diff --git a/app.go b/app.go
index bd20a4f..7ac2132 100644
--- a/app.go
+++ b/app.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
 	"net/url"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/golang-module/carbon"
@@ -85,16 +86,47 @@ type NewAppRequest struct {
 	Secure bool
 }
 
+// validateHomeZone verifies that the home zone entity exists and has latitude/longitude
+func validateHomeZone(state State, entityID string) error {
+	entity, err := state.Get(entityID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("home zone entity '%s' not found: %w", entityID, err)
+	}
+
+	// Ensure it's a zone entity
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(entityID, "zone.") {
+		return fmt.Errorf("entity '%s' is not a zone entity (must start with zone.)", entityID)
+	}
+
+	// Verify it has latitude and longitude
+	if entity.Attributes == nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("home zone entity '%s' has no attributes", entityID)
+	}
+	if entity.Attributes["latitude"] == nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("home zone entity '%s' missing latitude attribute", entityID)
+	}
+	if entity.Attributes["longitude"] == nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("home zone entity '%s' missing longitude attribute", entityID)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 /*
 NewApp establishes the websocket connection and returns an object
 you can use to register schedules and listeners.
 */
 func NewApp(request NewAppRequest) (*App, error) {
-	if (request.URL == "" && request.IpAddress == "") || request.HAAuthToken == "" || request.HomeZoneEntityId == "" {
-		slog.Error("URL, HAAuthToken, and HomeZoneEntityId are all required arguments in NewAppRequest")
+	if (request.URL == "" && request.IpAddress == "") || request.HAAuthToken == "" {
+		slog.Error("URL and HAAuthToken are required arguments in NewAppRequest")
 		return nil, ErrInvalidArgs
 	}
 
+	// Set default home zone if not provided
+	if request.HomeZoneEntityId == "" {
+		request.HomeZoneEntityId = "zone.home"
+	}
+
 	baseURL := &url.URL{}
 
 	if request.URL != "" {
@@ -133,6 +165,11 @@ func NewApp(request NewAppRequest) (*App, error) {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
+	// Validate home zone
+	if err := validateHomeZone(state, request.HomeZoneEntityId); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
 	return &App{
 		conn:            conn,
 		wsWriter:        wsWriter,
diff --git a/cmd/generate/main.go b/cmd/generate/main.go
index 6573adc..1a75723 100644
--- a/cmd/generate/main.go
+++ b/cmd/generate/main.go
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import (
 type Config struct {
 	URL              string `yaml:"url"`
 	HAAuthToken      string `yaml:"ha_auth_token"`
-	HomeZoneEntityId string `yaml:"home_zone_entity_id"`
+	HomeZoneEntityId string `yaml:"home_zone_entity_id,omitempty"` // Now optional
 }
 
 type Domain struct {
@@ -64,8 +64,38 @@ func toCamelCase(s string) string {
 	return result.String()
 }
 
+// validateHomeZone verifies that the home zone entity exists and is valid
+func validateHomeZone(state ga.State, entityID string) error {
+	entity, err := state.Get(entityID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("home zone entity '%s' not found: %w", entityID, err)
+	}
+
+	// Ensure it's a zone entity
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(entityID, "zone.") {
+		return fmt.Errorf("entity '%s' is not a zone entity (must start with zone.)", entityID)
+	}
+
+	// Verify it has latitude and longitude
+	if entity.Attributes == nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("home zone entity '%s' has no attributes", entityID)
+	}
+	if entity.Attributes["latitude"] == nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("home zone entity '%s' missing latitude attribute", entityID)
+	}
+	if entity.Attributes["longitude"] == nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("home zone entity '%s' missing longitude attribute", entityID)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // generate creates the entities.go file with constants for all Home Assistant entities
 func generate(config Config) error {
+	if config.HomeZoneEntityId == "" {
+		config.HomeZoneEntityId = "zone.home"
+	}
+
 	app, err := ga.NewApp(ga.NewAppRequest{
 		URL:              config.URL,
 		HAAuthToken:      config.HAAuthToken,
@@ -76,6 +106,11 @@ func generate(config Config) error {
 	}
 	defer app.Cleanup()
 
