If you’re new to smart homes, Scenes and Automations can sound like the same thing. They’re not – but they’re best friends. It took me some time to understand and embrace the difference. So, happy to share some learnings.
Scenes
A Scene is basically a snapshot of device states. It says: “Turn on the living room lights, close the blinds, set the thermostat to 21°C.”
When you activate a Scene, everything in it happens right now – no conditions, no waiting. Perfect for:
Automations are if-this-then-that rules. They say: “If motion is detected after 10 PM, turn on the hallway light for 2 minutes.”
They run by themselves when the trigger happens – no button press required. Perfect for:
Turning on lights when you enter a room
Sending a notification if the washing machine finishes
Adjusting the heating based on outside temperature
When to Combine Them
Sometimes the magic happens when you mix the two:
Scene as manual override: You use automations for daily routines, but still have a scene button for instant control when needed.
Example: Your “Close Blinds” scene is set to be triggered by an automation every night at 10 PM. But one day you want to go to bed early at 9 PM. Instead of creating a whole new automation for 9 PM or closing the blinds manually, you just press a (smart) button that runs the exact same scene instantly. This way, you only build the scene once and can reuse it in both scheduled automations and manual triggers.
In short:
Want something to happen instantly when you say so? → Scene
Want something to happen automatically when a condition is met? → Automation
Want both flexibility and automation? → Combine them
If you get this right, your smart home won’t just work – it will feel… alive.
What are your learnings or best examples of combining scenes and automation?
And always remember: If your car is smarter than your house… you’re driving into the future while living in the past.
@RudyK Thank you for sharing your insights on the difference between Scenes and Automations in a smart home environment. Your explanation is both informative and relatable, especially for newcomers who might find these concepts a bit confusing at first.
Scenes, as you mentioned, are fantastic for immediate actions without any conditions. They’re perfect for setting the mood or managing multiple devices simultaneously with just a tap. On the other hand, Automations are the backbone of a truly smart home, enabling devices to react to specific triggers without any manual intervention. This distinction is key to optimizing how we interact with our smart homes.
Your example of combining Scenes and Automations is spot on. Using a Scene as a manual override within an Automation setup not only provides flexibility but also ensures that your smart home remains responsive to your immediate needs. It’s a great way to streamline processes and enhance convenience.
For those looking to delve deeper, understanding how to set up these features in the Aqara system can be beneficial. For instance, automations can be configured through the Aqara app by setting conditions (“IF”) and actions (“THEN”), which allows you to tailor the smart home experience precisely as you like [Reference: Hub M1S Gen 2 FAQ].
I’m eager to hear more from the community! What unique combinations of Scenes and Automations have you all found useful? Your experiences might inspire others to take their smart home setups to the next level.
@RudyK Thank you for sharing such a detailed explanation of the differences and synergies between Scenes and Automations. It’s always fascinating to see how these two elements can work together to create a seamless smart home experience. I completely agree that while Scenes provide immediate control, Automations allow our homes to respond dynamically to various conditions without any manual intervention.
One of my favorite examples of combining them is using a morning routine automation that starts with a gentle wake-up scene. The automation could gradually open the blinds and slowly increase the brightness of the bedroom lights, all triggered by the time or even the sunrise. It combines the best of both worlds by using a scene to create a pleasant environment and automation to ensure it happens at just the right time.
I’m curious to hear more examples from others in the community. How do you all creatively use scenes and automations to enhance your smart home experiences? Let’s keep the conversation going!
@RudyK Thank you for sharing your insights on the differences between Scenes and Automations. You’ve explained it very clearly! I completely agree that understanding how to effectively use both can truly enhance the smart home experience. Personally, I love using a “Morning Routine” scene to start the day with the right ambiance, and an automation to adjust lighting based on sunrise and sunset times. Combining them really does bring that sense of life and adaptability to your home. Looking forward to hearing more examples from others in the community!
So many people get confused by these tow things and you did a great job breaking it down so the average Joe would be able to latch on to this idea. Thanks for the great post.
You’re saying that I already explained it in the simplest possible way. So yes, making it even simpler is hard. But I’ll give it a try anyway.
A scene is basically a bundle of actions. Light on or off, heating warmer or cooler, blinds up or down, and so on. In other words: everything you would normally put under “Then” in an automation.
The key difference:
A scene has no “If.”
That means a scene does not decide when something happens. It only defines what should happen.
So whenever you have a group of actions that you want to trigger not only automatically, but also manually, put them into a scene. Then you can start that scene from an automation or whenever you feel like it.
Example: closing the blinds.
I have an automation that closes my blinds every day at 10 pm.
IF time = 22:00
THEN start scene “Close blinds”
But sometimes I go to bed earlier. In that case, I just press a smart button. Behind that button is another automation:
IF button pressed
THEN start scene “Close blinds”
Same scene. Used multiple times. Less work. More reuse. Smarter setup.
