Wetting my nose with autmations: how to merge?

[shimitar (Willy Gardiol)]

I am pretty new to automations in Home Assistant. I am a sw developer, and that seems to be making things more difficult actually

I have a switch and a thermometer… I want the switch to turn on when the temperature is above 32°C, but only during between 8:30 - 21:00. Otherwise, the switch should be off.

I ended up creating three scripts.

One to turn on the switch above 32*C and betwen 8:30/21:00:

alias: Turn on switch
description: ""
triggers:
  - trigger: numeric_state
    entity_id:
      - sensor.tm32_temperature_temperature
    for:
      hours: 0
      minutes: 5
      seconds: 0
    above: 32
conditions:
  - condition: time
    after: "08:30:00"
    before: "21:00:00"
actions:
  - action: switch.turn_on
    metadata: {}
    data: {}
    target:
      device_id: 3dc45ca861d7fb6b1d8c09cfdb1db294
mode: single

Then one to turn off the switch if the temperature is below 30*C (2 degress hysteresys seems good):

alias: Turn off switch
description: ""
triggers:
  - trigger: numeric_state
    entity_id:
      - sensor.tm32_temperature_temperature
    for:
      hours: 0
      minutes: 5
      seconds: 0
    below: 30
conditions: []
actions:
  - action: switch.turn_off
    metadata: {}
    data: {}
    target:
      device_id: 3dc45ca861d7fb6b1d8c09cfdb1db294
mode: single

And finally, one to turn it off always after 21:00:

alias: turn off at night
description: ""
triggers:
  - trigger: time
    at: "21:00:00"
actions:
  - type: turn_off
    device_id: 3dc45ca861d7fb6b1d8c09cfdb1db294
    entity_id: 0e8f0b76e005503792b6d57fbefeb661
    domain: switch
mode: single

It seems to be working, but it feels like overkill. Three scripts for such a simple task?

What is a better way to in Home Assistant to address the issue? Can i mix the three scripts into one? Is there a better way?

Thank you guys.

[kotrfa]

I would use trigger ids as a condition with a choose action:

alias: Temperature Controlled Switch
description: "Turn switch on/off based on temperature and time constraints"
triggers:
  # Temperature goes above 32°C
  - trigger: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.tm32_temperature_temperature
    above: 32
    for:
      minutes: 5
    id: temp_high
  
  # Temperature goes below 30°C  
  - trigger: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.tm32_temperature_temperature
    below: 30
    for:
      minutes: 5
    id: temp_low
  
  # Time reaches 21:00 (turn off)
  - trigger: time
    at: "21:00:00"
    id: night_time
  
  # Time reaches 8:30 (evaluate if should turn on)
  - trigger: time
    at: "08:30:00"
    id: day_time

conditions: []

actions:
  - choose:
      # Case 1: Temperature high during allowed hours - turn ON
      - conditions:
          - condition: trigger
            id: temp_high
          - condition: time
            after: "08:30:00"
            before: "21:00:00"
        sequence:
          - action: switch.turn_on
            target:
              device_id: 3dc45ca861d7fb6b1d8c09cfdb1db294
      
      # Case 2: Temperature low OR night time - turn OFF
      - conditions:
          - or:
            - condition: trigger
              id: temp_low
            - condition: trigger
              id: night_time
        sequence:
          - action: switch.turn_off
            target:
              device_id: 3dc45ca861d7fb6b1d8c09cfdb1db294
      
      # Case 3: Morning time - check if should turn on
      - conditions:
          - condition: trigger
            id: day_time
          - condition: numeric_state
            entity_id: sensor.tm32_temperature_temperature
            above: 32
        sequence:
          - action: switch.turn_on
            target:
              device_id: 3dc45ca861d7fb6b1d8c09cfdb1db294

mode: single

By the way, I hate to be that guy, but this is what LLMs are really good for and I use them for… Praise HA for doing yaml right.

[shimitar (Willy Gardiol)]

Brilliant!

thank you, i need to learn trigger id’s and the associated usage… I know that LLMs are good for this, but i prefer to learn it myself, i am a bit old fashioned

[jackjourneyman (Jack)]

There’s another technique you might be interested in:

Motion activated lights automation

This gets asked a lot so here is an example for automating a light to come on with movement and go off after there is no movement for a short time. triggers: - trigger: state entity_id: binary_sensor.your_motion_sensor_here # change this to: 'on' - trigger: state entity_id: binary_sensor.your_motion_sensor_here # change this to: 'off' for: minutes: 2 # adjust as necessary actions: - action: "light.turn_{{ trigger.to_state.state }}" target: entity_id: l…

You’re right, though, it often doesn’t help to think of automations and scripts as software - they’re more like rules. When this happens, do that. A large collection of separate automations may seem “inelegant” but it can be much easier to maintain.

[Arh]

Or just use the generic thermostat and a simple timed automation to change the climate to on or off or any mode you wish to set.

Generic Thermostat

[Hellis81]

Agree with generic thermostat.
All you need then is an automation like the one kotrfa posted with thermostat on and off at the times.

[shimitar (Willy Gardiol)]

This is also a good suggestion!

i will stick with the automation with the triggers because i think it’s more explictive of the logic behind it, and the custom thermostat will still require an automation.

[Hellis81]

But the termostat has a lot of logic that will keep it running when the automation does not.
For instance a reload or reboot will make your only fan (I assume it’s a fan) stay on or off if the temperature crosses the threshold at the same time.

The thermostat will know it’s out of bounds and turn on/off.
And has a much easier interface to use if you wish to use it manually or set a new temperature range