Set water heater timer

The Set water heater timer action switches a Tado water heater on for a set time. This is the equivalent of a manual boost: the water heater runs for the period you choose and then returns to its schedule.

You can optionally set the target temperature the water heater should reach during the boost.

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 a water heater timer 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 Tado: Set water heater timer.
6. Under Targets, choose the water heater entities to control.
7. Enter the Time period, and optionally a Temperature.
8. Select Save.

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 water_heater entity behind that target.

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

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 tado.set_water_heater_timer. A basic example looks like this:

action: tado.set_water_heater_timer
target:
  entity_id: water_heater.hot_water
data:
  time_period: "01:30:00"

Options in YAML

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.

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:

• Set climate timer: Turns on a Tado climate entity for a set time.

• Set climate temperature offset: Sets the temperature offset of Tado climate entities.

• Add meter reading: Adds a meter reading to Tado Energy IQ.