Fan is on

The Fan is on condition is useful when an automation should continue only if a fan is already running. Use it to avoid duplicate actions, wait for ventilation before doing something else, or branch your automation based on whether a room already has airflow.

Using this condition from the user interface

If you prefer building automations visually, Home Assistant walks you through this condition step by step. You pick what to check, tweak a few options, and save. No YAML knowledge required.

To use this condition in an automation:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. In the And if section, select Add condition.
4. Select what you want to check. Under By target (see Targets), pick the fan you want to check. You can also select an area, a floor, a device, or a label.
5. From the conditions shown for that target, select Fan is on.
6. Under Condition passes if (see Behavior), pick Any or All.
7. Under For at least, set how long the fan must have been on.
8. Select Save.

Options in the UI

Using this condition in YAML

If you work directly in YAML, or you want to know exactly what Home Assistant does under the hood, this section has the technical reference. It lists the field names you use in YAML, their types, and which ones are required.

In YAML, refer to this condition as fan.is_on. A basic example looks like this:

condition: fan.is_on
target:
  entity_id: fan.office
options:
  behavior: any
  for: "00:15:00"

This passes when fan.office has been on for 15 minutes.

Options in YAML

Targets of the condition

This condition requires a target. The target is the object that Home Assistant will check. You can point the condition at a single entityAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more], a device, an area, a floor, or a label, and Home Assistant will evaluate every matching fan entity behind that target.

• Entity: one specific fan entity, such as fan.living_room.
• Device: every fan entity that belongs to a device.
• Area: every fan entity in a room or area.
• Floor: every fan entity on a floor.
• Label: every fan entity that shares a label.

You can also select different target types in one condition. For example, you can add a specific entity and an area as targets in the same condition to check both of them at once.

Behavior with multiple targets

When you target more than one entity (or select an area, floor, or label that contains several), the Condition passes if option controls how the results combine:

• Any (default): the condition passes if at least one of the targeted entities matches. For example, if you check three smoke sensors and only one of them detects smoke, the condition still passes. This is useful for questions like “is there smoke anywhere in the house?”
• All: the condition passes only when every targeted entity matches. For example, if you check the same three smoke sensors, the condition passes only once all three report cleared. This is useful for “is the entire house safe now?” checks, so your automation does not send an all-clear while one room still has a reading.

Good to know

• A fan in the unknown or unavailable state does not count as on.
• With All, every targeted fan must match. With Any, one matching fan is enough.
• To check for the opposite state, use Fan is off.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Go to Settings > Automations & scenes, open an automation, and add this condition. Trigger the automation with and without the condition met, and watch whether it continues or stops.

More examples

Real scenarios where this condition gates an automation. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Automation: send a reminder if a window opens while the fan is running

If a window opens while the bedroom fan is running, you may want a reminder so you can decide whether to keep using the fan.

• Trigger: State: Window changes to open
• Condition: Fan is on
• Target: Bedroom fan
• Condition passes if: Any
• For at least: 00:00:00
• Action: Send a notification via mobile_app_phone

alias: "Bedroom window opened while fan runs"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.bedroom_window
    to: "on"
conditions:
  - condition: fan.is_on
    target:
      entity_id: fan.bedroom
    options:
      behavior: any
      for: "00:00:00"
actions:
  - action: notify.mobile_app_phone
    data:
      message: "The bedroom window is open and the fan is still running."

Automation: lower the blinds only after the office fan has been running

If the office is already warm enough for the fan to be running, you can also lower the blinds when the sun gets strong.

• Trigger: Sun: Above horizon
• Condition: Fan is on
• Target: Office fan
• Condition passes if: Any
• For at least: 00:10:00
• Action: Close cover

alias: "Lower office blinds when fan is already running"
triggers:
  - trigger: sun
    event: sunrise
conditions:
  - condition: fan.is_on
    target:
      entity_id: fan.office
    options:
      behavior: any
      for: "00:10:00"
actions:
  - action: cover.close_cover
    target:
      entity_id: cover.office_blinds

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the condition you’re using and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Related conditions

These conditions work well alongside this one:

• Fan is off: Tests if one or more fans are off.