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Mark went from a rocky SmartThings world to a rock-solid Home Assistant install. He shares his tails of disaster and recovery, as well as his journey from Tasmota to ESPHome.

We’re sitting down with Nick and Larsen from FireAvert to talk about how FireAvert aims to stop house fires, and how they can tie into smart home systems like Home Assistant Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA231 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/patreon Share your story We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro and Sponsors 00:04:00 What FireAvert Does 00:08:00 Technical Challenges and Detection 00:12:00 Form Factor and Installation 00:16:00 Accuracy, ML, and Notifications 00:20:00 Smart Automations and Control 00:24:00 Product Evolution and Z-Wave/LoRa 00:31:00 Risk Areas: Kitchens, EVs, Dryers 00:35:00 Water Leaks and Mitigation 00:39:00 Startup Lessons and Team 00:43:00 Home Assistant Dev and Roadmap 00:46:00 Global Availability and Wrap-up This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com Apollo Automation Apollo Automation are the makers of open source smart home sensors built for the Home Assistant ecosystem. They're an official Open Home Foundation commercial partner and their devices are built with local control, privacy, and reliability in mind, giving you full control and flexibility right out of the box. Products Discussed FireAvert Gas Auto Shut-Off: https://amzn.to/4vLz0rl Products we Recommend Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Industrial data pro Mike joins Phil and Rohan to unpack his Home Assistant setup. We dive deep into Node‑RED flows, mmWave presence, actionable dashboards, and AI‑assisted automations—including recognizing his own cat and verifying the right bin is curbside. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA230 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/patreon Share your story We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story. Chapters 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:28 - Mike’s background and location 00:03:43 - From OpenHAB to Home Assistant 00:06:11 - Cloud vs local pragmatism 00:09:40 - Zigbee, Thread and Matter lessons 00:12:17 - Distributed hardware and Docker setup 00:16:08 - Family UX and presence ethos 00:20:26 - PIR, mmWave and context signals 00:24:41 - Automations with Node‑RED 00:29:50 - AI‑assisted automation building 00:34:44 - Dashboards and notifications 00:43:42 - Cameras, AI and the cat 00:50:59 - Smarter heating and preheating 01:03:33 - Actionable notifications philosophy 01:05:40 - Evangelizing at work and wrap‑up This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com Apollo Automation Apollo Automation are the makers of open source smart home sensors built for the Home Assistant ecosystem. They're an official Open Home Foundation commercial partner and their devices are built with local control, privacy, and reliability in mind, giving you full control and flexibility right out of the box. Clean My Mac Get Tidy Today! Get 7 days free and use our code ASSISTANT for 20% off Products Discussed Aqara Cube: https://amzn.to/47C7YIm Intel N100 Mini PC: https://amzn.to/4v13dC8 Oral‑B Electric Toothbrush: https://amzn.to/4tfVoGV Products we Recommend Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Electrical engineer Braden joins Phil and Rohan to share practical Home Assistant wins. From migrating to Zigbee2MQTT, taming a Whirlpool ice maker with ESPHome, building a garage door opener, and planning a sensor-packed greenhouse lab. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA229 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/patreon Share your story We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story. Chapters 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:23 - Meet Brayden in Windy Indiana 00:03:35 - From Hue to Home Assistant 00:08:50 - Greenhouse Lab Plans 00:12:45 - Nursery Voice and Motion Tactics 00:18:20 - RFID Cards for Kids’ Media 00:29:00 - Zigbee2MQTT, Aqara, Litter Box Hack 00:36:40 - ESPHome: Ice Maker and Garage 00:43:40 - Power Monitoring and Breakers 00:47:00 - Unifi, Cameras, and ZBT-2 00:52:30 - Agents, Dashboards, and Presence 01:00:20 - Wrap-up and Thanks This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Apollo Automation Apollo Automation are the makers of open source smart home sensors built for the Home Assistant ecosystem. They're an official Open Home Foundation commercial partner and their devices are built with local control, privacy, and reliability in mind, giving you full control and flexibility right out of the box. