v0.12.0 — HVAC Action Reason Sensor

What's New in v0.12.0

First stable cut of the Auto Mode feature track. v0.12.0 introduces the diagnostic sensor that makes HVAC action reasons easy to consume in automations, templates and dashboards.

✨ New Features

• HVAC Action Reason sensor — each thermostat now gets a companion diagnostic enum sensor (sensor.<thermostat_name>_hvac_action_reason) that mirrors the current reason the thermostat is acting (or idling). Use this entity going forward instead of the hvac_action_reason state attribute on the climate, which is now deprecated but still populated for backward compatibility. See the README for details. (#569, #563)
• Auto Mode preparation — three new reason values (auto_priority_humidity, auto_priority_temperature, auto_priority_comfort) are reserved and appear in the sensor's options list. They are declared but not yet emitted; the Auto Mode work that emits them ships in v0.13.x.

🔄 Migration notes

• Existing automations reading the hvac_action_reason climate attribute continue to work unchanged.
• The deprecated attribute represents the "no reason" state as an empty string "", while the new sensor exposes it as the translatable "none" state value — keep that in mind when migrating templates.

🧪 Want to try Auto Mode?

Auto Mode Phase 1 (priority engine + outside-temperature bias + apparent / "feels-like" temp) is shipping in v0.13.0-beta1. Install it via HACS by enabling pre-releases for this integration. Feedback on real-world heating/cooling patterns is very welcome before we cut a v0.13.0 stable. See #563 for the full Auto Mode roadmap.