Set vane horizontal

Use this action to set the horizontal vane position of a MELCloud air-to-air unit. The vanes control where the air goes from side to side. For example, you can let the vanes swing to spread the air through the room, or fix them in one position.

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 set the horizontal vane position 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 Set vane horizontal.
6. Select what you want to control. Under By target (see Targets), select the air conditioner. You can also select an area, a device, or a label.
7. In Position, enter the position, such as auto or swing.
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.

In YAML, refer to this action as melcloud.set_vane_horizontal. A basic example looks like this:

action: melcloud.set_vane_horizontal
target:
  entity_id: climate.living_room
data:
  position: swing

This lets the horizontal vanes of the living room air conditioner swing.

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 climate entity behind that target.

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

• If you choose a position your unit doesn’t support, the action fails with an error that lists the positions you can use.
• Setting the horizontal swing mode of the climate entity does the same, see Set thermostat horizontal swing mode.

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.

Automation: swing the air from side to side while cooling

When the air conditioner starts cooling, let the vanes swing from side to side, so the cool air spreads through the whole room.

• Trigger: State: Living room air conditioner started cooling
• Action: Set vane horizontal
  • Target: Living room air conditioner (climate.living_room)
  • Position: swing

alias: "Swing the air from side to side while cooling"
triggers:
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: climate.living_room
    attribute: hvac_action
    to: "cooling"
actions:
  - action: melcloud.set_vane_horizontal
    target:
      entity_id: climate.living_room
    data:
      position: swing

Automation: set the horizontal vanes back to automatic at night

At night, you don’t want the air to keep sweeping across the room. This automation sets the horizontal vanes back to automatic at 22:00.

• Trigger: Time
  • At time: 22:00
• Action: MELCloud: Set vane horizontal
  • Target: Living room air conditioner (climate.living_room)
  • Position: auto

alias: "Set the horizontal vanes to automatic at night"
triggers:
  - trigger: time
    at: "22:00:00"
actions:
  - action: melcloud.set_vane_horizontal
    target:
      entity_id: climate.living_room
    data:
      position: auto

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

Explore related actions:

• Set vane vertical: Sets the vertical vane position of a MELCloud air conditioner.

• Set thermostat horizontal swing mode: Sets the horizontal swing mode of a climate device.