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com Notion Notion is an AI-powered, connected workspace for teams. Notion brings all your notes, docs, and projects into one space that just works. Try Custom Agents now at https://notion.com/homeassistant Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Home Assistant 2026.4 is here! We break down Infrared as a first‑class feature with IR proxies, expanded purpose‑specific triggers, dashboard background colors, favorites for lights/covers, Matter lock credential management, and more. We also cover a critical HA OS/Supervisor security patch you should apply now. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA228 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/patreon Share your story We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro, sponsors, housekeeping 00:02:30 2026.4 overview and event 00:05:00 Security alert and patch tips 00:07:30 New Works With partner: HeatIt 00:10:00 Feedback: Frigate and Litter‑Robot 00:12:30 Thread/Matter experiences and FP300 00:15:00 Local LLMs and home agents 00:17:30 Cat litter → RoboRock cleanup 00:20:00 Entity naming change delayed 00:23:00 Infrared goes first‑class 00:26:00 IR proxies now, RF coming 00:28:30 Purpose‑specific triggers expand 00:31:00 Dashboard background colors 00:33:30 Favorites for lights and covers 00:36:00 Matter lock credentials, locks 00:38:30 Robots: Roborock Q10, SmartThings 00:41:00 Jellyfin and Proxmox updates 00:43:30 Voice cleaning, backup progress 00:46:00 Markdown actions, LG IR nuances 00:48:30 New integrations roundup 00:51:00 E‑ink, energy, access, breaking changes This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com Apollo Automation Apollo Automation are the makers of open source smart home sensors built for the Home Assistant ecosystem. They're an official Open Home Foundation commercial partner and their devices are built with local control, privacy, and reliability in mind, giving you full control and flexibility right out of the box. Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This video contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Director-turned-vanlifer Mike from the YouTube channel SmartyVan shows how he turned a bare Mercedes Sprinter into a fully automated, off‑grid smart RV powered by Home Assistant and ESPHome. We cover DC power realities, alternator charging vs solar, Starlink on the move, Bluetooth presence, wired vs Zigbee sensors and PoE cameras with Frigate. Perfect for vanlife, RV, and tiny home builders. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA227 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/patreon Share your story We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story. Chapters 00:00:00 - Intro, sponsors, Mike arrives 00:05:00 - From Sprinter shell to smart RV 00:10:00 - Power: solar, alternator, efficiency 00:16:00 - Home Assistant in a DC world 00:22:00 - Pi 4, microSD, backups 00:28:00 - Internet, Starlink, offline logic 00:35:32 - Van automations that matter 00:41:00 - Service mode and shop visits 00:47:00 - Presence without motion sensors 00:53:00 - OBD-II, WICAN, vehicle data 00:59:00 - Wired sensors vs Zigbee 01:05:00 - Cameras, Frigate, PoE control 01:09:00 - What’s next and where to find This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com Notion Notion is an AI-powered, connected workspace for teams. Notion brings all your notes, docs, and projects into one space that just works. Try Custom Agents now at https://notion.com/homeassistant Products Discussed Google Coral USB TPU accelerator: https://amzn.to/4cNVot1 Aqara contact sensors: https://amzn.to/4utywFk Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episodes contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We’re diving into Kaden’s cat-first smart home: Reolink + Frigate for pet detection, PetLibro feeders, and a Litter-Robot 4 all tied together with Home Assistant and LLM-generated dashboards. