Hi! Here are the best five Home Automations for beginners. These are MUST HAVES when you start with Home Assistant! I will show you how to set them up yourself! Let’s do this!

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Introduction to Home Assistant Automations

Welcome to this ultimate guide on the top five simple Home Assistant automations for beginners! If you’re new to Home Assistant, these tips will help make your life easier and more convenient. Let’s get started!

1. Turn on the lights when motion is detected.

With a single command or a schedule, you can control your lights throughout the day. No more fumbling for switches in the dark! Set the lights to turn on when you enter a room or off when you leave a room. It’s all possible with Home Assistant. The devices that you’ll need for this are a motion sensor and some smart lights. Let’s set this up!

• Go to Settings.
• Go to Automations and Scenes.
• Click Create Automation.
• Click Create New Automation.

Create the triggers

• We will first define two triggers at which the light should turn on and off.
• Click Add Trigger.
• Select State.
• Select your motion sensor entity. In my case, it’s Office Motion Sensor iaszone.
• Select “Detected” in the “To” field. This way, this trigger gets triggered as soon as the motion sensor reports that it detected motion. In the next step, we are going to assign a trigger ID to this trigger. If you want to know more about Trigger IDs, then please watch this easy-to-follow video where I explain how they work exactly.
• Click the three dots in the upper right corner of the trigger.
• Select Edit ID.
• Enter a Trigger ID name like “Motion Detected”.
• The trigger that detects motion is now defined. Next, we are going to define a trigger that detects if motion has stopped.
• Click Add Trigger.
• Select State.
• Select your motion sensor entity again.
• Select “Clear” in the “To” field.
• Enter 5 minutes in the For field. This way, this trigger gets triggered as soon as no motion is detected for 5 minutes.
• We don’t really need to assign a Trigger ID for this trigger, because we are going to use an If-Then action in the Actions section later.

Create the Actions

The triggers are now defined. In the next step, we are going to define the actions that should be taken as soon as one of the two triggers is triggered.

• Click Add Action.
• Select the If-Then action.
• Add a condition for the “If”. This will be our Motion Detected Trigger. Click Add Condition.
• Select the “Triggered By” condition.
• Select the Motion Detected Trigger ID.
• Now go to the Then section and click Add Action.
• Select Call Service.
• Select the service “Light dot turn on”.
• Click Choose Entity and select the light that you want to turn on when motion is detected. In my case, it’s a light group called Office.

The action to turn on the lights is now created. In the next step, we will define the action that turns off the lights.

• Scroll down and click Add Else.
• Click Add Action in the Else section.
• Select Call service.
• Select the service “Light dot turn off”.
• Click Choose Entity and select the lights that you want to turn off when the motion has stopped for 5 minutes.
• Click Save and give your automation a meaningful name.

Now that the motion-activated light switch is installed and the automation is created, simply walk into the room, and the lights will automatically turn on. No more fumbling for the light switch in the dark! Motion-activated light switches are not only convenient but also energy-efficient. They ensure that lights only turn on when needed, reducing unnecessary energy consumption. Never worry about forgetting to turn the lights off again!

2. Toggle lights at Sunset and Sunrise

Do you ever wish you could effortlessly control your home’s lighting based on the time of day? With a Home Assistant automation, you can now synchronize your lights to toggle on at sunset and off at sunrise or vice versa. Say goodbye to manually adjusting lights or forgetting to turn them off in the morning.

Imagine stepping into your home after a long day. As the sun begins to set, your lights gradually brighten, simulating the warm and cozy feeling of dusk. It’s as if your home has come alive, welcoming you with open arms.

But the benefits don’t stop there. Automated lighting also offers an added layer of security. When you’re away, your system intelligently adjusts your lights, making it appear as if someone is home, deterring potential intruders.

There are multiple ways to set this up and I will show you one of them now.

• Go to Settings.
• Go to Automations and Scenes.
• Click Create Automation.
• Click Create New Automation.

Create the triggers

• We will first define two triggers at which the light should turn on and off.
• Click Add Trigger.
• Select Sun.
• Leave the event selection to Sunrise.
• In the next step, we are going to assign a trigger ID to this trigger, just like we did in the previous automation.
• Click the three dots in the upper right corner of the trigger.
• Select Edit ID.
• Enter a Trigger ID name like “Sunrise”.
• The trigger that detects sunrise is now defined. Next, we will define a trigger that detects the time 30 minutes after sunset.
• Click Add Trigger.
• Select Sun.
• Select Sunset.
• Enter the number of minutes after sunset you want to wait for the trigger to fire. If you prefix the offset with a minus sign, the trigger fires x minutes before sunset. I enter 30 minutes here.
• We don’t really need to assign a Trigger ID for this trigger, because we are going to use an If-Then action in the Actions section later.

