Simplest way to detect when a person is home

So many good answers, so many choices. "To many choices people. It's not healthy" George Carlin

Ok so i was checking RFID thingies and it appears the most costly part is the actual sensor, starts at about 20$ if i saw correctly. Prolly cheaper on aliexpress but i have problems searching since i dont know exactly what im looking for and they tend to add random words like RFID to random objects.

rjenkinsgb said:

Keyfob - battery life over a year, works with espresense etc.

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Charm-Beacons-Bluetooth-BC011-MultiBeacon/dp/B085XN9B7N

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This looks interesting, but i would like to double check if i understand it correctly. I use this thing as a key ring since its so small. It emits ibeacon, which seems to be some apple thing (or its capable of bluetooth also, might be even simpler ?). And with ESP8266 i will simply detect that signal and when its detected it means keys are in the keyhole and i am at home. This looks great. I will just need to buy a small module that can detect ibeacon but those things are a few bucks at most on ali. Charging once a year is no problem.

Nigel Goodwin said:

Well don't

Turn BlueTooth ON, it doesn't use much power, and you could easily program an ESP32 to check if it's connected in the house or not, and detect your absence as when the BlueTooth is no longer connected.

I also turn things OFF on my phone, to extend battery life - but I leave BlueTooth ON as it then automatically connects to the Entertainment System in my car, allowing hands free use in the car. It doesn't cause any worthwhile degradation of battery life for the phone.

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I know that i am being stubborn and senseless in this matter, i know. But as i grow older, as much as i love electronics and making little projects, at the same time this "mainstream" technology is killing me. I am tired of QR codes in restaurants, i just want an old fashioned menu. I am tired of all this notifications and mails i cant opt out because they are "important". Even having a phone turned on adds stress lately because i know every moment someone can call me and i never know what sh*t storm its gonna be this time. Probably thats why all things i make are really stone age simplicity. Not just because i am to cheap to buy better parts (though that certainly plays an important part) but because i want things as dumb as possible because then devices do their work and leave me alone. I'm not even 40 and already i feel like that grumpy grandpa holding his wooden cone like a lightsaber and yelling at those damn kids

SentinelAeon said:

I use this thing as a key ring since its so small. It emits ibeacon, which seems to be some apple thing (or its capable of bluetooth also, might be even simpler ?). And with ESP8266 i will simply detect that signal and when its detected it means keys are in the keyhole and i am at home.

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It's a Bluetooth beacon, not apple specific, and it is compatible with the free ESPresense firmware for the ESP32, though nothing stops you from writing your own or using a part of that project.

As far as I'm aware, the ESP8266 does not have bluetooth?

By default, ESPresense sends MQTT data over WiFi to whatever server you set up, of which there are many free versions. I run it on the same machine as Homeseer, which runs all my home automation stuff.

SentinelAeon said:

I know that i am being stubborn and senseless in this matter, i know. But as i grow older, as much as i love electronics and making little projects, at the same time this "mainstream" technology is killing me. I am tired of QR codes in restaurants, i just want an old fashioned menu. I am tired of all this notifications and mails i cant opt out because they are "important". Even having a phone turned on adds stress lately because i know every moment someone can call me and i never know what sh*t storm its gonna be this time. Probably thats why all things i make are really stone age simplicity. Not just because i am to cheap to buy better parts (though that certainly plays an important part) but because i want things as dumb as possible because then devices do their work and leave me alone. I'm not even 40 and already i feel like that grumpy grandpa holding his wooden cone like a lightsaber and yelling at those damn kids

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None of that makes any sense, so you don't want to do the project the easy, simple, cheap, and reliable way - it's such a hardship flicking a phone setting from 'off' to 'on'

If you've got a phone, than make use of it - otherwise just dump your phone entirely. Except you've already said you never leave home without it!.

