Boost a Matter water heater
Use this action to turn on boost mode on a Matter water heater for a set period. A common use is to heat extra water ahead of time, for example before everyone gets up for a morning shower.
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 boost a water heater from an automation or a script:
- Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
- Open an existing automation or script, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
- 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.
- In the Then do section, select Add action.
- Select what you want to control. Under By target (see Targets), select the water heater you want to boost.
- From the actions shown for that target, select Boost a Matter water heater.
- Set the Duration of the boost.
- Optionally, turn on Emergency boost or set a Temporary setpoint for the boost period.
- Select Save.
Options in the UI
Heat the water as quickly as possible for the duration of the boost. Off by default.
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 matter.water_heater_boost. A basic example looks like this:
action: matter.water_heater_boost
target:
entity_id: water_heater.hot_water
data:
duration: 3600
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 matter entity behind that target.
-
Entity: one specific matter entity, such as
matter.living_room. - Device: every matter entity that belongs to a device.
- Area: every matter entity in a room or area.
- Floor: every matter entity on a floor.
- Label: every matter 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.
More examples
Real scenarios where this action shows up in automations and scripts. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.
You don’t need to edit YAML to use these examples. Copy a YAML snippet from this page, open the automation editor in Home Assistant, and press Ctrl+V (or Cmd+V on Mac). Home Assistant automatically converts the pasted YAML into the visual editor format, whether it’s a full automation, a single trigger, a condition, or an action.
Automation: boost hot water before the morning shower
Heat extra water shortly before your household gets up, so there is plenty of hot water ready.
- Trigger: Every day at 06:00
- Action: Boost a Matter water heater
Show example YAML
alias: "Boost hot water in the morning"
triggers:
- trigger: time
at: "06:00:00"
actions:
- action: matter.water_heater_boost
target:
entity_id: water_heater.hot_water
data:
duration: 3600
Good to know
- Boost mode runs for the duration you set and then stops on its own. You do not need to turn it off manually.
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.
AI assistants like ChatGPT or Claude can also explain actions or suggest the right one when you describe what you want in plain language.