Automating Car Precooling Based on Calendar Events

General
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Hey everyone! I’m thrilled to share my latest smart home project with you. I’ve been working on automating my car precooling system based on my next calendar event location, and it’s been a fantastic journey. Let me walk you through how I made it happen!

First, I wanted to create a system where my car would automatically start cooling if the next calendar event had a location specified. This way, I can ensure my car is ready and comfortable for any trip. I stumbled upon some challenges along the way, especially with getting the trigger to work correctly. Initially, I tried using the following condition:

{{ trigger.calendar_event.location != None }}

But I noticed that this template didn’t work when the trigger event didn’t have a location attribute. After doing some research and experimenting, I found a solution using conditional statements within the automation configuration. Here’s how I set it up:

automation:

  • alias: Car Precooling
    trigger:
    • platform: calendar
      event: next
      condition:
    • condition: template
      value_template: ‘{{ trigger.calendar_event.location is not none }}’
      action:
    • service: climate.set_temperature
      data:
      entity_id: climate.my_car
      temperature: 20

This configuration checks if the next calendar event has a location before triggering the precooling. If the location is present, the car starts cooling to a comfortable 20 degrees Celsius.

I also wanted to share a few tips I discovered while working on this project:

  1. Use the Developer Tools: The ‘States’ and ‘Services’ sections in the developer tools were invaluable for testing my triggers and actions before finalizing the automation.
  2. Check Your Logs: If something isn’t working, the logs can provide a lot of insight. I found some errors that helped me tweak my configuration.
  3. Test Incrementally: Don’t try to set up the entire automation at once. Test each part (trigger, condition, action) separately to ensure everything works as expected.

This project has been a great way to immerse myself deeper into Home Assistant’s capabilities. I’m now looking forward to exploring more integrations and automations. If anyone has questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out!

Happy automating! :rocket: