A smart-home energy review is most useful when it starts with actual room behavior instead of a generic schedule. Presence, temperature, humidity, HVAC state and lighting activity can show where a routine is working and where it is switching too often.
This Guide gives Home Assistant users a repeatable audit path. LinknLink sensors and control gateways can supply room context or appliance commands, while the final change remains reviewable in the app or Home Assistant before it is enabled.
What a Home Assistant Energy Audit Should Check
Measure occupancy
Check whether presence states match how the room is used, including quiet activity.
Review climate
Compare temperature, humidity, setpoints and HVAC state before changing thresholds.
Limit actions
Prepare one lighting or climate adjustment and verify the result in the target room.
An energy audit is a structured review of occupancy signals, climate setpoints, lighting schedules and automation history. It helps separate a real savings opportunity from a sensor placement problem, an overly short delay or a command that is not reaching the appliance.
Before You Start
- Choose one room and one seven-day review period so the audit has a clear scope.
- List the presence, temperature, humidity, HVAC and lighting entities used by the routine.
- Record the current delays, cooldowns, setpoints and schedule before editing them.
- Confirm whether appliance commands use native Home Assistant control, eRemote HA IR or eHome HA IR/RF.
- Keep a manual fallback for lights and climate equipment before testing a new automation.
- Use a draft or disabled automation while checking the proposed conditions.
Audit Presence, Climate and Lighting in Order
1. Define the audit question
Write down whether the goal is fewer idle hours, steadier comfort, less lighting waste or a clearer room status.
2. Map the room entities
Group the presence sensor, climate readings, lights, media and appliance controls by room and area.
3. Check presence quality
Compare occupied, clear and unavailable states against real room use, especially during quiet work or rest.
4. Review sensor placement
Look for furniture, walls, fans, reflective surfaces and walking paths that can distort the room signal.
5. Inspect temperature and humidity
Compare readings with the thermostat or a trusted reference before changing a climate threshold.
6. Review HVAC state changes
Count short cycles, repeated commands and changes that happen after the room is already comfortable.
7. Audit lighting conditions
Check daylight, occupancy, transition delay and whether a manual switch is being treated as an automation failure.
8. Separate trigger from action
Verify that the presence or climate event is correct before troubleshooting the light, AC or IR command.
9. Prepare one change
Ask for a preview that includes the entity, condition, delay, setpoint and action before saving the automation.
10. Run a reversible test
Test one room during a known occupancy period and record the result without changing unrelated scenes.
11. Compare before and after
Use the same room and time window to compare state changes, comfort notes and unnecessary commands.
12. Document the stable version
Keep the working thresholds, exclusions, manual fallback and rollback step in the automation notes.
Example Prompts and What to Review
| Use case | Example request | Review before action |
|---|---|---|
| Presence review | Review the living-room presence states for quiet activity and show where the vacancy delay may be too short. | Room, sensor state history, delay and proposed change |
| HVAC check | Prepare a climate audit for the office using presence, temperature and HVAC state without enabling a new rule. | Setpoint, temperature source, occupancy condition and approval |
| Lighting audit | Find lighting actions that run when the room is already clear and propose one reversible adjustment. | Light entity, daylight condition, delay and manual override |
| IR appliance | Review the AC automation path and show whether the command uses eRemote HA before changing its trigger. | IR device, target command, room condition and fallback |
| Ultra context | Use eMotion Ultra presence and climate context to prepare a room comfort scene for review. | Sensor entity, cable readings, built-in IR path and scene actions |
| Weekly comparison | Compare this room's current automation events with the previous review period and summarize changes. | Date range, event count, unavailable states and next action |
Use Read, Prepare, Approve and Execute Stages
| Stage | Agent task | User control |
|---|---|---|
| Read | Inspect only the permitted source. | Choose the app, date range, room, folder or account. |
| Prepare | Extract entities and build a draft or proposed plan. | Check assumptions, missing information and affected resources. |
| Approve | Present the action and destination. | Confirm or revise before execution. |
| Execute | Run the supported action after approval. | Verify the result and keep a reversal path when possible. |
Review Checklist
- Is the audit limited to one room and one clearly defined time window?
- Do presence states match quiet occupancy as well as walking movement?
- Are temperature and humidity values coming from the intended entity?
- Are HVAC commands protected by a delay, cooldown or manual override?
- Does the lighting action account for daylight and a user turning the light on manually?
- Is the control path identified before an IR or RF command is changed?
- Can the proposed change be disabled or rolled back without affecting other rooms?
- Was the result verified in Home Assistant after the test?
Privacy, Permissions and Safer Defaults
Cross-app tasks can touch personal communications, calendars, files, photos, locations and household devices. Grant the smallest useful permission, keep unrelated data out of scope and avoid sharing credentials, passwords, one-time codes or private account details.
Use drafts for messages and attachments. Use scene previews for smart-home changes. Keep purchases, access control, security devices and destructive file actions behind explicit human confirmation.
Troubleshooting
The room looks vacant while someone is working
Review quiet-activity coverage, sensor placement, room geometry and the vacancy delay before changing the light or HVAC action.
The HVAC cycles too often
Compare setpoint changes, repeated commands, cooldowns and the sensor source. Test the trigger and the appliance action separately.
The temperature value looks wrong
Check entity units, cable connection, placement and whether the automation is reading the intended sensor rather than a stale helper.
An IR command does not change the AC
Confirm the eRemote HA path, target appliance command and local control state. Keep a manual remote available during testing.
Lights stay on after vacancy
Inspect the vacancy delay, daylight condition, manual override and whether another scene is restoring the light state.
The audit has too many signals
Reduce the scope to one room and one action. A smaller test makes it easier to identify whether the issue is sensing, logic or control.
Related LinknLink Products
- HomeClaw: a local Home Assistant and AI gateway path.
- eMotion Ultra: 60GHz presence, climate context through its sensor cable, and built-in IR.
- eMotion Pro: 24GHz room presence and supported automation signals.
- eRemote HA: local IR control for compatible appliances in Home Assistant.
- eHome HA: IR/RF control and Home Assistant workflows.
Related LinknLink App and Home Assistant Guides
- LinknLink App Feature Guide
- LinknLink Mobile Agent First Action Guide
- LinknLink App Automation Guide
- LinknLink App Agent+ Diagnostics Guide
- Free Home Assistant Remote Access with the LinknLink App
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Home Assistant energy audit?
It is a structured review of presence, climate, lighting and appliance automation behavior before changing the routine.
Can a presence sensor measure energy use?
A presence sensor provides occupancy context. Energy measurement requires a compatible meter or integration; presence alone should not be treated as a power reading.
Which LinknLink device can provide climate context?
eMotion Ultra includes its Temperature and Humidity Sensor Cable and also includes built-in IR. eMotion Pro supports the cable when separately purchased, but the cable is not included with the Pro package.
Can an AI Agent change a Home Assistant automation?
A supported Agent workflow can help inspect information and prepare a proposed action. Review the entities, conditions and target before saving or enabling a change.
Should an energy routine turn off HVAC immediately?
Use the room's occupancy behavior, comfort requirements and a suitable delay or cooldown. Test a bounded, reversible rule before expanding it.
How do I avoid confusing a sensor issue with an appliance issue?
Verify the trigger state first, then test the action path separately. This separates presence or climate data from an IR, RF or native device-control problem.
Begin with One Room and One Reversible Change
Choose one room, record its current behavior and ask the Agent to prepare one bounded change. Review the affected entities and verify the result before expanding the routine to other rooms.