Picture this: you tap one button and the living room lights dim to warm amber, the TV switches to your streaming app, the thermostat nudges up two degrees, and the blinds close halfway. That's a scene. No more fumbling with five different apps or walking around the house flipping switches. One tap, everything changes.
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Think of a scene as a photograph of your home's state. It captures how every device should look at a specific moment: which lights are on and at what brightness, what color they're set to, where your thermostat is dialed, whether the blinds are open or closed, and what your media player is doing.
When you activate a scene, Home Assistant sends commands to every device in that scene simultaneously. All those devices snap to their saved states. It's like having a universal remote that controls everything at once.
Set brightness, color temperature, and RGB color for every light in the scene. Dim the bedroom to 20% warm white, or crank the office to 100% daylight.
Target temperature, HVAC mode (heat, cool, auto), and fan speed. Your "Sleep" scene can drop the temperature two degrees automatically.
Volume levels, input sources, and playback state. Set the TV to HDMI 2 and the soundbar to 40% for movie night.
Position and tilt for every blind, curtain, and roller shutter. Half-closed for afternoon sun, wide open for morning light.
This trips up a lot of people. Here's the simple version:
The "what"
A saved snapshot of device states. Lights at 50%, thermostat at 21°C, blinds at 60%. No logic, no timing, just a desired end state.
Example: "Movie Night" scene sets the mood.
The "when" and "why"
Trigger, condition, action. When the sun sets AND someone is home, activate the "Evening" scene. Automations react to events and run scenes (or other actions) automatically.
Example: Sunset triggers the "Evening" scene.
The "how" (with steps)
A sequence of actions with delays, conditions, and loops. Flash the lights three times, wait 5 seconds, then play a sound. Scripts can do things scenes can't, like timed sequences.
Example: "Alert" script flashes lights then announces.
The magic happens when you combine them. Create scenes for your desired states, then use automations to activate the right scene at the right time. Use scripts when you need multi-step sequences that scenes can't handle.
The UI is great for getting started. You can see the effect in real time as you adjust each device.
This is perfect when you've got the room "just right" and want to save that exact state.
Don't know where to start? Here are ten scenes that most smart home owners end up building sooner or later.
Blinds open to 80%, lights fade to daylight white at 70%, thermostat bumps up to 21°C, coffee machine turns on (smart plug). Trigger it 30 minutes before your alarm with an automation.
Living room lights to 10% warm orange, TV on HDMI 2, soundbar at 45%, blinds fully closed. Bias lights behind the TV at 5% soft white. Activate with a dashboard button or NFC tag on the remote.
Every light in the house off except the hallway nightlight at 2%. Front door locked, thermostat to 18°C, blinds closed, TV off. The last button you press before bed.
Office lights to 100% cool white (focus mode), other rooms dim or off, thermostat at a comfortable 21°C, "Do Not Disturb" sign (smart LED strip outside office door turns red).
All lights off, all doors locked, thermostat to eco mode (17°C), blinds half closed, robot vacuum starts its cleaning cycle. Trigger it with a presence detection automation or an NFC tag by the door.
Hallway lights on at 60%, living room at 40% warm white, thermostat to comfort mode, a welcome chime on the speaker. Triggered by your phone's GPS or a door sensor.
Dining room lights to 60% warm white, kitchen lights to 80%, living room TV off, background music on the kitchen speaker at low volume. Cozy but functional.
Colored RGB lights cycling through the rainbow, WLED strips on party mode, music on multiple speakers (multi-room audio), thermostat down a degree because parties generate heat.
One reading lamp at 80% warm white, all other lights off, TV off, thermostat at a cozy 22°C. Simple, focused, comfortable. Great for a bedroom or living room corner.
Thermostat to 16°C, water heater off (smart plug), random lights on/off throughout the evening (pair with an automation), security cameras to armed mode, blinds partially closed.
If you prefer editing YAML directly (or want more control), here's how scenes look in configuration.yaml or in the scenes.yaml file.
- name: Movie Night
entities:
light.living_room_main:
state: on
brightness: 25
color_temp: 400
light.tv_bias_light:
state: on
brightness: 13
light.kitchen:
state: off
media_player.living_room_tv:
state: on
source: HDMI 2
media_player.soundbar:
state: on
volume_level: 0.45
cover.living_room_blinds:
state: closed- name: Good Morning
entities:
light.bedroom:
state: on
brightness: 178
color_temp: 300
cover.bedroom_blinds:
state: open
current_position: 80
climate.thermostat:
state: heat
temperature: 21
switch.coffee_machine:
state: on- name: Leaving Home
entities:
light.all_lights:
state: off
lock.front_door:
state: locked
climate.thermostat:
state: heat
temperature: 17
cover.all_blinds:
state: closed
current_position: 30
vacuum.robot:
state: cleaningHere's how to activate a scene from an automation:
automation:
- alias: "Sunset Evening Scene"
trigger:
- platform: sun
event: sunset
offset: "+00:15:00"
condition:
- condition: state
entity_id: group.family
state: home
action:
- service: scene.turn_on
target:
entity_id: scene.eveningAdd a transition time so lights fade smoothly instead of snapping:
action:
- service: scene.turn_on
target:
entity_id: scene.movie_night
data:
transition: 5 # 5-second fadeA 3 to 5 second transition looks natural. Longer fades (15-30 seconds) work great for "wake up" scenes that slowly brighten the room.
Add a scene button to your dashboard. Tap it from your phone, tablet, or wall panel. Use the Button card or Mushroom chips for a clean look.
Expose scenes to Assist, Alexa, or Google Home. "Turn on Movie Night" just works. Scene names should be short and memorable for voice.
Trigger scenes based on time, presence, sensor data, or events. Sun sets? Evening scene. Everyone leaves? Away scene. Check out our automation guide for ideas.
Stick an NFC tag on your nightstand, desk, or front door. Tap your phone against it to activate a scene. No app needed, just tap and go.
Zigbee buttons (IKEA, Aqara, Hue) or smart switches can trigger scenes. Put a button by the front door for "Leaving Home" or on the nightstand for "Goodnight".
"Movie Night" is better than "Living Room Dim". Activity names make sense in voice commands and are easier to remember. You might have multiple scenes for the same room (work, relax, clean) and that's totally fine.
Lights snapping from bright to dim looks jarring. Add a 3-5 second transition when activating scenes. For morning wake-up scenes, try 30-60 seconds for a sunrise effect. Not all devices support transitions, but most smart bulbs do.
Create a default "Normal" or "Daytime" scene that resets everything to standard settings. After Movie Night, you want a quick way back to regular lighting without manually adjusting every device.
Community blueprints can tie scenes to physical buttons, time-of-day logic, or adaptive lighting. Instead of building complex automations from scratch, import a blueprint and point it at your scenes.
Only add devices whose state should change when the scene activates. If the bathroom light shouldn't be affected by "Movie Night", leave it out. Scenes only touch what you include.
Standard scenes are static snapshots. If you want brightness to vary based on time of day, use a script with template values instead of a scene. Or create multiple versions of the same scene (Evening Bright, Evening Dim) and let an automation choose.
Don't try to build everything at once. Start with these three and expand from there.
Everything off, doors locked, thermostat down. The scene you'll use literally every night.
Dim lights, TV ready, blinds closed. The scene that makes you feel like a wizard.
Lights off, eco mode on, vacuum starts. Never wonder "did I turn everything off?" again.
Run a free HomeShift scan to see which of your smart home devices are compatible with Home Assistant scenes, automations, and local control.
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