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA226 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/patreon Share your story We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:35 From HomeBridge to Home Assistant 00:07:20 Cat cams and Frigate detection 00:12:45 Smart feeders and litter box 00:16:40 Human presence and privacy 00:20:50 Garage automation journey 00:24:42 State models and sponsor break 00:30:50 Wall tablet dashboards 00:36:27 Water monitoring with RTL-SDR 00:40:32 Energy tracking and panel CTs 00:44:52 Cutting server power draw 00:48:06 WLED beats Govee cloud 00:51:00 BLE proxies and neighbors 00:54:00 On-call alerts and alarms 00:56:20 Wrap-up and links This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com Clean My Mac Get Tidy Today! Get 7 days free and use our code ASSISTANT for 20% off Products Discussed PetLibro automatic feeder: https://amzn.to/4bh3Nnj PetLibro water fountain: https://amzn.to/4aIDjLs Whisker Litter-Robot 4: https://amzn.to/4ch47DI Samsung Galaxy Tab A9 Plus: https://amzn.to/4rVv0lm NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti: https://amzn.to/4tZ8Nod Google Coral AI Accelerator (referenced): https://amzn.to/4r44S6E Home Assistant Connect ZWA2 radio (ad): https://amzn.to/47jdYp3 Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Phil and Rohan go deep on practical AI for Home Assistant. We cover LLM Vision for doorbell and perimeter alerts, HACS add‑ons like AI Agent and AI Suggester, and using GitHub Copilot to generate YAML automations. Rohan shares his Ollama + LiteLLM routing setup and why private cloud models might beat pay‑per‑token APIs. Phil battles OpenClaw (aka MoltBot/Claude Bot) to control lights via MCP Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA225 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/patreon Share your story We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story. Chapters 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:02 - Rohan’s AI stack today 00:09:00 - HA’s built-in AI + Copilot 00:18:00 - HACS: AI Agent & Suggester 00:26:24 - LLM Vision in practice 00:37:00 - OpenClaw, MCP, and gotchas 00:47:00 - Do we need agents? Use cases 00:51:00 - Costs, feedback, and outro This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com Products Discussed Reolink AI Security Cameras: https://amzn.to/3OwwLH2 Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Breaking down Home Assistant 2026.3: map vacuum rooms to Areas for voice control, set HA as your default Android assistant with wake word support, SendSpin multi-room updates, Python 3.14 performance gains, and new integrations for Ghost, Proxmox, SwitchBot AI Art Frame, Trane HVAC, and NYC MTA. Mailbag: NFC dash buttons, Aqara FP300 presence tips, bed sensors, and listener automations for pets and babies. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA224 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/patreon Share your story We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story. Chapters 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:40 - News: Partners, Event, Merch 00:03:54 - Dark Sky Returns: Acme Weather 00:08:02 - Mailbag: AI, Accessibility, Pets 00:12:56 - Gear Talk: Aqara, NFC, Bed Sensors 00:19:09 - 2026.3 Release Overview 00:21:56 - Vacuum Room-to-Area Mapping 00:27:42 - App & Voice: Python, Dashboards, Assist 00:32:15 - SendSpin Sync & Visuals 00:36:30 - Matter, Docker, AI, Energy 00:41:30 - Devices & Integration Highlights 00:44:24 - New Integrations Roundup 00:51:48 - Breaking Changes To Note 00:55:30 - Wrap-Up & What’s Next This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com Products Discussed HEIMAN smoke and CO alarms (Matter over Thread): https://amzn.to/4smRtrv Open Home Foundation merch (hat, hoodie): https://store.openhomefoundation.org/ Neakasa M1 automatic litter box: https://amzn.to/3NdtiNd Petlibro RFID pet feeders: https://amzn.to/4se0XFo Owlet Dream Sock: https://amzn.to/4b0kHFI Samsung Frame TV: https://amzn.to/3N40VAW SwitchBot AI Art Frame (color e‑ink): https://amzn.to/4u0qLXr Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Andrew joins Phil and Rohan to share how he outgrew Apple HomeKit and built a powerful multi-user smart home in Home Assistant. We cover presence detection with ESP32s and sensors, ditching MyQ for a Meross garage opener, Yale smart locks, bathroom humidity fan automations, and fun ESPN sports goal alerts. