In Home Assistant an entity represents a single controllable or observable value, and one physical device can expose multiple entities. A smart plug, for example, might expose a switch entity, a power sensor entity, and a voltage sensor entity all at once.
New Home Assistant users keep tripping over one word: everything in the system is an automation target, but it is the entity you actually automate, not the device. An entity is the smallest unit of data Home Assistant works with, a single controllable or observable value. The plug on your wall is a device; the on-off switch it exposes, the power it is drawing and the voltage it reads are three separate entities living under that one device. Get that distinction and the whole platform stops feeling confusing.
An entity in Home Assistant is the smallest piece of data the system tracks: one controllable or observable value, like a switch you can toggle or a temperature you can read. A single physical device usually exposes several entities. A smart plug, for example, can present a switch entity, a power sensor entity and a voltage sensor entity all at once.
A device is the physical or logical hardware: a smart plug, a sensor, a bulb. An entity is one thing that device does or measures. Modern smart hardware does more than one job, so Home Assistant splits each device into the separate entities it provides. That is deliberate, because Home Assistant automates entities, not devices. When you build a rule, you pick the exact entity to react to or to control, which gives you fine-grained command over each capability rather than the device as a blunt whole.
Every entity has exactly one state at a time, holding a single value. A light entity's state is on or off; a temperature sensor entity's state is a number. Alongside the state, an entity can carry attributes, extra data tied to that state. A light's state might be on, while its attributes describe brightness and colour. Automations usually trigger on the state and then read or set attributes for the detail.
Each entity belongs to a domain, like light, switch or sensor, set by the integration that created it. The domain decides the entity's capabilities and which services it responds to. A switch entity accepts turn-on and turn-off; a sensor entity is read-only. Knowing the domain tells you immediately whether an entity is something you control or merely observe, which is the first thing to check when an automation will not behave.
The smart plug example ties it together: one plug device, a switch entity in the switch domain to cut or restore power, and a sensor entity in the sensor domain reporting the wattage. Two entities, two domains, one piece of hardware. The kind of plugs and sensors that expose these entities sit in the smart home and appliances range at Evetech, and smaller add-ons to round out a setup are easy to find among the accessories best sellers.
A device is the physical hardware; an entity is a single value that device controls or measures. One device usually exposes several entities, and Home Assistant automates the entities rather than the device as a whole.
Yes, and most do. A smart plug can expose a switch entity for power control plus sensor entities for power draw and voltage, because Home Assistant splits each capability into its own entity.
A state is the single current value an entity holds, such as on, off or a number. Each entity has exactly one state at a time, and automations commonly trigger when that state changes.
Attributes are extra data attached to an entity's state. A light's state might be on while its attributes hold brightness and colour values, giving automations finer detail than the state alone.
A domain is the category an entity belongs to, like light, switch or sensor, assigned by its integration. The domain defines the entity's capabilities and the services it accepts, which tells you whether you can control it or only read it.
Building out a Home Assistant setup and want hardware that exposes clean, useful entities? Browse the smart home and appliances range at Evetech for plugs, sensors and switches that map neatly into your automations.
A device is the physical hardware; an entity is a single value that device controls or measures. One device usually exposes several entities, and Home Assistant automates the entities rather than the device as a whole.
Yes, and most do. A smart plug can expose a switch entity for power control plus sensor entities for power draw and voltage, because Home Assistant splits each capability into its own entity.
A state is the single current value an entity holds, such as on, off or a number. Each entity has exactly one state at a time, and automations commonly trigger when that state changes.
Attributes are extra data attached to an entity's state. A light's state might be on while its attributes hold brightness and colour values, giving automations finer detail than the state alone.
A domain is the category an entity belongs to, like light, switch or sensor, assigned by its integration. The domain defines the entity's capabilities and the services it accepts, which tells you whether you can control it or only read it.
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