Start charging

The Start charging action starts charging at a later time, for a limited time, or both. The Charge switch of the charger always starts charging right away and without a time limit. With this action, the charger starts by itself at the time you choose, for example when an off-peak tariff begins, and stops by itself when the time is up.

Using this action from the user interface

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

To schedule charging from an automation or a script:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation or script, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. If you’re setting up a new automation, add a trigger in the When section. Scripts don’t need a trigger. They run when something else calls them.
4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
5. From the search box, search for and select Besen: Start charging.
6. Select what you want to control. Under By target (see Targets), select the Charge switch of your charger.
7. Optionally, set a Start time and a Duration.
8. Select Save.

Options in the UI

Using this action 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 or a script is built in YAML, refer to Automations in YAML and Scripts.

In YAML, refer to this action as besen.start_charging. A basic example looks like this:

action: besen.start_charging
target:
  entity_id: switch.besen_charge
data:
  start: "{{ (now() + timedelta(hours=2)).isoformat() }}"
  duration:
    hours: 3

This makes the charger start charging two hours from now and stop three hours after that.

Options in YAML

Targets of the action

This action requires a target. The target is the object of the action. You can point the action 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 run the action on every matching switch entity behind that target.

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

You can also select different target types in one action. For example, you can add a specific entity and an area as targets in the same action to run the action on 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.

To leave out some of these entities, refer to Excluding targets. For example, you can leave out one switch entity in an area.

Good to know

• The schedule is stored on the charger. The charger holds one schedule at a time, and you can schedule charging before the vehicle is plugged in.
• While a start is scheduled, the Charge switch stays off and the Charging message sensor shows Charging reservation. The Scheduled start and Charging time limit sensors show what the charger accepted.
• To cancel a scheduled start, use the Turn off switch action on the Charge switch. The switch is already off while a start is scheduled, so its toggle on a dashboard cannot send that command.
• The charger rejects a new start while a start is scheduled or a session is charging. Cancel the schedule or stop the session first.
• With only a Duration, charging starts now, so the vehicle must be plugged in.
• The session uses the current set by the Charging current number.
• The action fails with an error when the start time is not in the future, is more than 24 hours ahead, or the charger rejects the request.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Settings > Tools > Actions, search for this action, fill in the fields, and select Perform action. You see what happens on your actual entitiesAn 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] without writing a line of YAML.

More examples

Real scenarios where this action shows up 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 or paste the YAML code.

Automation: charge during the off-peak tariff

Every evening, schedule charging for the start of the off-peak tariff and let the charger stop when the tariff ends.

• Trigger: Time: 20:00
• Action: Besen: Start charging
  • Target: Charge switch of the charger (switch.besen_charge)
  • Start: 23:30 today
  • Duration: 6 hours

alias: "Charge the EV during the off-peak tariff"
triggers:
  - trigger: time
    at: "20:00:00"
actions:
  - action: besen.start_charging
    target:
      entity_id: switch.besen_charge
    data:
      start: "{{ today_at('23:30').isoformat() }}"
      duration:
        hours: 6

Automation: charge for two hours around midday

Use the hours when your solar panels produce the most. Every day at noon, start charging and let the charger stop two hours later.

• Trigger: Time: 12:00
• Action: Besen: Start charging
  • Target: Charge switch of the charger (switch.besen_charge)
  • Duration: 2 hours

alias: "Charge the EV for two hours around midday"
triggers:
  - trigger: time
    at: "12:00:00"
actions:
  - action: besen.start_charging
    target:
      entity_id: switch.besen_charge
    data:
      duration:
        hours: 2

Still stuck?

To test the action on its own, run it in the automation editor with Run action, and check the message that it shows. To see what the action did when the automation ran, open the trace of that run. 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 action you’re calling and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Related actions

Explore related actions:

• Turn on switch: Turns a switch on.

• Turn off switch: Turns a switch off.