Saturday, May 20, 2023

Chore tracking

As the seasons have changed I have started to have to mow my lawn again. This had me once again considering buying a smart lawn mower to automate this task. I think that is both driven by my not wanting to waste time outside and several youtuber's reviews of the EcoFlow BLADE.


While that does look really cool and a leap forward in technology for smart mowers, it still has a price tag that makes me hesitate upgrading. Two other factors have stopped me from buying one;  I don't really know how much time this will truly save me and I don't know how well those mowers will hold up.

Only time will tell if they are truly well made enough to last and function week after week. As I wait for that technology to mature a little more I have decided I should probably quantify the time savings I would get if I do every purchase one.  Que Home Assistant to track this data.

 I have added a few helpers and scripts to Home Assistant to collect this data. A new chores tab has been added to my dashboard. Scripts are called when they are selected on the dashboard; this triggers an update to the Last Mowed  date/time value and increment the count for the season.

Since I have this new tab setup I decide I should add similar chore counters for devices that could automatically be tracked based on existing integrations/data. So far this includes laundry, dishes, and vacuuming. This might eventually be enhanced to include car charging and collecting the mail. 


Additionally I have started adding tracking for less frequent tasks including routine pest control spraying. I also moved the details for my air filter changing since it seems to fit here well. 






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