On vacation, the home "lives" by itself: lights turn on randomly, blinds move, music plays for a few minutes. Burglars see an occupied apartment.
Trigger
Manual activation or geofence (all family members left the city)
Action
Random between 6pm–10pm: one lamp turns on, another off after 30 min. Music plays 10 min then stops.
Devices needed
Why it helps
A lot of break-ins at apartments and houses happen precisely when a home looks empty for days on end: the same dark windows evening after evening are a clear signal to anyone watching the stairwell or the street. In Moldova, Easter, the winter holidays and summer vacations are exactly when whole buildings empty out at the same time. Vacation simulation makes the apartment look lived-in even though no one is there: lights that switch on and off at plausible hours, blinds that move, a brief sound backdrop in the evening. It guarantees nothing, but it raises the effort and risk for anyone looking for an easy target — and it gives you peace of mind while you are away.
How it works
The trigger is either a manual activation (a button in the app or a scene switch by the door that you press on your way out) or a geofence: the scenario starts automatically when the phones of all family members leave the city. From there, the logic does not repeat the same pattern every evening — that is the whole point. Between 6pm and 10pm the system picks at random: one lamp turns on, another off after roughly 30 minutes, blinds may move, and the smart speaker plays a sound backdrop for a few minutes, then goes quiet. The external motion sensor and the varying time windows make the sequence look like a person's decision rather than a rigid program.
CasaSmart builds this scenario on a local hub, usually Home Assistant, running inside the apartment and holding the Zigbee bulbs and dimmers, the speaker and the blinds in a single automation. Because the logic and schedules live on the hub, the simulation can keep working locally even if the internet drops for a while — the per-hour randomisation does not depend on a server in another country. Geofence activation needs a connection at the moment you leave, but once it is on, the nightly scenario runs from the home itself. We set the hours, the list of lights and the "temperament" of the simulation together with you, so the events match your real daily rhythm.
Setup steps
Together we pick 3-5 light sources visible from the street or stairwell (living room, kitchen, hallway) and, optionally, the blinds and a smart speaker. These are what the simulation will use; the rest of the home stays untouched.
The Zigbee bulbs and dimmers, the blinds and the speaker are paired to the central hub (usually Home Assistant). That puts them all in one automation, controlled from a single app and without depending on several cloud accounts.
We add a manual activation (a button in the app or a scene switch by the door) and, if you want, a geofence that starts the scenario when all family members' phones leave the city. You can combine both — geofence as a safety net, the button for direct control.
We configure the 6pm–10pm window (or whatever fits your habits), the gaps between events and the length of the sound backdrop. The goal is a pattern that never repeats identically and reads like a person moving through the home.
We run the scenario as a trial for one evening and look at the apartment from the street, to confirm the events are visible and believable. We adjust dimmer levels and room order until the result looks natural.
Practical tips
FAQ
A home that looks lived-in is a less attractive target than an obviously empty one: someone casing a house looks for predictable patterns and dark windows. Random-hour simulation breaks that pattern. It is not a guarantee — no system is — but it raises the effort and uncertainty for a would-be intruder.
Mostly, yes. The logic and schedules run on the local hub (usually Home Assistant) inside the apartment, so the random nightly events can keep going locally even without internet. What needs a connection is the geofence activation at the moment you leave and notifications to your phone; the scenario itself does not depend on a server in another country.
Three to five light sources visible from outside (Zigbee bulbs or dimmers) are enough for a typical apartment. Adding moving blinds and a smart speaker for a short sound backdrop makes the simulation more convincing, but light remains the core element. We use the central hub you already have or install one for you.
Yes. You can activate it manually from the app before or after you leave and switch it off when you return. If you choose geofence, it starts on its own when all family members leave the city and can deactivate on return. Combining the button with the geofence gives you both direct control and an automatic safety net.
Auto morning routine
At 7am blinds rise, coffee maker starts, kitchen warms to 22°C. One Home Assistant scene.
Auto leak shutoff
Bathroom or kitchen leak sensor detects water and closes the main valve via a motorised relay. Before the neighbours notice.
Child bathroom safety
If water in the child bathroom exceeds 38°C, or the child stays alone behind a closed door for 15+ minutes — instant notification.