I am new to HA but cant find an easy UI to select an automation to activate between two times or between sunrise and sunset.
Thanks
You’ll need to be more specific for us to help you figure out exactly which of the following is what you need, but they are available in the UI, using the Automation editor:
Im used to using programs on an ISY. What I was looking for is something like these examples:
- Turn on the kitchen lights from 8am to 7pm
- enable a automation between sunrise to sunset so that automation is disabled after sunset
Seems like I can only do things based on a specific time not within a time window.
Hello Blackbird88,
To do things, you need a specific trigger event. If the event is time based, it needs to be a specific time.
If the trigger is based on something else, you can set a time window using conditions: section.
If you are looking for the amount of time between times, Use a template or something like this custom template: GitHub - Petro31/easy-time-jinja: Easy Time calculations for Home Assistant templates.
This is what im requesting
Home Assistant automations don’t normally use a continuous polling method. Instead, automation triggers are based off events.
In some rare circumstances when polling is needed you can use a Time Pattern trigger.
“Turn on the kitchen lights from 8am to 7pm”
This is the most basic form of that. There are a number of additional triggers and/or conditions that could be added to make it more robust.
trigger:
- platform: time
at: "08:00:00"
id: "on"
- platform: time
at: "19:00:00"
id: "off"
condition: []
action:
- if:
- condition: trigger
id: 'on'
then:
- action: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: light.example
else:
- action: light.turn_off
target:
entity_id: light.example
“enable a automation between sunrise to sunset so that automation is disabled after sunset”
That is just a Sun condition…
YAML configuration of above
condition: sun
after: sunrise
before: sunset
If you need a primer on how to transcribe from the YAML automation configurations you find on the forums and in the docs to the UI Automation Editor, there is a (slightly dated) tutorial available on the Resin Chem Tech Youtube channel .
Thanks all for the help. I was just hoping in the future they will have an easy UI drop down to do this instead of writing codes.
Thanks again
There are easy drop downs in the automation editor. None of it involves writing codes. Can you please elaborate how this is hard?
Where in your screenshot can i select time between? All I see is " When the time is equal to" So in your screenshot where do I select time from 8am to 4:15pm"?
That would be a condition.
Took me less than a minute to reply to you with a screenshot just using the UI.
As im new here I assume that your just being helpful and not trying to talk down to me. Your screenshot is helpful, thank you.
I’m legitimately trying to find out what’s hard about the automation editor. To me, it seems like you just don’t know where to look. All the suggestions given to you so far from people do not require any coding and can be done from the UI, however you are shooting down their recommendations. New or not, it’s also not a friendly way to communicate.
Shooting down their recommendations? By thanking them?
You come off as condescending but as I said im new here and dont know you. Bit surprised as you are a moderator. And your correct perhaps its because I am new and I dont know all the ways of programing in HA
I’m not trying to be condescending. Sorry if it comes off that way.
Fair enough and I am thankful for the help from all so far. I am definitely going to need help in the future. Been an ISY user for years and still am but loving HA so far.