The triggers for sunrise and 30 minutes before sunset are now defined. In the next step, we are going to define the actions that should be taken as soon as one of the two triggers is triggered.

Create the Actions

• In the Actions section, click Add Action.
• Select the If-Then action.
• Add a condition for the “If”. This will be our Sunrise Trigger. Click Add Condition.
• Select the “Triggered By” condition.
• Select the Sunrise Trigger ID that we defined before.
• Go to the Then section and click Add Action.
• Select Call Service.
• Select the Service “Light dot turn off”.
• Click Choose Entity and select the light that you want to turn off at sunrise. In my case, it’s a light group for all the lights in my living room.
• If you like, you can add a transition if your lights support dimming. I set the transition to 300 seconds so that my light will gradually turn off during a period of 5 minutes.
• Now scroll down and click Add Else.
• Click Add Action.
• Select Call Service.
• Select the service “Light dot turn on”.
• Choose the light entity that you want to turn on 30 minutes before sunset.
• I set the transition to 300 seconds again.
• Click Save and give your automation a meaningful name.

Your automation is set up and your lights will gradually turn on and off at Sunset and Sunrise automatically now!

3. Turn off all devices automatically when everybody has left the house using Home Assistant

Imagine a home that takes care of itself. A home that knows when everybody has left and automatically powers down all devices. No more going through every room, turning off the lights, unplugging chargers, and switching off appliances. With this Home Assistant automation, it’s all done for you. When the last person leaves the house, Home Assistant detects the absence, and then the magic happens.

Lights turn off, appliances shut down, and chargers stop drawing power. You can rest assured that energy is not being wasted when nobody’s home. But automated power-down isn’t just about convenience. It’s also about saving energy and reducing your carbon footprint. With Home Assistant, you’ll see a noticeable decrease in your energy bill month after month. Imagine never having to worry about whether you remembered to turn off the TV, the air conditioning, or the coffee maker. With Home Assistant, you can leave those concerns behind.

Plus, you can easily customize your settings to fit your needs. Want certain devices to stay on even when nobody’s home? No problem. You have full control. To make this work, you need to have the Home Assistant companion app installed on the phones of all people in the house or detect if your phones are connected to your Wi-Fi network using a Home Assistant integration for your router. I will only cover the automation now.

• Go to Settings.
• Go to Automations and Scenes.
• Click Create Automation.
• Click Create New Automation.

Create the triggers

• We will first define one trigger that detects when everybody has left the house.
• Click Add Trigger.
• Select State.
• Select your Home zone in the entity field.
• Enter zero in the To field.

The trigger that fires as soon as zero people are in your home zone is now defined. Let’s add the actions to turn off devices now.

Create the actions

• Go to the actions section and click Add Action.
• Select Call Service.
• We are going to turn off all the lights with just one call. You’ll need a little trick for this, but don’t worry, it’s really easy.
• Select the service “light dot turn_off”.
• Now click the three dots in the service section.
• Select Edit in YAML.
• Enter the following code:

target:
  entity_id:
    - all

• This way, all the lights will turn off. This same piece of code will also work for switches and other entities.
• Click the three dots again,
• and select Edit in Visual Editor.
• We are also going to turn off the air conditioning unit.
• Click Add Action.
• Select Call Service.
• Select “Switch dot turn off”.
• Click Choose Device.
• Select your Air-conditioning unit.
• Click Save and give your automation a meaningful name.

Your lights and selected devices will now automatically turn off as soon as the last person has left the house.

4. Turn on the heating when somebody enters the house

Imagine coming home on a chilly day, and as soon as you step through the door, your house is heating up to get warm and cozy. It’s like having your own personal heating greeter!

This is how it works: all you need is a smart thermostat and the Home Assistant app on your phone.

As soon as Home Assistant detects your presence, it sends a signal to the smart thermostat. Without lifting a finger, you’ll be greeted by a welcoming blast of warm air as the heating system automatically kicks into gear.

Not only is this energy-efficient, it also saves you the hassle of manually adjusting the thermostat every time you come home. Plus, it ensures that you always step into a comfortable environment. And, when you leave the house, you can automatically turn down the heating as well. Let’s set this up!

• Go to Settings.
• Go to Automations and Scenes.
• Click Create Automation.
• Click Create New Automation.

