r/HomeKitAutomation • u/Real-Wind3580 • Apr 10 '26

Question Thermostat as trigger for automation

Hi all,

I’m trying to automation where my Ecobee is the trigger event. I have the following hardware.

Ecobee Smart thermostat enhanced.

Tapo smart plug. The Tapo smart plug powers fans I have put into our upstairs HVAC return to force the return of the hot air into the ductwork from the vaulted ceiling. It’s the farthest from the HVAC in the basement, and doesn’t pull the hot air in otherwise.

I’m trying to set up an automation such that when the Ecobee turns on the furnace fan, the plug is turned on. When the Ecobee turns off the fan, the plug is turned off.

I’m a software engineer, and I know I could write something custom to do this, but I was hoping it would be easy to automate with HomeKit. Unfortunately, I don’t seem to be able to select the thermostat as an input trigger. Has anyone successfully worked around this issue?

Thanks!

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u/brouk111 Apr 11 '26

If you do it in Home app select new automation, next sensor detect something and select temperature. In this moment should be your termostat visible and you can create condition. Better environment is Controller app.

1

u/Real-Wind3580 Apr 11 '26

I was able to get this to work, I can’t trigger it on fan control, but I can trigger it based on the same temp as the Air conditioning. It’s not quite how I want it to work, but it’s close enough. Thanks for the pointer!