moment the assistant moves to "Finished," we fire the notification to Telegram, the mobile app or a voice announcement by Alexa.
- Cycle Restart: To restart the process, we can use a door sensorWhen we open the washing machine to take out the clothes, the state returns to "Off".
If you prefer something more direct using code, you can use a template sensor that assigns the state according to the watts: more than 10W is "working", between 1W and 10W is "standby" and less than 1W is "off".
Persistent alerts and reminders
Sometimes, even when our phones remind us, we're distracted and forget to hang the laundry out to dry. To prevent clothes from sitting in there for hours, you can program a timer. recurring reminderAs long as the assistant's status remains "Finished," Home Assistant can send us a notification every 5 or 15 minutes. To make it more dynamic, some users configure a list of random and funny messages Alexa will recite, switching from a friendly tone to a more sarcastic one if hours pass without us opening the door.
Application to other household appliances
This same method is pure gold for the dishwasher or dryerAlthough power thresholds vary, dishwashers are more unpredictable because they experience very strong heating peaks followed by significant dips; therefore, a [specific temperature range/temperature] is recommended. longer confirmation time (about 5 or 8 minutes) and a cut-off threshold close to 8W. The dryer, for its part, maintains a more stable consumption but also drops sharply at the end.
Installing this system is one of the most rewarding home automation improvements because solves a real problem and everyday. You just need a metered plug, clearly define the power thresholds to avoid false positives, and configure a flow of states in Home Assistant to receive precise alerts and reminders until the laundry is finally hung up.
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