RF-HUB has two built-in functions for controlling devices automatically without needing Home Assistant or Homey: Schedules (run at a point in time) and Automations (run when something happens). Both run locally on the RF-HUB — they work even without internet.
Schedules — run at a fixed time
Under the Schedules tab you see all time-based rules. A new installation comes with a system schedule that restarts RF-HUB once every 24 hours for stability.
Click + Add schedule to create a new one:
Fields in the schedule:
- Name — e.g. "Living room at sunset"
- Weekdays — choose which days the rule applies to (Sun–Sat)
- Enabled — uncheck to pause the schedule without deleting it
Actions (what happens):
- Device — choose one of your devices and its endpoint (button/channel)
- Webhook — call a URL (e.g. to trigger an action in another system)
- System — run a hub action such as restart
Events (when it should run):
- Time — exact time of day, e.g.
22:00:00 - Sunrise / Sunset — sunrise or sunset respectively, based on position. You can specify an offset in minutes (e.g. "30 min before Sunset"). Position is set under Settings (default: Stockholm)
- Interval — recurring, e.g. every 30 minutes
For each event you choose a State: On, Off or Toggle. You can add several events to the same schedule — e.g. turn on at Sunset, turn off at 23:00.
Automations — run when something happens
Under the Automations tab you build rules in the format when X happens → do Y. You can have up to 20 automations at the same time.
Click + Add automation:
Triggers (what starts the rule):
- Choose a device (sensor, remote, button) and its endpoint
- Specify state and optionally value — e.g. "button 1 = On" or "temperature > 25"
- You can have several triggers (the rule starts when any of them matches)
Actions (what happens):
- Device — control another device (e.g. turn on the lamp)
- Webhook — call a URL
- System — run a hub action
- You can have several actions that run in order — drag the rows to change the order
Examples that work well locally
- Turn on the hallway when the motion sensor triggers — Trigger: motion sensor = On → Action: lamp = On
- Turn off everything at midnight on weekdays — Schedule with Time 00:00, weekdays Mon–Fri, several actions for different lamps
- Turn on the outdoor lamp at sunset, turn off at 23:00 — Schedule with two events: Sunset/On and Time 23:00/Off
- Button 1 on remote → send webhook to IFTTT — to trigger a cloud service, e.g. play a song in Spotify, post to Slack or control a lamp on another smart hub
Local vs cloud-controlled
Everything you build here runs on the RF-HUB itself. That means:
- ✓ Works without internet
- ✓ No cloud dependencies, no latency
- ✓ Survives WiFi outages (as long as the device has power)
- ✗ More limited than Home Assistant (no templates, no complex conditions)
When should you instead build in Home Assistant or Homey?
Use RF-HUB's own schedules/automations for simple rules that need to work even when the internet is down. For more advanced things — complex conditions, mobile notifications, integration with other systems, templates, scenes — add RF-HUB's devices to one of two platforms:
- Home Assistant — local smart home platform with open source and MQTT support. RF-HUB connects directly via MQTT with automatic discovery — the devices appear without any configuration.
- Homey — commercial smart home platform (Pro, Bridge or Cloud) that talks to RF-HUB via our Homey app and the qtrl.me cloud. Good graphical flow builder (Flow) for automations.
You probably want both: critical safety rules (e.g. "turn off the stove after 30 min") in RF-HUB locally, comfort rules and notifications in Home Assistant or Homey.