PM10 level changed

The PM10 level changed trigger fires after the PM10 (particulate matter 10 micrometers or smaller) reading on one or more air quality sensors changes by a meaningful amount. PM10 includes dust, pollen, mold spores, and other coarse particles that are stirred up by wind, traffic, construction, and household activities like vacuuming or sweeping. Spring pollen, a windy day, or a renovation project next door all send PM10 readings climbing.

Imagine your robot vacuum automatically heading out for a cleanup once the dust from a nearby construction site settles, without you having to remember. Use this trigger to start an air purifier, close windows, or send a reminder whenever PM10 readings shift noticeably.

Using this trigger from the user interface

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

To use this trigger in an automation:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. In the When section, select Add trigger.
4. Select what you want to monitor. Under By target (see Targets), pick the area your air quality sensor is in (like your living room or bedroom). You can also select a floor, a device, a specific entity, or a label.
5. From the triggers shown for that target, select PM10 level changed.
6. Under Threshold type, set how much the level has to change before the trigger fires.
7. Select Save.

Options in the UI

Using this trigger 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 trigger as air_quality.pm10_changed. A basic example looks like this:

trigger: air_quality.pm10_changed
target:
  entity_id: sensor.hallway_pm10
options:
  threshold: 20

This fires whenever the hallway PM10 sensor reading changes by at least 20 micrograms per cubic meter.

Options in YAML

YAML sometimes provides additional options for more complex use cases that are not available through the UI.

Targets

This trigger supports targets. A target tells Home Assistant what the trigger should watch. You can point it 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 watches every matching air_quality entity behind that target.

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

You can also mix target types in one trigger. For example, combine a specific entity with an area to watch both at once.

Good to know

• PM10 levels tend to spike during spring pollen season, construction work nearby, or windy days. A threshold of 10 to 25 μg/m³ works well for most home automations.
• The trigger fires on any change that meets the threshold, whether the level goes up or down.
• To react only when PM10 crosses a specific concentration in one direction, use PM10 level crossed threshold instead.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Go to Settings > Automations & scenes, create a new automation, and add this trigger. Save the automation, then change the state of the targeted entity to watch the trigger fire 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].

More examples

Real scenarios where this trigger fires in automations and scripts. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Automation: run the robot vacuum after dust settles

A construction project nearby or a windy spring day sends dust everywhere. This automation dispatches the robot vacuum when PM10 levels in the hallway shift by a large amount, cleaning up the dust so you don’t have to think about it.

• Trigger: PM10 level changed
• Target: Hallway PM10 sensor
• Threshold type: 25
• Action: Start vacuum

alias: "Vacuum on PM10 change"
triggers:
  - trigger: air_quality.pm10_changed
    target:
      entity_id: sensor.hallway_pm10
    options:
      threshold: 25
actions:
  - action: vacuum.start
    target:
      entity_id: vacuum.robot

Still stuck?

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

Related triggers

These triggers work well alongside this one:

• PM10 level crossed threshold - Triggers after one or more PM10 levels cross a threshold.