Create the triggers

• We will first define two triggers that will fire when someone enters your home or everybody has left your home.
• Click Add Trigger.
• Select State.
• Select your Home zone in the entity field.
• Enter zero in the To field.
• Click the three dots in the Trigger.
• Select Edit ID.
• Enter a Trigger ID for this trigger. For instance Nobody Home.

We defined the trigger that fires if everybody has left the house. Next, we will define the trigger that fires when someone enters the house.

• Click Add Trigger.
• Select Numeric State.
• Select your Home Zone in the Entity field.
• Enter zero in the Above field.

This trigger will fire as soon as there is at least one person detected in your home. Again, we do not need to define a Trigger ID for this trigger because we are going to use an If-Then action in the Actions section later on.

Create the Actions

• Scroll down and go to the Actions section.
• Click Add Action.
• Select the If-Then action.
• Click Add Condition in the If section.
• Select Triggered By.
• Select the Trigger ID Nobody Home that we’ve just created.
• Go to the Then section and click Add Action.
• Select Call Service
• There are multiple ways to fire up or turn down the heating. I will use the set target temperature service for this.
• Select the climate dot set temperature service.
• Choose your thermostat entity. I use the Honeywell Evohome system, so I can set the temperature for each room individually. For this example, I am going to set the Living room heating temperature.
• Click Temperature and enter a target temperature. I will set the target temperature to 15 degrees Celsius as soon as everybody has left my home.
• Now Click Add Else.
• Click Add Action.
• Select Call Service.
• Select the climate dot set temperature service.
• Choose your thermostat entity.
• Click Temperature and enter a target temperature. I will set the target temperature to 20 degrees Celsius as soon as somebody enters my home.
• Click Save and give your automation a meaningful name.

Your automation is now set up. No more walking into a chilly house or waiting for the temperature to rise slowly. With this smart home hack, you can truly feel like your house is taking care of you. So, say goodbye to chilly welcomes and hello to instant warmth with this simple yet brilliant smart home hack. Your future self will thank you every time you walk through the door.

But wait, there’s also a possibility to fire up the heating as soon as you approach your home. So in that case, your home is already warmed up before you’ve entered. I created a separate video about that. Watch this video if you’d like to know how to set it up!

5. Real-Time Smoke Detection: Instant Phone Notifications.

Imagine this: you’re away from home, and a fire breaks out. Your smoke detector detects the smoke and immediately sends a notification to your phone.

You receive a message alerting you of the potential danger, giving you the precious time needed to act fast. Whether you’re at work, running errands, or on vacation, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that you’ll be alerted the moment smoke is detected. You need a Smart Smoke Detector like this one to create this automation. You’ll find a link to all the devices that I use and recommend in the description of this video. Let’s set it up now!

• Go to Settings.
• Go to Automations and Scenes.
• Click Create Automation.
• Click Create New Automation.

Create the trigger

• We will first define one trigger that will fire when a smoke detector detects smoke. This time I will take a different approach. Instead of checking for a state, I will check for a device instead. I just want to show you this possibility as well. However, I prefer to check on entity states. This is because an entity name is independent of a device. So, if you have to replace a device when it’s broken, you can use the same entity names for the new device. This way all your automations keep working once you’ve replaced a device. If you check on the device in an automation, you check on the ID of the device which is different for each device. And that means that you have to go through all your automations to select the new device. Just saying….

• Click Add Trigger.
• Select Device.
• Choose your Smoke Detector.
• Select the trigger that starts detecting smoke.

Create the Action

• Go to the Actions section and click Add Action.
• Select Call Service.
• Select the service Notify with the name of your phone. You’ll need to have the Home Assistant app installed on your phone to see this service.
• Enter a message that will be sent to your phone as soon as smoke is detected,
• and enter the title of the message.
• Click Save and give your automation a meaningful name.

Your automation is now working. Never again will you come home to a house filled with smoke, without warning. Protect your loved ones and your property by setting up this real-time smoke detection.

Conclusion

You can type these automations from the screen for free. But, I also created a blueprint pack for these five automations so that you can just install the blueprints and set up the automations easily. You can download them for the price of a coffee so you help me to keep this channel alive! The link is in the description of the video. I want to thank all these awesome people who became my patrons and are sponsoring this channel on a monthly basis. See the links to sponsor me in the description of this video.

Thank you for watching. If you enjoyed it and found it helpful, don’t forget to subscribe to my channel for more innovative solutions and home automation tips.

I’ll see you soon in my next video! Bye Bye!

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