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Pollen in Home Assistant: Stay Informed at a Glance!

Spring is finally here! For many people, though, that also means pollen season — and with it, the daily challenges for allergy sufferers. I’m one of them: every morning I check the pollen forecast, figure out which medications to take, and plan my day accordingly. But what if we could skip the app entirely and have all that information right on our Home Assistant dashboard?

Good news: the German Weather Service (DWD) provides a pollen forecast that can be integrated into Home Assistant. The raw presentation, however, isn’t very user-friendly. In this article I’ll show you how to process the data into something useful and display it clearly on your dashboard.

Why Put Pollen Levels on the Dashboard?

Especially in the morning, it saves time and gives you peace of mind to see your pollen exposure at a glance — without having to open an app. Even better: with targeted notifications, you’ll be alerted automatically whenever levels exceed a threshold that matters to you.

Setting Up the DWD Pollen Integration

Home Assistant lets you use DWD pollen forecast data via HACS (Home Assistant Community Store). Here’s how to get it running:

Make sure HACS is installed in your Home Assistant. If not, you can find installation instructions here.
In Home Assistant, go to HACS → Integrations.
Search for “DWD Pollenflug” and install the integration.
Restart Home Assistant to activate the integration.
Go to Settings → Integrations and add the DWD Pollenflug integration. Select your desired location.

Once set up, you’ll have sensors available for various pollen types.

You can find more about the integration at https://github.com/mampfes/hacs_dwd_pollenflug

Processing the Data to Make It Useful

The raw data delivered by the integration can be hard to interpret since it only contains numerical values. I recommend creating template sensors that translate the exposure into easy-to-understand categories like “low”, “moderate”, or “high”.

Here’s an example of what such a template sensor might look like:

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sensor:
  - platform: template
    sensors:
      birke_pollen_level:
        friendly_name: "Pollen Level Birch"
        value_template: >-
          {% if states('sensor.dwd_pollen_birke') | int == 0 %} No exposure
          {% elif states('sensor.dwd_pollen_birke') | int == 1 %} Low exposure
          {% elif states('sensor.dwd_pollen_birke') | int == 2 %} Moderate exposure
          {% else %} High exposure
          {% endif %}          

This lets you see at a glance how heavy the pollen load is for specific plants.

Even Better: A Personalised Pollen Profile

It’s worth aggregating pollen levels into a single personalised tile. Depending on the severity and the pollen types you react to, you can create a generic problem entity. With appropriate visibility conditions added to your dashboard configuration using “or” logic, you can build a personalised pollen warning that gives you a tailored overview matched exactly to your needs. I walk through this in detail in the video.

What’s Next: Automations

If you’re looking for more ideas on how to make your smart home allergy-season ready, I recommend checking out the article „Home Assistant gegen Pollen: Drei Automatisierungen für Allergiker" on heise online. You’ll find practical examples of how to set up push reminders, light-based warnings, and smart air purifier control with Home Assistant — great for keeping pollen levels manageable day to day.

Conclusion: A Relaxed Pollen Season

With the DWD pollen forecast integration and a bit of personalisation, you can turn your Home Assistant dashboard into a genuine allergy companion. No more morning surprises — just a clear picture of what’s ahead.