The Problem#
Retractable awnings are great — until a gust of wind catches them. A strong gust can bend the arms, rip the fabric, or tear the whole thing off the wall. Rain pools on the fabric, stretches it, and eventually the weight pulls everything down.
I have three motorized awnings controlled by Shelly Plus 2PM relays — one front-facing, two on the sides. The old approach: manually check the weather, remember to retract, hope you don’t forget. That’s one destroyed awning waiting to happen.
The Key Insight: Different Thresholds for Different Time Windows#
The simplest approach — “if wind is above X, retract” — works, but it doesn’t account for timing. A forecast showing 15 km/h wind in 4 hours shouldn’t trigger the same response as 15 km/h right now.
The solution: strict thresholds for the immediate forecast, progressively relaxed for further out.
Protection (Retract) — OR logic, any one triggers it#
| Horizon | Wind above | Rain prob. above |
|---|---|---|
| Now | 12 km/h | 14% |
| +1h | 12 km/h | 19% |
| +2h | 14 km/h | 24% |
| +4h | 16 km/h | 29% |
Deploy — AND logic, all must pass#
| Horizon | Wind below | Rain prob. below |
|---|---|---|
| Now | 9 km/h | 11% |
| +1h | 13 km/h | 13% |
| +2h | 15 km/h | 15% |
| +4h | 17 km/h | 17% |
The asymmetry is intentional:
- Retract is aggressive — one bad signal at any horizon pulls them in. False positives cost nothing except shade.
- Deploy is conservative — every horizon must be clean. False positives cost a destroyed awning.
- The 3 km/h gap between retract (12) and deploy (9) creates hysteresis — no oscillation on borderline wind.
The Weather Data#
I use PirateWeather — a free weather API available as a HACS custom integration. The key feature is that during setup, you can select which hourly forecast offsets to create as sensors. I selected hours 0, 1, 2, and 4 — and the integration automatically creates individual sensors for each:
| Sensor | What it provides |
|---|---|
sensor.pirateweather_wind_speed | Current wind speed |
sensor.pirateweather_wind_speed_1h | Wind forecast +1 hour |
sensor.pirateweather_wind_speed_2h | Wind forecast +2 hours |
sensor.pirateweather_wind_speed_4h | Wind forecast +4 hours |
sensor.pirateweather_precip_probability_0h | Current rain probability |
sensor.pirateweather_precip_probability_1h | Rain probability +1 hour |
sensor.pirateweather_precip_probability_2h | Rain probability +2 hours |
sensor.pirateweather_precip_probability_4h | Rain probability +4 hours |
No template sensors needed — PirateWeather generates them natively. Here’s how it looks in the configuration:
The key fields are Hourly forecast sensors set to 0,1,2,4 and Monitored conditions including Wind Speed and Precipitation Probability. Any weather integration that provides multi-hour forecasts would work with the same pattern.
Hardware Alternative for Faster Reaction#
Forecast APIs update on intervals and cannot react to sudden gusts in real-time. For more reactive protection, consider adding local hardware sensors:
- Rain: Shelly Flood Gen4 — detects water immediately, no forecast delay
- Wind: Ecowitt WS90 7-in-1 Weather Station — solar-powered with anemometer, integrates via Ecowitt into HA
A hardware rain sensor + the forecast-based wind protection would give you the best of both worlds: instant rain response and predictive wind retraction.
How It Works#
Both automations run every minute.
Protection checks if any awning is extended and if any weather horizon exceeds its threshold:
{% set w0 = 12 %} {% set w1 = w0 %} {% set w2 = w0 + 2 %} {% set w4 = w0 + 4 %}
{% set p0 = 14 %} {% set p1 = p0 + 5 %} {% set p2 = p0 + 10 %} {% set p4 = p0 + 15 %}
{{ (wind_now > w0) or (wind_1h > w1) or (wind_2h > w2) or (wind_4h > w4)
or (precip_0h > p0) or (precip_1h > p1) or (precip_2h > p2) or (precip_4h > p4) }}Deploy only extends if sun is up, all horizons are below threshold, and the awnings have been retracted for a minimum time (6 hours front, 4 hours sides). The minimum time prevents toggling on unstable weather days.
Both send a Telegram notification on action.
