Thermostat target temperature crossed threshold

The Thermostat target temperature crossed threshold trigger fires after the target temperature (setpoint) of a thermostat 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] crosses a threshold value. Unlike Thermostat target temperature changed, which fires whenever the target changes and lands at a particular value, this trigger fires only at the moment the setpoint crosses from one side of the threshold to the other.

Use this trigger when you want to react to the exact moment a setpoint enters or exits a range, such as when a thermostat is adjusted to a more or less aggressive temperature.

Using this trigger from the user interface

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

To use Thermostat target temperature crossed threshold in an automation:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. In the When section, select Add trigger.
4. Select what you want to monitor. Under By target (see Targets), pick the area your thermostat is in (like your bedroom or living room). You can also select a device, a specific entity, or a label.
5. From the triggers shown for that target, select Thermostat target temperature crossed threshold.
6. Under Threshold type, configure what kind of crossing fires the trigger:
   • Select Above and enter a value to fire when the setpoint crosses above that value.
   • Select Below and enter a value to fire when the setpoint crosses below that value.
   • Select In range and enter a lower and upper bound to fire when the setpoint crosses into the range from outside.
   • Select Outside range and enter a lower and upper bound to fire when the setpoint crosses out of the range.
   • For each option, you can enter a fixed temperature or pick a sensor entity or a number helper entity as the threshold.
     • If you don’t have a number helper, you can create one by selecting Create a new number helper.
7. Under Unit, select the temperature unit (°C or °F) to use for the threshold comparison.
8. Under Trigger when (see Behavior), pick Each, First, or All to control how the trigger behaves when multiple thermostats are targeted.
9. Under For at least, set how long the thermostat must stay beyond the threshold before the trigger fires. Leave it at zero to fire immediately.
10. Select Save.

Options in the UI

Using this trigger 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. For how an automation is built in YAML, refer to Automations in YAML.

In YAML, put the settings that are specific to this trigger under options. Keep target, if the trigger uses one, and general settings such as id, alias, enabled, and variables at the top level, next to trigger.

When this trigger starts an automation, it passes data about what happened to the automation. You can use this trigger data in the templates of your conditions and actions. To see which data is available, refer to Trigger data in templates.

In YAML, Thermostat target temperature crossed threshold is referred to as climate.target_temperature_crossed_threshold. A basic example looks like this:

trigger: climate.target_temperature_crossed_threshold
target:
  entity_id: climate.living_room
options:
  threshold:
    type: above
    value:
      number: 24
      unit_of_measurement: "°C"

This fires when the target temperature of climate.living_room crosses above 24°C.

To fire when the setpoint crosses into an efficiency range:

trigger: climate.target_temperature_crossed_threshold
target:
  entity_id: climate.living_room
options:
  threshold:
    type: between
    value_min:
      number: 18
      unit_of_measurement: "°C"
    value_max:
      number: 22
      unit_of_measurement: "°C"

Options in YAML

threshold:
  type: outside
  value_min:
    entity: input_number.comfortable_temperature_min
  value_max:
    number: 24
    unit_of_measurement: °C

Targets of the trigger

This trigger requires a target. The target is the object that Home Assistant will watch. You can select 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 as a target, and Home Assistant will watch every matching climate entity behind that target.

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

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

To learn which entities Home Assistant includes for a device, area, floor, or label, and how it handles several entities, refer to Automation targets.

Trigger variables

When the trigger reacts, the trigger variable identifies the entity that made it react. This is useful when a target contains multiple entities, such as a device, area, floor, or label.

The following trigger-specific variables are available:

• trigger.entity_id: Entity ID of the entity that made the trigger react.
• trigger.from_state: Previous state object of that entity.
• trigger.to_state: New state object of that entity.
• trigger.for: Timedelta object of how long the trigger criteria were met, if applicable.

For example, use {{ trigger.to_state.name }} in an action to include the name of the entity that made the trigger react in a notification.

The trigger variable describes the entity that made the trigger react. It doesn’t contain all the entities of the target.

Behavior with multiple targets

When you target more than one entity (or select an area, floor, or label that contains several), the Trigger when option controls how the trigger responds:

• Each (default): the trigger fires every time any one of the targeted entities transitions. For example, if you monitor three motion sensors in the living room and someone walks past sensor 1, the automation fires. When they walk past sensor 2 a moment later, it fires again. Every individual event counts.
• First: the trigger fires only on the first transition in the targeted group, then waits until none of the targeted entities is in that state anymore before it fires again. For example, if you monitor the same three motion sensors, the automation fires when the first one picks up movement (someone entered the room). The other two firing afterward are ignored, so you get one notification per “someone walked in” event instead of three.
• All: the trigger fires only after the last targeted entity in the group has fired, meaning all of them are now in the expected state. For example, if you monitor the lights in the living room, bedroom, and hallway, the automation fires only once all three have turned off. This is useful for scenarios like “start the robot vacuum only after every light on the floor is off,” so you know the room is truly empty.

Good to know

• Use a climate entity that exposes a target temperature attribute.
• This trigger monitors the target temperature setpoint (what you want the thermostat to maintain), not the current room temperature (the actual measured temperature). To react to changes in measured room temperature, use Temperature crossed threshold instead.
• The threshold type controls the direction of the crossing. Above and Below fire when crossing in one direction through a single value, while In range and Outside range fire when crossing the boundary of a range.
• The trigger fires only at the moment of crossing, not while the setpoint stays beyond the threshold.
• To react to any change that lands at a particular value, use Thermostat target temperature changed instead.
• All temperature values are automatically converted to the unit you specify.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Go to Settings > Automations & scenes, create a new automation, and add this trigger. Save the automation, and then make the trigger react. For example, change the state of the targeted 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], turn on a light that the trigger monitors, or change its brightness. To check whether the automation ran, open its traces.

More examples

Real scenarios where this trigger fires in automations and scripts. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup. In the visual editor, select the UI options listed in the example when they are available, or paste the YAML code.

Automation: activate economy mode when all setpoints are lowered

When all thermostats in the living room area have their setpoints cross below 20°C, activate an economy mode preset to save energy. Waiting for all thermostats ensures the entire area is set for energy savings.

• Trigger: Thermostat target temperature crossed threshold
  • Target: Living room area
  • Threshold type: Below (20°C)
  • Trigger when: All
• Action: Set thermostat preset mode

alias: "Activate economy mode when all setpoints lowered"
triggers:
  - trigger: climate.target_temperature_crossed_threshold
    target:
      area_id: living_room
    options:
      threshold:
        type: below
        value:
          number: 20
          unit_of_measurement: "°C"
      behavior: all
actions:
  - action: climate.set_preset_mode
    target:
      area_id: living_room
    data:
      preset_mode: "eco"

Still stuck?

To find out why the trigger didn’t react, make the change that it should react to, and then open the traces of the automation. If the automation didn’t run, there’s usually no trace, but some triggers record a Did not trigger trace. For details, refer to Testing automations. For common problems and their solutions, refer to Troubleshooting automations.

If that doesn’t help, the Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the trigger you’re using and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Related triggers

Explore related triggers:

• Thermostat target temperature changed: Triggers when the temperature setpoint of one or more thermostats changes.

• Thermostat target humidity crossed threshold: Triggers when the humidity setpoint of one or more thermostats crosses a threshold.