Home Assistant Red Alert Automation Notes (Pikud HaOref)

This post was "inspired" by a recent rocket alert I experienced from Yemen. I thought I'd share how I've set up my Home Assistant to help keep safe during these scary moments.

Quick Navigation

• Hardware Configuration - Setting up the physical components
• Model Automation - The YAML code that makes it all work
• Follow-up Ideas - Extending and improving the system
• GitHub Repository - Access my complete configuration files

Hardware Summary

Note: Prices are approximations and subject to change.

Software Summary

So you want to make your smart home even smarter by integrating it with the Red Alert system (or as we call it in Hebrew: Pikud HaOref)? Let me walk you through how I did it!

I'm using the excellent and potentially life-saving Oref Alert project:

Quick disclaimer: This setup isn't meant to replace the official Home Front Command app - definitely keep that installed on your phones and devices! What we're building here is a supplementary system that extends alerting to your smart home devices for that extra layer of safety.

Let me share what hardware I picked and the automation models I'm using.

1: Configure Oref Alert, Set Your Area(s)

First things first, you'll need to install the Oref Alert integration.

The project has great documentation to help you get started. You'll need to choose your alert area in Hebrew.

One feature I really love about this integration is that you can configure both primary and secondary alert areas.

This is super helpful if you want your main alerts for your official alerting zone, but still want to know about rocket alerts in nearby areas too.

I've set up my system with my main area driving the automations, and added a secondary alert for other areas in Jerusalem.

2: Hardware: Zigbee Controller

If you're going all-in with Home Assistant like I did, it's totally worth investing in a standalone Zigbee controller.

I can't recommend the SLZB-06 from SM Light enough:

For the most reliable network connectivity, I connected mine to my router via Ethernet. If you can get the PoE version, it's even better since it uses Ethernet for power too. Just make sure to place it somewhere with good line-of-sight to your Zigbee devices.

3: Zigbee Sirens (1 Per Room)

I went a bit overboard and bought Zigbee Sirens from Aliexpress for every room in my house. Yes, it was a bit pricey, but hey - still cheaper than being hit by a rocket! (Sorry for the dark humor, but you know how it is living here.)

I tried to hide them somewhat inconspicuously so guests don't start asking awkward questions about why I have weird sound devices in every room. And yes, I even put one in the bathroom - safety first!

I mostly chose these sirens based on what was available and affordable, but they've worked great with my system so far.

Pro tip: I went with the battery-less versions because I didn't want the hassle of monitoring battery levels in a bunch of different devices.

4: Red Lights

For extra visual alerts, I added several Zigbee RGB lights to my automation sequence. When an alert comes in, everything goes red - it's impossible to miss!

5: Test With Synthetic Alerts

Once you've got everything set up, you'll definitely want to test it right away.

Thankfully, the Oref Alert integration has a clever feature that lets you trigger a synthetic alert for testing:

oref_alert.synthetic_alert

Model Red Alert Automation

Here's the automation code I'm using that turns on all my lights and activates the sirens when an alert comes in:

Any RGB-capable lights will turn bright red, while regular lights will just turn on at full brightness.

alias: Red Alerts in Anytown Metro - Activate Specific Sirens
description: >-
  When a Red Alert is received, trigger some actions and activate the listed
  Sirens
triggers:
  - entity_id:
      - binary_sensor.oref_alert
    to: "on"
    trigger: state
    alias: Red alert for Anytown Metro Area
actions:
  - alias: Turn on lights
    data:
      brightness_pct: 100
      rgb_color:
        - 255
        - 0
        - 0
    action: light.turn_on
    target:
      area_id:
        - master_bathroom
        - master_bedroom
        - foyer
        - kitchen
        - family_room
        - study
        - deck
        - guest_bathroom
  - alias: Activate Specific Sirens
    data: {}
    target:
      entity_id:
        - siren.master_bathroom_alarm
        - siren.master_bedroom_alarm
        - siren.study_siren_alarm
        - siren.front_door_chime
        - siren.family_room_alarm
        - siren.guest_bathroom_alarm
    action: homeassistant.turn_on

You May Wish To Add: Notifications

There are tons of ways you can extend these automations to suit your needs.

I've focused on making alerts impossible to miss with both sound and light. These work alongside the official sirens, which usually go off at almost the same time.

The beauty of this system is its redundancy:

• Wearing earplugs? You'll still see all the lights suddenly turn on and go red
• In the bathroom where external sirens might be hard to hear? Your in-bathroom alarm has you covered
• Sound asleep? Having every light in your bedroom suddenly blast on at full brightness will definitely wake you up!

You could take this even further by sending alerts to all your devices, automatically turning on TVs, or integrating with any other Home Assistant-compatible gadgets you have around the house.

Follow-Up Activity: Check A Trace

After you've had an alert (real or test), it's super valuable to check the trace to see how your automation performed. In my last test, I was impressed to see less than half a second of latency between the incoming trigger and all my automations completing!

Other Additions

One thing you might want to add is a reset button to return everything to normal after an alert. Or you could build this functionality directly into the automation itself.

For my Zigbee sirens, I've set them to sound for three minutes and then stop automatically. You can adjust this timing to whatever makes sense for your situation - you probably don't want them blaring indefinitely!

GitHub Repository

For those who want to explore my complete configuration files and automation setups, I've created a GitHub repository with all my Home Assistant Red Alert automation models:

Feel free to fork, adapt, and improve these automations for your own setup. If you develop enhancements, please consider submitting a pull request to help others in our community stay safe!