Thermostat is in HVAC mode

The Thermostat is in HVAC mode condition passes when a thermostat 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] is set to a specific HVAC mode. HVAC modes control the thermostat’s operating mode and typically include Off, Heat, Cool, Heat/cool, Dry, Fan only, and Auto, though the exact modes available depend on your device. Use Thermostat is in HVAC mode to have an automation run only when the thermostat is set to a specific mode, such as ensuring the blinds only close when cooling is active.

When you target more than one thermostat, the condition’s Condition passes if option controls how the check combines results. You can require any targeted thermostat to be in the selected mode, or demand that all of them are.

Using this condition from the user interface

If you prefer building automations visually, Home Assistant walks you through this condition step by step. You pick what to check, tweak a few options, and save. No YAML knowledge required.

To use Thermostat is in HVAC mode in an automation:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. In the And if section, select Add condition.
4. Select what you want to check. Under By target (see Targets), pick the area your thermostat is in (like your living room or bedroom). You can also select a device, a specific entity, or a label.
5. From the conditions shown for that target, select Thermostat is in HVAC mode.
6. Under HVAC mode, select one or more modes to check for. Only modes available on the targeted device are shown. Typical modes include Off, Heat, Cool, Heat/cool, Auto, Dry, and Fan only.
7. Under Condition passes if (see Behavior), pick Any or All to control how the check behaves when multiple thermostats are targeted.
8. Under For at least, set how long the thermostat must have been in the selected mode before the condition passes. Leave it at zero to pass immediately.
9. Select Save.

Options in the UI

Using this condition 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, Thermostat is in HVAC mode is referred to as climate.is_hvac_mode. A basic example looks like this:

condition: climate.is_hvac_mode
target:
  entity_id: climate.living_room
options:
  hvac_mode: "cool"

This passes when the living room thermostat is currently set to cool mode.

To check for any one of several modes:

condition: climate.is_hvac_mode
target:
  entity_id: climate.living_room
options:
  hvac_mode:
    - "heat"
    - "heat_cool"

Options in YAML

Targets of the condition

This condition requires a target. The target is the object that Home Assistant will check. You can point the condition 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 evaluate 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 condition. For example, you can add a specific entity and an area as targets in the same condition to check both of them at once.

Behavior with multiple targets

When you target more than one entity (or select an area, floor, or label that contains several), the Condition passes if option controls how the results combine:

• Any (default): the condition passes if at least one of the targeted entities matches. For example, if you check three smoke sensors and only one of them detects smoke, the condition still passes. This is useful for questions like “is there smoke anywhere in the house?”
• All: the condition passes only when every targeted entity matches. For example, if you check the same three smoke sensors, the condition passes only once all three report cleared. This is useful for “is the entire house safe now?” checks, so your automation does not send an all-clear while one room still has a reading.

Good to know

• The available HVAC modes depend entirely on the device. Check your thermostat’s documentation or the entity’s attributes in Home Assistant to see which modes are supported.
• This condition checks the mode the thermostat is currently set to, not whether it is actively heating or cooling. To check what action the thermostat is currently performing, see the related conditions below.
• To check if a thermostat is simply on (any active mode) or off, use Thermostat is on or Thermostat is off.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Go to Settings > Automations & scenes, open an automation, and add this condition. Trigger the automation with and without the condition met, and watch whether it continues or stops.

More examples

Real scenarios where this condition gates an automation. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Automation: close the blinds when cooling is active

When the outdoor temperature rises above 28°C during the day, close the living room blinds to help the air conditioner, but only if the thermostat is already set to cool mode.

• Trigger: Numeric state: Outdoor temperature above 28°C
• Condition: Sun elevation above horizon
• Condition: Thermostat is in HVAC mode
  • HVAC mode: Cool
  • Target: Living room thermostat
• Action: Close cover

alias: "Close blinds when cooling in hot weather"
triggers:
  - trigger: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.outdoor_temperature
    above: 28
conditions:
  - condition: sun
    after: sunrise
    before: sunset
  - condition: climate.is_hvac_mode
    target:
      entity_id: climate.living_room
    options:
      hvac_mode: "cool"
actions:
  - action: cover.close_cover
    target:
      entity_id: cover.living_room_blinds

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the condition you’re using and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Related conditions

These conditions work well alongside this one:

• Thermostat is on: Tests if one or more thermostats are on.

• Thermostat is off: Tests if one or more thermostats are off.

• Thermostat is heating: Tests if one or more thermostats are heating.

• Thermostat is cooling: Tests if one or more thermostats are cooling.