Volatile organic compounds ratio changed

The Volatile organic compounds ratio changed trigger fires after the VOC ratio reading on one or more air quality sensors changes. Some sensors report VOCs as a ratio: their share of the air, in parts per billion (ppb) or parts per million (ppm), instead of their mass in μg/m³. A rising ratio means the air quality is getting worse. It is particularly handy for tracking off-gassing from new furniture, fresh paint, or cleaning products over time.

Imagine getting a notification the moment your living room air quality starts dipping after you’ve finished cleaning, so you know to crack a window. Use this trigger to automate ventilation, send alerts, or log trends. Use the threshold type to filter which changes matter to your automation.

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 Volatile organic compounds ratio changed 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 VOC ratio sensor is in (like your living room or bedroom). You can also select a device, a specific entity, or a label. When you target multiple entities (via area, label, or multiple entity selections), the trigger fires whenever any of them changes.
5. From the triggers shown for that target, select Volatile organic compounds ratio changed.
6. Under Threshold type, configure what kind of change fires the trigger:
   • Select Any change to fire on any change, regardless of direction or new value.
   • Select Above or Below and enter a value to fire only when the new reading is above or below that value.
   • Select In range and enter a lower and upper bound to fire only when the new reading falls inside the range.
   • Select Outside range and enter a lower and upper bound to fire only when the new reading is outside the range.
   • For each option, you can enter a fixed level, pick a sensor entity or a number helper entity as the threshold.
     • If you don’t have a number helper, you can create one by selecting Create a new number helper.
7. Under Unit, select the ratio unit (ppb or ppm) to use for the threshold comparison.
8. 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, put the settings that are specific to this trigger under options. Keep target, if the trigger uses one, and general settings such as id, alias, enabled, and variables at the top level, next to trigger.

When this trigger starts an automation, it passes data about what happened to the automation. You can use this trigger data in the templates of your conditions and actions. To see which data is available, refer to Trigger data in templates.

In YAML, refer to this trigger as air_quality.voc_ratio_changed. A basic example looks like this:

trigger: air_quality.voc_ratio_changed
target:
  entity_id: sensor.living_room_voc_ratio
options:
  threshold:
    type: above
    value:
      number: 150
      unit_of_measurement: "ppb"

This fires whenever the living room VOC ratio changes to a value above 150 ppb. To fire on any change, use type: any and leave out value.

Options in YAML

threshold:
  type: outside
  value_min:
    entity: input_number.voc_ratio_alert_level
  value_max:
    number: 60
    unit_of_measurement: "ppb"

Targets of the trigger

This trigger requires a target. The target is the object that Home Assistant will watch. You can select 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 as a target, and Home Assistant will watch every matching volatile organic compounds ratio sensor behind that target.

• Entity: one specific volatile organic compounds ratio sensor, such as sensor.living_room_voc_ratio.
• Device: every volatile organic compounds ratio sensor that belongs to a device.
• Area: every volatile organic compounds ratio sensor in a room or area.
• Floor: every volatile organic compounds ratio sensor on a floor.
• Label: every volatile organic compounds ratio sensor that shares a label.

You can also select different target types in one trigger. For example, you can add a specific entity and an area as targets in the same trigger to monitor both of them at once.

To learn which entities Home Assistant includes for a device, area, floor, or label, and how it handles several entities, refer to Automation targets.

Trigger variables

When the trigger reacts, the trigger variable identifies the entity that made it react. This is useful when a target contains multiple entities, such as a device, area, floor, or label.

The following trigger-specific variables are available:

• trigger.entity_id: Entity ID of the entity that made the trigger react.
• trigger.from_state: Previous state object of that entity.
• trigger.to_state: New state object of that entity.
• trigger.for: Timedelta object of how long the trigger criteria were met, if applicable.

For example, use {{ trigger.to_state.name }} in an action to include the name of the entity that made the trigger react in a notification.

The trigger variable describes the entity that made the trigger react. It doesn’t contain all the entities of the target.

Good to know

• The VOC ratio provides a relative reading. A rising ratio means air quality is degrading compared to the sensor’s baseline.
• The threshold type controls which changes fire the trigger. Use Above or Below to fire only when the new ratio is above or below a value, In range to fire only when it’s inside a range, and Outside range to fire only when it’s outside a range. Use Any change to fire on every change.
• To react only when the VOC ratio crosses a specific value in one direction, use Volatile organic compounds ratio 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, and then make the trigger react. For example, change the state of the targeted 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], turn on a light that the trigger monitors, or change its brightness. To check whether the automation ran, open its traces.

More examples

Real scenarios where this trigger fires in automations and scripts. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup. In the visual editor, select the UI options listed in the example when they are available, or paste the YAML code.

Automation: alert when living room air quality shifts

Maybe someone just sprayed cleaning solution, or the new couch is off-gassing. This automation sends a notification when the VOC ratio in the living room changes to a value above 150 ppb, so you know to investigate the cause and open a window.

• Trigger: Volatile organic compounds ratio changed
  • Target: Living room VOC ratio sensor
  • Threshold type: Above 150 ppb
• Action: Send a notification message
  • Target: My Device (notify.my_device)

alias: "Alert on VOC ratio change"
triggers:
  - trigger: air_quality.voc_ratio_changed
    target:
      entity_id: sensor.living_room_voc_ratio
    options:
      threshold:
        type: above
        value:
          number: 150
          unit_of_measurement: "ppb"
actions:
  - action: notify.send_message
    target:
      entity_id: notify.my_device
    data:
      title: "VOC ratio changed"
      message: "The VOC ratio in the living room is above 150 ppb. Check ventilation."

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

Explore related triggers:

• Volatile organic compounds ratio crossed threshold: Triggers when one or more volatile organic compounds ratios cross a threshold.