I've no idea why you're rambling on about QR codes etc, as none of that has anything whatsoever to do with simply enabling BlueTooth on your phone. BlueTooth has to be paired, pair it to an ESP32 (and I'll confirm the ESP8266 doesn't have BT - which was why I specified ESP32), and use the ESP32 to detect when you're in range or not. It won't have any other effect, only detecting you leaving the house.

SentinelAeon has stated his/her aims, along with a preference that it doesn't involve use of his phone's Bluetooth. That's fine with me.

Bluetooth is simple solution but there may be reasons he doesn't want to be open about and this may seem irrational to some other posters but I say let him/her choose even if that's not your choice..

The next simplest and cheapest solution seems to be a RFID tag which occurred to me before I saw it suggested. Some years ago I bought a contactless RFID reader on ebay with a handful of cards, which are functionally identical to the key tag/fob which is ideal in this instance. Mine was dirt cheap (I forget but under £5/$5) and I think had an RS232 interface. I never used it but I'm sure they're still around and still pretty cheap. I don't know how you'd interface to your ESP-whatever and you'd need some wired connection but assuming it's not that difficult, you could make it work without enabling bluetooth. Since they're powered by the energy from the RFID reader's EM field, they don't need any battery power source. My cards also stored small amounts of data on the card (1k bits iirc) so you could record your direction - whether you were entering or exiting, or the time you went out or whatever you like.

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Look in the bedroom when you arrive at a new location. If it looks like YOUR bedroom, you must be home. What more sensor do you need? Or, if you are as consistent as you claim about putting your key in the latch, just look for YOUR key in the latch and you'll know you're home. Or, put a switch next to the latch that you toggle when you arrive or depart. Why is it important to know you're home? What are you triggering as you enter or leave? Maybe other solutions exist. If you use an ESP32, you can use Bluetooth LE beacon with a little coin battery that will last an year instead of wifi. So many options.

My phone is on the WiFi when I am home. I know you don't like that. Just ping the phone and it answers or not. My mesh network extends over a large area so "at home" does not indicate which building I am in.

Or, key hooks with microswitches to detect the weight if the keys?

Many people hand their keys up when at home; if you do that, make sure anyone living in the house uses "their" hook and you have the ultimate simple presence detection!
Just make sure the key hooks are not visible from outside the house.

(Leaving them in the door is a "Real Bad Idea" as sneak thieves can grab them easily, then come back some time days or weeks later - a very common method of burglary or car theft.

ronsimpson said:

My phone is on the WiFi when I am home. I know you don't like that. Just ping the phone and it answers or not. My mesh network extends over a large area so "at home" does not indicate which building I am in.

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Leaving WiFi turned ON fairly rapidly drains the battery in your phone - so isn't a good solution. Better to leave BlueTooth turned ON, which uses much less power.

You can switch to OpenCV for more accurate results. OpenCV will be able to recognize your face precisely. Here is one example. You will find many others.

SentinelAeon said:

What would be the easiest way for my control system built around multiple ESP8266 modules to detect whether i am home or not. There are 3 things i never leave my house without: my keys, my wallet and my mobile phone. My keys are in keylock when i am home, my wallet is in a drawer and my mobile phone is near me generaly. Now i thought about simply using wifi or bluetooth signal meaning when i am connected to home wifi or system can detect me through bluetooth. But the thing is i generaly have all those things turned off on mobile phone, meaning wifi, bluetooth, data and location are all turned off unless i need them. So next thing i though about is to simply make a lever and if i hang my keys there it means i am home. But i like to keep my keys in keyhole. So, is there a way to have some passive keychain or maybe a card of sorts in wallet and then sensor somewhere in the apartment that will either detect it or not. I am looking for a solution as simple as possible that will not make me do something special everytime i leave or come home, otherwise i would just use a button and press it when i come home or leave.

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Maybe two sensors (one inside and outside door), and an entry door (open/closed) sensor combined with SW logic?

The logic would detect the sensor and door activation sequence to determine movement into or out of the house.