Introducing: Offset times for sunset and sunrise events

[Anna]

You asked for it (I asked for it ) and here it is: sunrise and sunset offsets!! You’ll now be able to setup a time event that starts for example 20 minutes before Sunrise, or 30 minutes after Sunset.

A couple of examples

Offsets are very handy when you want for example to turn on your lights at home as it starts getting darker… because it starts getting pretty dark way before sunset! So you’ll be able to turn your living room lights on automagically at dusk.

You can also wake up earlier than, let’s say, your chickens , if you are so inclined. We won’t stop you.

We’ll also display your local time

Until now, we were recommending that you chose a location where the Sunset/Sunrise happens earlier than your location, which can be a bit confusing. You’ll be able to use your home location and then modify the time event by specifying an offset.

We will also display when is the sun rising or setting at your location, so you’ll know if you are aiming for the right time

We have a detailed guide in case you’d like to see how to set this up:

How to add an offset time to your Sunset or Sunrise

What can I use these offsets for? Adding an offset allows you to trigger your home logic before or after the sun rises or set at your location. This is an optional setting, so you can continue to trigger your logic exactly at sunset or sunrise if this is your desired effect. Offset time for sunrise When setting up a time event, you can choose that the event happens up to 60 minutes before or after your local sunrise time. You’ll be able to see when sunrise is expected to happen at your configu…

Happy Apilioing!

[chrisrei]

Hi Anna
All good stuff. But why do you limit the offset to one hour? I would have use cases for longer offsets.
Thanks, Chris

[DanT]

Yeah, I would also like a greater offset…

[Anna]

Hey @chrisrei, welcome

Could you give me some more details regarding your example where you need a longer offset? This helps us check with other requests from other users, just so we understand better the scenarios that are being automated.

Thanks a lot!!

[chrisrei]

Hi Anna. I am using your service to control lights and shutters depending on weather conditions and sun. At our place in a valley it gets bright later than one hour after sunrise and the sun disappears earlier than one hour before sunset. So shifting location either helps in the morning or in the evening, not both.

[pebneter]

Thanks!
We will consider it for a future update.