Life’s busy enough without having to constantly adjust your air conditioning throughout the day. That’s where MyPlaceIQ’s Actions feature comes in. Think of it like having a personal assistant for your home that knows exactly when to cool things down or warm things up, without you lifting a finger. Now that’s Super Smart!

What Are Actions?

Think of actions as your home’s smart decision-maker. MyPlaceIQ’s automation feature can change the state of your smart home system according to time, weather, or room temperature. The beauty is that Actions can be triggered manually with a simple button press, or automatically based on conditions you set up once and forget about.

It’s the difference between manually adjusting your aircon every time the weather changes, and having your system intelligently respond to conditions before you even notice you’re getting uncomfortable.

The Four Types of Triggers

MyPlaceIQ Actions respond to four different types of triggers, and understanding these helps you create automations that actually make sense for your lifestyle:

1. Suburb Cloudiness

Your Action runs when the cloud coverage in your suburb is either cloudy or clear and sunny. This might sound simple, but it’s surprisingly useful – sunny days heat up your home faster than you’d expect, especially in west-facing rooms.

Practical Example: Set up an Action that automatically turns on your aircon when it’s clear and sunny, so your home starts cooling before the afternoon heat really kicks in. If you have solar panels, this strategy uses your own solar generation to power the cooling, significantly reducing energy bills while maintaining comfort.

2. Suburb Temperature

The Action triggers when the temperature in your suburb goes above or below your defined temperature. This is perfect for those unpredictable Australian weather days when it’s 18°C in the morning and 32°C by lunch.

Practical Example: When your suburb hits 28°C, automatically turn on cooling to 23°C in your living areas. No more coming home to a sauna because you forgot to turn on the aircon before leaving for work.

3. Time-Based

Actions run on specific days and times you choose. This is your bread-and-butter automation for regular routines.

Practical Example: Every weekday at 4:30pm, start cooling the house to 22°C so it’s comfortable when you get home from work. Or turn off all zones at 11pm except the bedrooms.

4. Zone Temperature

The Action triggers when a specific zone’s temperature goes above or below your set point. This is particularly handy for problem rooms – you know, that west-facing bedroom that turns into an oven every afternoon.

Practical Example: If the master bedroom hits 26°C during the day, automatically turn on cooling just for that room. No need to cool the whole house because one room is getting too warm.

Setting Up Your First Action

Here’s where it gets practical. Actions are accessed through the MyPlaceIQ settings in your app. The setup process is straightforward once you know what you’re doing:

Step 1: Decide what you want to happen (the action) and what should trigger it (the trigger).

Step 2: In the MyPlaceIQ app, go to Settings, then Actions, click ‘create a new action’ and then add in the instructions.

Step 3: Choose your trigger type from the four options above.

Step 4: Set your conditions (temperature, time, weather state).

Step 5: Define what your aircon should do – power state, temperature, mode, and fan speed.

Step 6: Set your Active Time Window so the Action only runs when it makes sense.

Smart Action Ideas That Actually Work

Let’s get practical with some Action setups that solve real problems:

The “Forgotten Aircon” Saver

Trigger: Suburb temperature above 30°C
Action: Turn on aircon to 24°C in living areas only
Active Time: Weekdays 8am-6pm
Why it works: Saves you from that awful feeling of coming home to a furnace because you forgot to turn on cooling.

The “Energy Smart” Morning

Trigger: Time-based, 6am on weekdays
Action: Pre-cool bedrooms to 21°C
Active Time: Only when suburb temperature forecast is above 28°C
Why it works: Uses cheaper off-peak electricity to get ahead of hot days.

The “Problem Room” Fix

Trigger: West-facing bedroom hits 27°C
Action: Cool that room to 23°C, fan speed to maximum
Active Time: Daily 1pm-6pm
Why it works: Targets the specific problem without overcooling the whole house.

The “Sleep Comfort” Action

Trigger: Time-based, 9:30pm daily
Action: Set bedrooms to 20°C, turn off living area cooling
Active Time: All days
Why it works: Ensures comfortable sleeping temperatures without wasting energy on unused areas.

The “Weekend Lazy” Mode

Trigger: Time-based, Saturday and Sunday 8am
Action: Gentle cooling to 23°C in living areas and kitchen
Active Time: Weekends only
Why it works: Different comfort needs when you’re home all day vs rushing out to work.

Active Time Windows: The Secret Sauce

Here’s something many people miss – Active Time Windows are crucial for Actions that actually make sense. You can choose the days, start time, and end time when your Actions can be triggered. The Action won’t run outside this window, no matter what the trigger conditions are.

Why this matters: You don’t want your “cooling for hot days” Action running at 2am in winter, or your “pre-cool before work” Action firing on weekends when you’re sleeping in.

Pro tip: Be realistic about your Active Time Windows. That Action to cool the house before you get home from work? Make sure it accounts for days when you’re working late or have after-work plans.

Manual Triggers: Your Override Button

Sometimes you want the comfort of automation but also the flexibility to trigger things manually. Actions can be triggered manually with a simple button press, which is perfect for:

• Unexpected guests: Hit your “entertaining” Action to cool the living areas quickly
• Hot days starting early: Manually trigger your cooling Action before the temperature threshold is reached
• Testing: Make sure your Action works the way you want before relying on automatic triggers

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Over-complicating triggers: Start simple. One trigger, one clear action. You can always add more complex setups later.

Forgetting Active Time Windows: Don’t forget to disable your summer actions when winter comes around.

Setting unrealistic temperatures: Your aircon can’t cool your house to 18°C when it’s 40°C outside. Be reasonable with your target temperatures.

Overlapping Actions: Make sure you don’t have competing Actions trying to do different things at the same time.

Getting Help When You Need It

Setting up Actions might seem daunting at first, but remember – you’re not alone in this. If you’d prefer assistance from one of the MyPlace team, you can:

• Call tech support: 1300 850 191 (8am-6pm AEST, Monday-Friday)
• Check the user manual: Detailed instructions are available in your MyPlaceIQ User Manual
• Professional setup: The team can help configure Actions during installation or follow-up visits

Making Actions Work for Your Life

The goal isn’t to automate everything – it’s to automate the things that genuinely make your life easier. Start with one or two Actions that solve actual problems you face, like coming home to a hot house or forgetting to turn off cooling when you leave.

Once you’ve got those working smoothly, you can experiment with more sophisticated setups. The beauty of MyPlaceIQ Actions is that they learn your patterns and preferences, making your home more comfortable without you having to think about it.

Your home should work for you, not the other way around. Actions make that happen by taking care of the routine stuff automatically, so you can focus on the things that actually matter.

Ready to set up your first Action and start experiencing truly automated comfort? Learn more here about maximising your MyPlaceIQ system’s smart capabilities.

MyPlaceIQ Actions deliver intelligent automation based on weather, time, and temperature conditions, creating effortless comfort while maximising energy efficiency for Australian homes.