en_US
en_US zh_TW
en_US
en_US zh_TW
Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial

Use Blueprint to quickly complete automated settings in Home Assistant, and use Google Assistant to achieve voice notifications – Home Assistant Step-by-Step Tutorial EP 4

, Modified:
Neil
Neil

Previous articleThrough a simple example, we will teach you how to perform automation settings in Home Assistant. Today, we will use the automation setting "notify when the washing machine is finished" to introduce how to use the Blueprint function to quickly complete the automation settings, allowing you to No more worrying about how to set triggers, conditions, and actions! (If you’re lazy, you’ll be even more lazy! 🤣) At the same time, it can be paired with Google Assistant to achieve the effect of voice reminder!

First let’s get to know Blueprint

Blueprints are automated setting templates. Home Assistant has officially launched a small number of Blueprints, but more are shared by Home Assistant community netizens. You can quickly complete your own automated settings through these Blueprints shared by everyone.

Home Assistant Blueprint Fourm:https://community.home-assistant.io/c/blueprints-exchange/53

Here you can find all kinds of Blueprints. Through everyone's efforts, all kinds of automated setting Blueprints you can think of are available here!

Step 1. Import the "Appliance has finished" Blueprint

In today's example of "notifying when the washing machine is ready", we will use the Blueprint "Appliance has finished".

Step 1-1. "Settings" ➜ "Automation and Scenarios" ➜ "Blueprint" ➜ "Search for more Blueprints"

It will then be linked to Blueprint Exchange Forum

Home Assistant 選擇 Blueprint 設定智慧家庭自動化

Step 1-2. Find the “Appliance has finished” Blueprint

查詢 Blueprint
選擇 Blueprint

Step 1-3. Import the "Appliance has finished" Blueprint

Find the "IMPORT BLUEPRINT" button in Fourm, operate it in sequence, and finally you will see the "Appliance has finished" Blueprint in the Blueprint list.

載入 Blueprint
載入 Blueprint
載入 Blueprint
載入 Blueprint
載入 Blueprint

Step 2. Use the “Appliance has finished” Blueprint for automated settings

If you don’t know how to enter this automatic setting list screen, you can refer to the previous article:https://neiltw.com/home-assistant-automation-setup-guide/

Step 2-1. Click "Add Automation" ➜ Select "Appliance has finished"

使用 Blueprint 設定自動化

Step 2-2. Set “Power Sensor”

Select the device used to monitor the power consumption of the washing machine in "Power Sensor"

使用 Blueprint 設定自動化

Step 2-2. Monitoring value setting

  • Starting power threshold: The power threshold above which the device is assumed to be started. My setting here is 30 W
  • Starting hysteresis: How long does it take for the power to exceed the threshold before it is really started? My setting is 5 minutes
  • Finishing power threshold: If the power threshold is below this threshold, the device is assumed to have finished. I set 3 W
  • Finishing hysteresis: How long does it take for the power to be below the threshold before it is truly finished? I set 5 minutes

The above values can be adjusted depending on the situation. The above settings are the settings I am currently trying to best suit our home.

使用 Blueprint 設定自動化

Step 2-3. Action when setting is completed

使用 Blueprint 設定自動化

Here I have set three actions:

  1. "Notification: Send a notification": Send push notifications to family members' mobile phones.
  2. "Media Player: Set volume": Set the volume of the smart speaker that will play the voice notification next (to avoid the original volume being too high or too low).
  3. "Text-to-speech(TTS): Say a TTS message with google_translate": Play voice notifications from smart speakers through the Google Assistant service.

Step 2-3-1. Set "Notification: Send a notification"

  • "Service" select "Notification: Send a notification"
  • Fill in the text you like in "Message" and "Title"
使用 Blueprint 設定自動化
自動化通知訊息展示

Step 2-3-2. Set "Media Player: Set volume"

  • "Services" select "Media Player: Set volume"
  • "Target" selects your smart speaker via device or entity
  • "Level" sets the desired volume. I set it to 0.6, which is 60%.
使用 Blueprint 設定自動化語音通知

Step 2-3-3. Set "Text-to-speech(TTS): Say a TTS message with google_translate"

  • "Service" select "Text-to-speech(TTS): Say a TTS message with google_translate"
  • "entity_id" select your smart speaker
  • "Message" fill in the content you want to be notified by voice
  • "Language" fills in the desired voice language, here I fill in "zh-tw"
使用 Blueprint 設定自動化語音通知

Step 2-4. Set the start action

  • "Service" select "Notification: Send a notification"
  • Fill in the text you like in "Message" and "Title"
使用 Blueprint 設定自動化手機推播訊息

The above are the steps to use Blueprint to quickly complete automation settings. From now on, you no longer have to worry about how to properly set triggers, judgment conditions, and actions. Use Blueprint to integrate your own suitable smart devices and set automation in this way ( Automation) is even easier!

