Green automation (for fun)

Do you enjoy tinkering with automation?

You might find this fun (skip this email if it gets too techy).

The online service IFTTT shared a bunch of “green” automations that you can set up with a free IFTTT account.

IFTTT stands for If This Then That – you set a trigger then an action. So for example, if you wanted to be notified when an astronaut enters space, you’d say If Astronaut Enters Space (trigger) Then Email Me (action). And you set that up by using any connected services within IFTTT, so the example above would use the NASA service and the Gmail service – just click a few buttons, and the automation is set.

You can use automations that other people have created already, or you can create your own. I’m probably making it sound more complex than it is, it’s really not that hard. Have a tinker, it’s fun.

The “green” automations they’ve shared include things like “Notify me when electricity is cheap” and “Text me when a water leak is detected”. Some of these will need the related smart device in your home to connect to, and many are US-based, so there are some options that don’t work for Aus.

Here’s a list of all the automations they shared – unless you’re a hardcore coder, this is mostly a bit of fun. I’ve had the astronaut automation running for a few years now 👽

Enjoy!