Your First Automation

Easy 15 min

Now the fun begins! Automations are why we bother with all this. Lights turning on when you come home. Heating turning down when you leave.

Automation flow diagram

🧠 How Automations Work

All automations have three parts:

Part	Description	Example
Trigger	What starts it	Sun sets, motion detected
Condition	Optional check	Only if home, only at night
Action	What happens	Turn on light, send notification

Think of it as: “When X happens, and if Y is true, then do Z.”

🌅 Example 1: Light at Sunset

The classic first automation!

📱 Via UI (easiest)
📝 YAML

Go to Settings → Automations & scenes
Click Create automation → Create new automation
Trigger:
- Click “Add trigger”
- Select “Sun”
- Select “Sunset”
Action:
- Click “Add action”
- Select “Device”
- Find your lamp
- Select “Turn on”
Save with name “Turn on living room light at sunset”

- alias: "Turn on living room light at sunset"
  description: "Automatically turns on light when sun sets"
  trigger:
    - platform: sun
      event: sunset
      offset: "-00:30:00"  # 30 min BEFORE sunset
  action:
    - service: light.turn_on
      target:
        entity_id: light.living_room_ceiling
      data:
        brightness_pct: 80
  mode: single

🚶 Example 2: Light on Motion (Night Only)

- alias: "Hallway light on motion (night)"
  description: "Turns on dim light in hallway at night"
  trigger:
    - platform: state
      entity_id: binary_sensor.hallway_motion
      to: "on"
  condition:
    - condition: time
      after: "22:00:00"
      before: "07:00:00"
  action:
    - service: light.turn_on
      target:
        entity_id: light.hallway
      data:
        brightness_pct: 20  # Dim light at night
    - delay:
        minutes: 2
    - service: light.turn_off
      target:
        entity_id: light.hallway
  mode: restart  # Restarts timer on new motion

🧺 Example 3: Washing Machine Done

Requires smart plug with power monitoring (e.g., IKEA TRETAKT or Sonoff S31):

- alias: "Washing machine done"
  description: "Sends notification when laundry is finished"
  trigger:
    - platform: numeric_state
      entity_id: sensor.washing_machine_power
      below: 5  # Watts
      for:
        minutes: 3  # Must be low for 3 min
  condition:
    - condition: numeric_state
      entity_id: sensor.washing_machine_power
      above: 0.5  # Ensures it has been running
  action:
    - service: notify.mobile_app_my_phone
      data:
        title: "🧺 Washing Machine"
        message: "The laundry is done!"
  mode: single

🌡️ Example 4: Temperature Warning

- alias: "Low temperature warning"
  description: "Warns if it gets too cold"
  trigger:
    - platform: numeric_state
      entity_id: sensor.living_room_temperature
      below: 18
      for:
        minutes: 10
  action:
    - service: notify.mobile_app_my_phone
      data:
        title: "🥶 Cold in living room"
        message: "Temperature has dropped to {{ states('sensor.living_room_temperature') }}°C"
  mode: single

💡 Tips for Good Automations

🎯 Start simple

Do one thing at a time. Only add conditions when the basics work.

🧪 Test thoroughly

Use the “Run” button to test actions without waiting for trigger.

📝 Good names

“Turn on outdoor light at sunset” is better than “Automation 1”.

🤔 Think edge cases

What if power goes out? What if someone already turned on the light?

🔧 Debugging

📚 Useful Trigger Types

Trigger	When	Example
`state`	Entity changes state	Motion, door opens
`numeric_state`	Value above/below	Temperature, power usage
`sun`	Sunrise/sunset	Light automation
`time`	Specific time	Morning routine
`zone`	Person arrives/leaves	Home/away
`device`	Device-specific	Button pressed

🚀 Next Steps

📡 Zigbee sensors

Add Aqara, IKEA and other Zigbee sensors.

Set up Zigbee2MQTT →

🔧 ESP32 sensors

Build your own sensors with ESP32.

ESP32 guides →