this post was submitted on 18 May 2025
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Automating a window AC (lemmy.zip)
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) by shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip to c/homeassistant@lemmy.world
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So I have my AC connected to a smart plug and I'm trying to figure out what would be the best way to go about automating it.

Currently, I have it set to run every hour on the hour for 20 minutes if the time is between noon and 8 p.m. Which covers the hottest part of the day.

However, what I could do is have it run every other hour instead and have a couple of night runs along with the daytime runs.

Doing it that way would eliminate most of the 16-hour period currently that exists between the ending of one day and the beginning of the next.

Edit: Also, is there an easy way to automate every other hour using the time pattern or would I manually have to set up triggers for 2am, 4am, 6am, 8am, 10am, etc. using the fixed values?

Edit 2: looks like i can use "/2" to accomplish that

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[โ€“] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 2 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Okay, that's fine. I can totally do that.

[โ€“] dgriffith@aussie.zone 1 points 2 hours ago

These kind of "manual" a/c units normally have a little sticker or a caution in the manual to "wait 5 minutes before restarting".

People can easily trigger this kind of thing just by turning the thermostat back and forth, so there is usually a thermal cutout on the compressor to keep them mostly safe.

You can usually hear it when it activates, there will be a hum from the stalled compressor for a few seconds and then a little click, and then the compressor won't start for a minute or two.