Binary Sensor

Binary sensors gather information about the state of devices which have a “digital” return value (either 1 or 0). These can be switches, contacts, pins, etc. These sensors only have two states: 0/off/low/closed/false and 1/on/high/open/true. Knowing that there are only two states allows Home Assistant to represent these sensors in a better way in the frontend according to their functionality.

The way these sensors are displayed in the frontend can be modified in the customize section. The following device classes are supported for binary sensors:

• None: Generic on/off. This is the default and doesn’t need to be set.
• battery: On means low, Off means normal
• cold: On means cold, Off means normal
• connectivity: On means connected, Off means disconnected
• door: On means open, Off means closed
• garage_door: On means open, Off means closed
• gas: On means gas detected, Off means no gas (clear)
• heat: On means hot, Off means normal
• light: On means light detected, Off means no light
• lock: On means open (unlocked), Off means closed (locked)
• moisture: On means moisture detected (wet), Off means no moisture (dry)
• motion: On means motion detected, Off means no motion (clear)
• moving: On means moving, Off means not moving (stopped)
• occupancy: On means occupied, Off means not occupied (clear)
• opening: On means open, Off means closed
• plug: On means device is plugged in, Off means device is unplugged
• power: On means power detected, Off means no power
• presence: On means home, Off means away
• problem: On means problem detected, Off means no problem (OK)
• safety: On means unsafe, Off means safe
• smoke: On means smoke detected, Off means no smoke (clear)
• sound: On means sound detected, Off means no sound (clear)
• vibration: On means vibration detected, Off means no vibration (clear)
• window: On means open, Off means closed

For analog sensors please check the component overview.