The Hardware#
| Component | Role |
|---|---|
| Shelly Plus 2PM (×3) | Motor control per awning |
| PirateWeather | Free weather API with multi-horizon forecasts |
| Home Assistant | Evaluates weather, controls awnings, sends notifications |
The Result#
Zero weather-related awning incidents since deploying this. The system has correctly retracted before several storms I would have missed. On calm days, awnings deploy automatically — shade when you want it, protection when you need it.
The tiered forecast pattern is reusable for anything weather-sensitive: pool covers, irrigation, outdoor speakers, garden furniture. The principle: strict for now, relaxed for later, asymmetric retract/deploy, hysteresis to prevent flapping.
Appendix: Full Automation YAML#
Click to expand — Protection (Retract)
alias: "Awning Protection — Retract on Wind/Rain"
triggers:
- minutes: /1
trigger: time_pattern
conditions:
- condition: template
value_template: >-
{{ (state_attr('cover.awning_front', 'current_position')|int(100) < 100)
or (state_attr('cover.awning_side_1', 'current_position')|int(100) < 100)
or (state_attr('cover.awning_side_2', 'current_position')|int(100) < 100) }}
- condition: template
value_template: >-
{% set w0 = 12 %} {% set w1 = w0 %} {% set w2 = w0 + 2 %} {% set w4 = w0 + 4 %}
{% set p0 = 14 %} {% set p1 = p0 + 5 %} {% set p2 = p0 + 10 %} {% set p4 = p0 + 15 %}
{{ (states('sensor.pirateweather_wind_speed')|float(0) > w0)
or (states('sensor.pirateweather_wind_speed_1h')|float(0) > w1)
or (states('sensor.pirateweather_wind_speed_2h')|float(0) > w2)
or (states('sensor.pirateweather_wind_speed_4h')|float(0) > w4)
or (states('sensor.pirateweather_precip_probability_0h')|float(0) > p0)
or (states('sensor.pirateweather_precip_probability_1h')|float(0) > p1)
or (states('sensor.pirateweather_precip_probability_2h')|float(0) > p2)
or (states('sensor.pirateweather_precip_probability_4h')|float(0) > p4) }}
actions:
- target:
entity_id:
- cover.awning_front
- cover.awning_side_1
- cover.awning_side_2
action: cover.open_cover
- action: notify.send_message
target:
entity_id: notify.your_telegram_bot
data:
title: "Awning Protection"
message: "Wind or rain expected. Retracting awnings!"
mode: singleClick to expand — Deploy
alias: "Awning Deploy — Extend on Calm Weather"
triggers:
- minutes: /1
trigger: time_pattern
conditions:
- condition: or
conditions:
- condition: state
entity_id: cover.awning_front
state: open
- condition: state
entity_id: cover.awning_side_1
state: open
- condition: state
entity_id: cover.awning_side_2
state: open
- condition: template
value_template: >-
{% set w0 = 9 %} {% set w1 = w0 + 4 %} {% set w2 = w0 + 6 %} {% set w4 = w0 + 8 %}
{% set p0 = 11 %} {% set p1 = p0 + 2 %} {% set p2 = p0 + 4 %} {% set p4 = p0 + 6 %}
{{ is_state('sun.sun', 'above_horizon')
and (states('sensor.pirateweather_wind_speed')|float(999) < w0)
and (states('sensor.pirateweather_wind_speed_1h')|float(999) < w1)
and (states('sensor.pirateweather_wind_speed_2h')|float(999) < w2)
and (states('sensor.pirateweather_wind_speed_4h')|float(999) < w4)
and (states('sensor.pirateweather_precip_probability_0h')|float(999) < p0)
and (states('sensor.pirateweather_precip_probability_1h')|float(999) < p1)
and (states('sensor.pirateweather_precip_probability_2h')|float(999) < p2)
and (states('sensor.pirateweather_precip_probability_4h')|float(999) < p4) }}
- condition: or
conditions:
- condition: state
entity_id: cover.awning_front
state: open
for:
hours: 6
- condition: and
conditions:
- condition: state
entity_id: cover.awning_side_1
state: open
for:
hours: 6
- condition: state
entity_id: cover.awning_side_2
state: open
for:
hours: 4
actions:
- target:
entity_id:
- cover.awning_front
- cover.awning_side_1
- cover.awning_side_2
action: cover.close_cover
- action: notify.send_message
target:
entity_id: notify.your_telegram_bot
data:
title: "Awning Deploy"
message: "Weather is calm and sunny. Deploying awnings!"
mode: single