Turn on fan

The Turn on fan action is useful when you want to start airflow right away. You can simply turn the fan on, or turn it on with a specific speed or preset mode in the same step.

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 use this action in an automation or 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 creating an automation, add a trigger in the When section.
4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
5. Select what you want to control. Under By target (see Targets), pick the fan you want to control. You can also select an area, a floor, a device, or a label.
6. From the actions shown for that target, select Turn on fan.
7. Optional: under Percentage, set the speed you want.
8. Optional: under Preset mode, select the mode you want.
9. 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.

In YAML, refer to this action as fan.turn_on. A basic example looks like this:

action: fan.turn_on
target:
  entity_id: fan.bedroom

This turns on fan.bedroom.

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 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 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.

Good to know

• This action is available only for fans that support turning on.
• The percentage field is available only for fans that support speed control.
• The preset_mode field is available only for fans that support preset modes.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Developer 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.

Automation: turn on the bedroom fan at bedtime

Start the fan automatically when you usually go to bed.

• Trigger: Time: 22:00
• Action: Turn on fan
• Target: Bedroom fan

alias: "Turn on bedroom fan at bedtime"
triggers:
  - trigger: time
    at: "22:00:00"
actions:
  - action: fan.turn_on
    target:
      entity_id: fan.bedroom

Automation: turn on the office fan at 60 percent in the afternoon

If your office warms up later in the day, you can start the fan at a moderate speed automatically.

• Trigger: Time: 14:00
• Action: Turn on fan
• Target: Office fan
• Percentage: 60

alias: "Turn on office fan in the afternoon"
triggers:
  - trigger: time
    at: "14:00:00"
actions:
  - action: fan.turn_on
    target:
      entity_id: fan.office
    data:
      percentage: 60

Still stuck?

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

These actions work well alongside this one:

• Turn off fan: Turn off a fan.

• Toggle fan: Toggle a fan on or off.