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Spaces & devices

Opening-hours building automation

Opening-hours automation uses the hours you already publish on Google Business Profile as the schedule for the building. Before opening, it brings on the heating and lights and switches the signage to open, then reverses it at closing time.

An example of how the studio would build it. No live services are connected.

Let your published opening hours run the building.

  1. Step 01

    Hours read

    Read today’s regular and special hours from Google Business Profile, including bank holidays and closures.

  2. Step 02

    Timings planned

    Work out when each device should start in the building’s local time, and skip days marked closed.

  3. Step 03

    Lights and heating

    Bring the heating up through Hive about 30 minutes before opening, and turn on the Philips Hue lights.

  4. Step 04

    Signage switched

    Switch the Yodeck screens to the “open” playlist at opening time, and back to “closed” after hours.

  5. Step 05

    Devices confirmed

    Check each device responded and alert staff if one didn’t, then run the same plan in reverse at closing time.

The result

The building opens itself.

Special hours always take priority over the regular week. Staff can override any device on the day, and a failed command is reported rather than retried indefinitely.

Before we connect it.

Where this is useful

Useful for shops, studios, clinics and offices where someone arrives early to switch everything on, or where device schedules drift out of step with holiday hours. A sensible first version handles the signage and one lighting zone, then adds heating once the timings have been tested.

What we need to connect

  1. 01Access to your Google Business Profile hours, including special hours for holidays and closures.
  2. 02A control route for each device: Philips Hue lights, Hive heating and Yodeck screens and playlists.
  3. 03Lead times for each device, any quiet days and who to alert when something doesn’t respond.

What needs careful handling

Holiday hours are the easiest thing to get wrong, so special hours must override the regular week and be checked again on the morning itself. Devices can be offline or switched by hand, so confirm each command was received and never fight a manual override. Heating needs sensible limits, and the building’s own controls should keep working if the automation stops.

Questions people ask.

What happens on a bank holiday or an unexpected closure?

If the special hours are set in Google Business Profile, the building follows them, including staying closed. For a same-day closure, staff can update the profile or use a manual switch that pauses the routine for the day.

Can it work with the heating and lights we already have?

It depends on what each system exposes. Philips Hue lights can be controlled through a Hue Bridge and Yodeck screens can be scheduled, but heating controls vary, and some need a supported hub or their own built-in schedule. We check each device before suggesting an approach.

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