Turn off switch

Use this action to turn a switch off. A switch 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] represents something with a simple on and off state, such as a smart plug, a wall outlet, a relay, or a feature of a device that you can enable and disable.

If the switch is already off, running this action does not change anything.

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 turn off a switch 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. Select what you want to control. Under By target (see Targets), select the switch you want to turn off. You can also select an area, a floor, a device, or a label.
6. From the actions shown for that target, select Turn off switch.
7. Select Save.

Options in the UI

This action has no additional options beyond the target.

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 switch.turn_off. A basic example looks like this:

action: switch.turn_off
target:
  entity_id: switch.coffee_machine

This turns off the switch.coffee_machine entity.

Options in YAML

This action has no additional YAML options beyond the target.

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.

Good to know

• Turning off a smart plug cuts power to whatever is plugged into it. Keep that in mind for devices that need a clean shutdown, such as computers.
• Some devices expose their settings as switches. Turning such a switch off disables that setting on the device.

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: switch off the heated towel rail when you leave

Turn the towel rail off when you leave the house, so it doesn’t stay on all day.

• Trigger: Zone left
  • Target: Paulus
  • Zone: Home
• Action: Turn off switch
  • Target: Heated towel rail

- alias: "Switch off the towel rail when you leave"
  triggers:
    - trigger: zone.left
      target:
        entity_id: person.paulus
      options:
        zone: zone.home
  actions:
    - action: switch.turn_off
      target:
        entity_id: switch.heated_towel_rail

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 on switch: Turns a switch on.

• Toggle switch: Toggles a switch on or off.