I have several automations that should be active only if I am away from home for a long time (i. e. on vacations).
Is it possible to have a slider or some button on dashboard, to enable them all at once (i.e. by pressing this slider, I tell HA that I am on vacations and these automations should be enabled)?
You can use an input_boolean for that.
I automate that with proximity, turning mine on when Iām far enough away for long enough.
I use the Google calendar integration and drive a calendar sensor for āvacation modeā
If thereās a calendar entry in the specific calendar they has the subject āvacationā then the sensor is on.
All of my relevant automations check the status of that sensor when they run and modify behavior appropriately.
I just have a script which turns on the desired automations, and another which turns them off. I could create a button on a Dashboard view somewhere, but frankly I donāt want to waste the screen real estate. For the number of times I go away, itās not really hard to just go into Settings / Automations and Scenes / Scripts and tap the > button.
If your life is more structured than mine, the calendar integration idea @NathanCu mentioned is pretty clever.
Self preservation, and Spouse Acceptance Factor, Tom.
This way she just had to put the vacation in the family calendar (something she did already) then the House ājust worksā
The first time the morning automation auto adjued two hours later without her having to ask me to do anything was nothing short of magical.
āI thought your stupid house stuff was going to wake me up but it doesnātā
No dear, itās because you told it tomorrow was a vacation day and it knows not to wake you up on vacationā¦ (btw thatās how you get your spouse on board with home automation - it just works)
I use node red and have a homeassistant helper āholidayā
I use a combination of some of the above: A Google calendar to which I add vacations, for which thereās an automation to set an input boolean. This also allows me to manually override the state if necessary. In some cases I turn automations on and off when the state of the helper changes, and in other cases there will be conditions that check the state of the input boolean helper. Using the helper also means the mechanisms are decoupled so I can turn it on or off in more ways, if ever I would want to.
I just use a input_boolean and Iāve added that as a condition to any automations that should only run when Iām on vacation, or not run run when Iām on vacationā¦ A calendar entry seems less flexible than a simple toggle. I can turn it on/off at will based on when I want it to take place. Having to deal with times on a calendar entry to manage when it goes on/off seems like a lot of work to manage.
On our recent vacation we were delayed getting back home and I was able to turn off the vacation mode an hour before we arrived home so everything was working as it should including a cooled down home.
Thanks guys. That is how I solved my problem. I added input_boolean called āI am awayā and for my automations I have added a condition that this should be on.
So if I am going to vacations, or unplanned longer trip or for some any other unplanned reason, I just switch this slider and that is it.
Hi mate, this sounds like exactly what i need to doā¦could you help with a more detailed explanation?
See https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/#search/input_boolean - the docs youāll find there cover setting them up.
Then you just add them as a condition to your automation.
If Iām ever away from the house for more than 24 hours, my home goes into vacation mode. Then I have a large zone around my house and local airport. If I enter that zone while vacation mode is on, it turns off vacation mode.
I like this approach because it requires no manual intervention. I donāt have to remember to put it into my calendar or toggle a switch. It also takes care of any potential flight delays or changes to travel plans.
I do something similar with the proximity integration. Itās safe to assume that if itās late at night and weāre (say) over 100 miles away weāre not coming back that night.