+	// Validate that the home zone exists before proceeding
+	if err := validateHomeZone(app.GetState(), config.HomeZoneEntityId); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid home zone: %w", err)
+	}
+
 	entities, err := app.GetState().ListEntities()
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to list entities: %w", err)
@@ -178,8 +213,8 @@ func main() {
 		config.HAAuthToken = os.Getenv("HA_AUTH_TOKEN")
 	}
 
-	if config.URL == "" || config.HAAuthToken == "" || config.HomeZoneEntityId == "" {
-		fmt.Println("Error: url, ha_auth_token and home_zone_entity_id are required in config")
+	if config.URL == "" || config.HAAuthToken == "" {
+		fmt.Println("Error: url and ha_auth_token are required in config")
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
diff --git a/example/example.go b/example/example.go
index 7d68e18..f05b79d 100644
--- a/example/example.go
+++ b/example/example.go
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"time"
 
-	"example/entities" // Import generated entities
+	// "example/entities" // Optional import generated entities
 
 	ga "saml.dev/gome-assistant"
 )
diff --git a/example/gen.yaml b/example/gen.yaml
index 729c0e9..a15dad2 100644
--- a/example/gen.yaml
+++ b/example/gen.yaml
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 url: "http://192.168.4.67:8123"  # Replace with your Home Assistant URL
-ha_auth_token: "<token>"         # Your auth token 
-home_zone_entity_id: "zone.home"
+ha_auth_token: "<token>"         # Your auth token or set HA_AUTH_TOKEN env var
+home_zone_entity_id: "zone.home" # Optional: defaults to zone.home
diff --git a/state.go b/state.go
index 3d7430c..5280607 100644
--- a/state.go
+++ b/state.go
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ package gomeassistant
 
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
-	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/golang-module/carbon"
@@ -37,34 +37,38 @@ type EntityState struct {
 
 func newState(c *http.HttpClient, homeZoneEntityId string) (*StateImpl, error) {
 	state := &StateImpl{httpClient: c}
-	err := state.getLatLong(c, homeZoneEntityId)
+
+	// Ensure the zone exists and has required attributes
+	entity, err := state.Get(homeZoneEntityId)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("home zone entity '%s' not found: %w", homeZoneEntityId, err)
 	}
+
+	// Ensure it's a zone entity
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(homeZoneEntityId, "zone.") {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("entity '%s' is not a zone entity (must start with zone.)", homeZoneEntityId)
+	}
+
+	// Verify and extract latitude and longitude
+	if entity.Attributes == nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("home zone entity '%s' has no attributes", homeZoneEntityId)
+	}
+
+	if lat, ok := entity.Attributes["latitude"].(float64); ok {
+		state.latitude = lat
+	} else {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("home zone entity '%s' missing valid latitude attribute", homeZoneEntityId)
+	}
+
+	if long, ok := entity.Attributes["longitude"].(float64); ok {
+		state.longitude = long
+	} else {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("home zone entity '%s' missing valid longitude attribute", homeZoneEntityId)
+	}
+
 	return state, nil
 }
 
-func (s *StateImpl) getLatLong(c *http.HttpClient, homeZoneEntityId string) error {
-	resp, err := s.Get(homeZoneEntityId)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("couldn't get latitude/longitude from home assistant entity '%s'. Did you type it correctly? It should be a zone like 'zone.home'", homeZoneEntityId)
-	}
-
-	if resp.Attributes["latitude"] != nil {
-		s.latitude = resp.Attributes["latitude"].(float64)
-	} else {
-		return errors.New("server returned nil latitude")
-	}
-
-	if resp.Attributes["longitude"] != nil {
-		s.longitude = resp.Attributes["longitude"].(float64)
-	} else {
-		return errors.New("server returned nil longitude")
-	}
-
-	return nil
-}
-
 func (s *StateImpl) Get(entityId string) (EntityState, error) {
 	resp, err := s.httpClient.GetState(entityId)
 	if err != nil {