1 COMMENT

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

you might like
recent discussions
  • Jerry 2025/04/14Thank you very much Neil for your selfless sharing. The websites you provided are of great help to me. I will save it first and digest it slowly^^ I also look forward to Neil's industry news and teaching articles in the futureHome Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
  • Neil 2025/04/13Hi Jerry, I usually get information about HA from these places: Website: – Home Assistant official Release notes – Automata – Home Automation Community – Weijia Home Intelligence FB Group: – Taiwan Home Assistant enthusiasts exchange – Home Assistant YouTube channel: – Smart Home Solver – Everything Smart Home – Home Assistant Programming language: Strictly speaking, YAML is not really a programming language (let me make this clear in case some people mind 🤣), but if we include these data formats or style languages that “look like” programming languages, and sort them by depth of use in HA (the deeper the bottom, the deeper the bottom): – YAML (data format): a language for configuration files used in many places in the HA environment. – CSS (style language): used to adjust the interface style (font size, color, image, position, etc.). – JSON (data format): If you use Node-RED, you will probably come across it. – Jinja2 (Python template syntax): You may encounter it when you explore automation or Dashboard in depth. ※ But in fact, even if HA does not know the above, it can still make a smart home complete. You don’t have to put so much pressure on yourself, but if you are interested, it is also good to know more. It is actually difficult to generalize about the support of devices. Now, even if the home appliances themselves do not support it, there are still many different ways to connect traditional home appliances to HA. In addition, cases like Haier do require in-depth research. What I usually do is to crawl a lot of information on the Internet, and usually find attempts made by others. It just so happens that when I was looking up other information recently, I saw someone sharing how Haier water heaters were connected to HA. But it is indeed like what you said, if you get involved for a while, you will understand these details more and more. 🤣Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
  • Jerry 2025/04/10Hello Neil: After observing for 1 or 2 days, everything seems to be normal. Maybe it’s because the system was not stable during the initial setup period!? The more I play, the deeper I feel. I also find that I still have many shortcomings. I wonder if Neil can share and teach everyone how to fish? For example, recommend good websites, forums, FB groups, youtube videos, or give some guidance. In addition to the YAML language, would it be helpful to know some CSS syntax? Do I need to know other languages? I can even start a new teaching direction. When I see non-big-name products that claim to support APP (such as products from mainland China), I can teach everyone how to identify whether they can be connected to HA and how to ask customer service? Where can I see supported articles or platforms? This kind of experience sharing, I think, will be very helpful to everyone. I am currently looking to buy a heat pump water heater from Haier. Haier is a big manufacturer in the world and has its own APP. I have also found Haier's kit from HACS, but it does not seem to support heat pump water heaters. Does that mean it cannot be connected to HA? Or is there any channel to check it? There are also many flat panel lights and fan function lamps on the other side of the strait, which also claim to support APP connection, but they are all small manufacturers and it is difficult to tell whether they can be connected to HA. These are the problems I am facing now. If the home appliances I buy are different from what Neil shared, I don’t know where to start. Maybe I'm still too inexperienced. If I play for a few more months, maybe the above problems won't be a problem anymore, haha^^Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
  • Neil 2025/04/09Hi Jerry, I tested it myself and it was fine, but please note that because it is controlled through the cloud, there is an extra layer of brand mediation, so it is not suitable for fast switching. I tested it myself and it took about 1 second to complete the synchronization after clicking. Remember to put the entity in entities, otherwise the status display may have problemsHome Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
  • Jerry 2025/04/07Thanks Neil for clarifying this. I tested it later and found that when using the "button panel" to control the switch of the Electrolux air conditioner (the same model as Neil), the device will respond to turning on or off in about 1 second, but the "status icon" for turning on is much slower, and it takes about 30 seconds. The "status icon" for turning off is normal, and the "status icons" of other negative ion switches and the "status icons" of the monitoring light switch are also normal, which made me think there was a problem with the synchronization. I'll test it again, maybe it's caused by the wrong setting.Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
  • Neil 2025/04/07Hi Jerry, 1. This method is through cloud integration, which is actually using HA to call Xiaomi/Electrolux to control the device. 2. It is not normal. If this happens, you may need to check whether the entity you display on the floor plan can truly represent the status of the device. If not, you may need to try other entities of the same device.Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
  • Jerry 2025/04/07The problem is solved. Thanks again to Neil for his help^^ I have two more questions about concepts. Neil, do I have any misunderstandings? 1. I connected Xiaomi and Electrolux devices to HA through HACS. Is it still connected through WiFi? Before connecting, you need to obtain API key and Access Token from the official. This means that the communication between HA and the device still needs to go through the official. It’s just that the official APP can be replaced and all integrated into the HA APP for control? 2. After testing, when controlling the device through physical operation or the original official APP, the HA app cannot know the status of the device synchronously, but it can know the opposite. Is this normal? For example, the Xiaomi electric fan at home was turned on by someone physically before going out, but when the person is outside, he cannot know through the HA app that the device was forgotten to be turned off. He has to connect to the Xiaomi app to know!?Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
  • Jerry 2025/04/07Xiaomi Home can be used in Singapore by selecting the countryHome Assistant must-install HACS plug-in installation steps detailed explanation – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 17
  • Ghost 2025/04/07Xiaomi Home currently does not support Taiwan. For now, you can only use Xiaomi Miot Auto. As for Xiaomi Cloud Map Extractor, I currently have a 2FA problem. There seems to be no simple solution. I haven’t tried it successfully yet.Home Assistant must-install HACS plug-in installation steps detailed explanation – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 17
  • Neil 2025/04/07Jerry, it seems that the click action cannot penetrate the part where the picture changes because of the overlapping pictures. Try adding pointer-events: none to the style.Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
you might like

© Copyright - SpaceN (https://neiltw.com/en)