diff --git a/esphome/components/climate/climate_traits.h b/esphome/components/climate/climate_traits.h
index cddd10e47a..97fb4d0432 100644
--- a/esphome/components/climate/climate_traits.h
+++ b/esphome/components/climate/climate_traits.h
@@ -17,11 +17,13 @@ namespace climate {
 
 // Type aliases for climate enum bitmasks
 // These replace std::set<EnumType> to eliminate red-black tree overhead
-// For contiguous enums starting at 0, bitmask size is automatically calculated from the last enum value
-using ClimateModeMask = FiniteSetMask<ClimateMode, CLIMATE_MODE_AUTO + 1>;
-using ClimateFanModeMask = FiniteSetMask<ClimateFanMode, CLIMATE_FAN_QUIET + 1>;
-using ClimateSwingModeMask = FiniteSetMask<ClimateSwingMode, CLIMATE_SWING_HORIZONTAL + 1>;
-using ClimatePresetMask = FiniteSetMask<ClimatePreset, CLIMATE_PRESET_ACTIVITY + 1>;
+// For contiguous enums starting at 0, DefaultBitPolicy provides 1:1 mapping (enum value = bit position)
+// Bitmask size is automatically calculated from the last enum value
+using ClimateModeMask = FiniteSetMask<ClimateMode, DefaultBitPolicy<ClimateMode, CLIMATE_MODE_AUTO + 1>>;
+using ClimateFanModeMask = FiniteSetMask<ClimateFanMode, DefaultBitPolicy<ClimateFanMode, CLIMATE_FAN_QUIET + 1>>;
+using ClimateSwingModeMask =
+    FiniteSetMask<ClimateSwingMode, DefaultBitPolicy<ClimateSwingMode, CLIMATE_SWING_HORIZONTAL + 1>>;
+using ClimatePresetMask = FiniteSetMask<ClimatePreset, DefaultBitPolicy<ClimatePreset, CLIMATE_PRESET_ACTIVITY + 1>>;
 
 // Lightweight linear search for small vectors (1-20 items)
 // Avoids std::find template overhead