Start irrigation

Use this action to start watering a Yardian zone for a set number of minutes. The target is a Yardian zone switch, and the duration controls how long that zone stays on.

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 start irrigation 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 Yardian zone switch you want to water.
6. From the actions shown for that target, select Start irrigation.
7. Enter the Duration in minutes.
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 yardian.start_irrigation. A basic example looks like this:

action: yardian.start_irrigation
target:
  entity_id: switch.front_lawn
data:
  duration: 10

This waters the switch.front_lawn zone for 10 minutes.

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 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.

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: Water the lawn early in the morning

This automation waters your front lawn for 10 minutes every morning before sunrise, when evaporation is low.

• Trigger: the time is 5:30 AM
• Action: start irrigation
  • Target: the front lawn zone switch
  • Duration: 10

alias: "Morning lawn watering"
triggers:
  - trigger: time
    at: "05:30:00"
actions:
  - action: yardian.start_irrigation
    target:
      entity_id: switch.front_lawn
    data:
      duration: 10

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.