7 Unexpected Uses For Samsung SmartThings Sensors

Just two decades ago, it was impossible to foresee just how much technology would enter our homes. But popular automation systems have now become commonplace in many parts of the world, transforming our living quarters with all sorts of impressive technological feats. There are now smart versions of practically every device in your abode, with everything from your fridge to the vacuum cleaner capable of connecting to the internet and talking to each other.

Among the must-have smart devices that are available, Samsung's SmartThings has been a market leader. Launched in 2012, the home service utilizes a number of different gadgets, systems, and cloud platforms to automate a wide array of actions in your home. Many of these are in-built functions that can be set up directly through an app. However, the flexibility and open nature of SmartThings also means that you have the ability to create unique automations that can be used in some strange and unusual ways. Here are some of the most unexpected ways you can use the software.

One of the most obvious things that you might want to automate in your home is the heating and air conditioning system. Many people already use smart thermostats to warm up their residence or turn air conditioning on with a dedicated device paired with their smartphone, tablet, and computer. While some dedicated smart thermostats can do this directly, SmartThings gives you the ability to set up your own automated systems.

Using things like Samsung's multipurpose sensor, you can create a variety of networks to activate when the temperature or humidity hits a certain threshold. Want the air conditioning to automatically turn on if it gets too warm in your living room? You can set that up in the SmartThings app. But if you want to put a little extra work in you can also utilize similar devices for more leisurely pursuits.

Reddit user kurzes explained how he set up an automated program that reads the temperature from a sensor in his home sauna. Once the temperature is at the optimal reading, SmartThings activates a light in his living room, turning it green. It also sends a notification to his smartphone to inform him the sauna is now ready to use. That way, he doesn't have to waste any time and can jump straight in as soon as it's ready.

Smart lights are an easy way to add some high-tech functions to your home. They're often pretty easy to set up and use, in addition to having some fairly obvious and useful automations. The vast majority of smart lights from the best brands all have the same basic features like changing light color, operating with timers, and interacting with other devices, and homeowners can control all of them from their smartphone.

When it comes to automating lights, most people stick with simple tasks like having the lights turn on when it starts to get dark at night or automatically dimming when you turn on your television. These are very rudimentary but handy features that anyone would find practical in their house. Yet some people have found more surprising uses for smart lights, such as Reddit user BreakfastBeerz.

He used SmartThings with light strips to help stop fights between his kids. The twin children would often argue about who got to sleep in the top bunk, forcing their parents to create an alternating schedule where the kids swapped each night. Using the light strips, he set up an automation where the lights on each bunk illuminate at sunset and alternate colors every night so the children know exactly who is supposed to be in what bunk.

There are a lot of different sensors and devices that can work with SmartThings, from Samsung Galaxy SmartTags to pressure and sensors. One of the more unique examples comes from Reddit user Sirvanding, who uses SmartThings with pressure sensors to make her living room a little more cozy at night. She started with car seat sensors that were originally meant to let the vehicle know if someone is occupying a spot. Then she placed them under her couch cushions and connected them to a strip of lights behind the furniture. When someone sits on the couch, it activates the automation and the lights switch on. When they stand up, the devices automatically turn off.

Another interesting way that pressure sensors have been put to use is in the bedroom. SmartThingsPower1701 explained how they often forgot to turn the dishwasher on at night before they went to sleep, so they created a routine that activates when they get into bed. As soon as the pressure sensors are triggered, the routine checks to see if the dishwasher is running and, if it isn't, sends an alert to remind them to switch it on. The system is set up in a way that the pressure sensors are tuned to only detect humans — not cats or dogs — and doesn't send the alert if the appliance has been switched on earlier on the day.

Halloween might be largely for the kids, but it can still be a fun holiday for adults who like to dress up or express their darker side. It's also a great time to show off your newest tech and turn some heads — or even just scare your friends. Heck, even NASA engineers got in on the action by using iPads to create a cool Halloween costume.

So how exactly can you integrate SmartThings with this creepy holiday? According to Redditor eveningsand, the answer is creating a smart Halloween candy dispenser that automatically distributes delicious sweets to trick-or-treaters who ring the doorbell. That way, you won't keep getting interrupted when people come to your home — while still giving kids something unique they likely haven't seen before.

From his explanation of how the automation was set up, the candy dispenser is actually deceptively simple. To get it to work, SmartThings is integrated with the Nest doorbell, which then turns on a slow-moving drill that is powered through a smart plug. When it activates, the drill pushes the candy into a chute that goes out of the window and into a bucket. A separate fog machine also switches on at the same time, making the entire setup that little bit spookier.

Anyone who has children is aware that getting their attention can be a challenge all on its own. Especially if said kids are teenagers prone to selective hearing or bouts of ignorance. This can become a hassle if you need to talk to them or just want to tell them dinner is ready. Thankfully, SmartThings can also be used to create a system that tells you're kids they're wanted — sort of like a summoning tool.

Explaining his automation on Reddit, user ego1138 said he set it up because his "teenage son would never hear us when we called him, because he'd be in his room, with the door closed, lights off, and gaming headset on playing video games." He created a routine that involves pressing a button on a sensor — which happily sits on his fridge via its magnetic back — that's connected to his SmartThings.

When pressed, it activates an automation linked to a smart lamp in the boy's room. This triggers the light to flash three times, providing a visual cue that's difficult to miss as it lights up the entire space. This gets around the problem of his kid not being able to hear and allows his parents can get his attention quickly without screaming across the house.

Coming home from work is undoubtedly a pleasure. You're back to your personal space where you can kick back, relax, and hopefully forget about your stresses for a bit. It can also be a little mundane. After all, it's something that you do almost every single day — a routine that rarely changes all that much. Even if you have a family or pets to greet you, the monotony can make coming home feel dull after a while.

But what if you could spice up the whole experience and make entering your home a little bit more exciting? Redditor hes_dead_tired found a way to do exactly that with SmartThings. By combining some sensors and a little bit of basic programming, they were able to set up an automation to play a unique sound and make coming home a bit more exciting.

Essentially, this SmartThings automation uses a door sensor to detect when a person is entering the home. From here, it triggers a speaker to play a series of sounds — in this case, audience applause and a distinctive bass riff from "Seinfeld." As the television series used an extensive library of unique music, the Redditor rigged the system to play all of the variations from the show to make each event feel original. "It was fun walking in like Kramer into my own sitcom," the Redditor wrote. "It lasted about two days before my partner got sick of it."

For those with the patience and know-how to set up more complicated automations, SmartThings can do a lot of interesting things that go above and beyond what most users even dream about. The software can interact with a wide variety of different systems and devices, so it's possible to establish a network that will account for a variety of factors and follow multiple steps before getting to the end result. These kinds of automations usually need a central device such as the well-reviewed Samsung SmartThings Station to help organize everything and allow different pieces of technology to communicate with each other effectively. By doing that, you can establish complex automations such as the one proposed by Reddit user Nolagotslotsofebola, which involves automatic cat litter disposal.

This particular automation works by using a motion sensor inside the cat litter box, which activates when it detects the pet is using it. This then sends a signal that turns on a ventilation system made up of a duct fan, which pulls air out of the area through a vent that runs outside the home. So whenever the cat goes to the toilet, the automation effectively gets rid of the smell without any human input.