Adhoc entity requests

Hey HA community,

I am trying to find a way to turn off or on some devices in an adhoc fashion. Some examples of what I want to do is:

  • Turn off AC in 2 hours (so that we can turn on the AC and then go to sleep)
  • Turn off a given light entity in 5 minutes

I understand that I can create individual automation for a given entity (and I have done that in various instances) but I wanted to check if anyone here has done something similar for all entities so that I can control them via an adhoc command?

It would be great if I can use Alexa or Siri (via Homekit Integration) rather than going to Lovelace and using a Scheduler like card to setup a one-off schedule everytime.

You could set up a unique input-boolean that triggers the desired automation and then expose that to your voice assistant. e.g. “Alexa, turn the ‘AC’ on” (under normal conditions) and when you want the set duration “Alexa, turn the ‘Air-timer’ on”. You just set up a card in your dashboard then, where you can set the duration for the automation timer.

I realise you’re looking for something more customisable on the fly and good luck with that, but it’s something to consider if you don’t find an ideal solution. :+1:t2:

edit: You could also set up an input-number for the specific device (for duration in hours/minutes) and then tell Alexa to set the desired input-number before you trigger the automation.