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA223 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/patreon Share your story We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story. Chapters 00:00:00 - Welcome, Sponsors, Intro 00:02:00 - Andrew’s Tech Beginnings 00:05:00 - From Apple Home to HA 00:08:00 - Breaking HomeKit Limitations 00:11:00 - Hardware: Pi to Proxmox 00:14:00 - Backups, Restores, Cleanup 00:16:30 - Multi-User Automation Challenges 00:19:00 - Presence Without Phone Tracking 00:22:00 - Buttons, Switches, Voice Balance 00:25:00 - ESP32 Presence And Motion 00:29:00 - Bathroom Humidity Fan Logic 00:33:00 - Sensor Health & Batteries 00:36:00 - Lighting Philosophy & Accents 00:39:00 - WLED, TV Backlights, Aesthetics 00:41:30 - Goals For The Year, Wrap-Up This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com Notion Notion is an AI-powered, connected workspace for teams. Notion brings all your notes, docs, and projects into one space that just works. Try Custom Agents now at https://notion.com/homeassistant Products Discussed Meross Smart Garage Door Opener (with reed sensor): https://amzn.to/4ratgV5 Third Reality Smart Switch (Toggle/rocker add-on): https://amzn.to/4kupS4S Aqara Temperature & Humidity Sensor: https://amzn.to/4twysV1 Philips Hue Dimmer Switch: https://amzn.to/3MskUZN Philips Hue Lightstrips: https://amzn.to/465QhA5 Govee Floor Lamp: https://amzn.to/4rfMRDv Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Will joins Phil and Rohan to share how he tamed a period UK home and a remote Canary Islands vacation property with Home Assistant, ESPHome, and Zigbee. We dive into DIY pool chemistry control, fridge monitoring with a ‘strawtenna’, tactile dashboards, AI‑assisted heating, and why Shelly is everywhere Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA222 Special Thanks to Today's Guest Will Osborne-Kennedy Website Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/patreon Share your story We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome 00:03:30 Will’s origin story and tinkering 00:08:30 Finding Home Assistant and ESPHome 00:12:00 Hot tub and pool control projects 00:17:00 Remote Canary Islands setup 00:22:00 Zigbee vs Wi‑Fi in old homes 00:27:00 Antennas and fridge sensor hacks 00:32:00 Dashboards and tactile panels 00:37:00 AI and heating optimizations 00:42:00 Remote access: fiber and TailScale 00:46:00 Multi‑site management and ideas 00:50:00 Favorite automations and LLM Vision 00:56:00 Home lab, IPTV, and Channels DVR 01:00:00 2026 goals: energy, irrigation, WLED 01:05:00 Shelly scripts and local‑first 01:07:00 Community vendors This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com Clean My Mac Get Tidy Today! Get 7 days free and use our code ASSISTANT for 20% off https://clnmy.com/ASSISTANT Products Discussed Shelly Bluetooth button/tile: https://amzn.to/4bJcvvy Orbit B‑Hyve irrigation controller: https://amzn.to/4bJcvvy HDHomeRun TV tuner: https://amzn.to/4klnoFU Philips Hue Outdoor Motion Sensor: https://amzn.to/4cf3r1p Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Mike joins Phil and Rohan to share how he hides smart tech in a 1953 mid‑century home so it looks analog but works like magic. Plus: Roborock tricks, leak sensors that turn rooms blue, HomePod TTS vs Sonos ducking, Samsung Frame art‑mode headaches, and running full HA OS in a VMware Fusion VM on a Mac mini. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA221 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/patreon Share your story We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome 00:03:00 Lighting gateway and Hue hack 00:05:30 Sneaking tech and dance reveal 00:08:00 From HomeKit/HomeBridge to HA 00:10:30 Dashboards and camera setup 00:12:30 Bulbs vs switches in 50s home 00:14:30 Bathroom fan and comforts 00:16:30 Homelab and Zigbee backbone 00:19:00 LLMs and announcements 00:21:30 Laundry alerts and Mac lab 00:25:30 Presence sensing strategy 00:28:00 Leak sensors and water safety 00:31:00 Light signals around the home 00:33:00 Roborock automations and hacks 00:40:30 Bedroom presence routines 00:43:00 Bayesian sensors and design 00:49:50 Time Machine and Frame TV 00:54:30 Pool fountain control 00:56:30 Power and crawlspace cabling 00:59:10 Party trick and outro This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com Products Discussed Philips Hue bulbs and lightstrips: https://amzn.to/4k7paur Aqara T2 wall switch: https://amzn.to/4jUTZm1 Samsung The Frame TV (43"): https://amzn.to/4t5mTnr Zigbee main water shutoff valve (generic): https://amzn.to/4aURldj Aqara water leak sensors: https://amzn.to/3Nest6A Aqara door/window sensors: https://amzn.to/49hmu9B Third Reality sensors: https://amzn.to/455ZR5F Ecobee thermostat with room sensors: https://amzn.to/4t4XYjO Bond Bridge (ceiling fan RF hub): https://amzn.to/3YAbHBm Aqara roller shade controllers: https://amzn.to/3O8ihwI Level Lock: https://amzn.to/3ZcU3Ug SwitchBot Lock (with keypad/fingerprint accessory): https://amzn.to/4a55H92 Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We break down Home Assistant 2026.2: the Home Dashboard is now default, the new Command‑K command palette, a dedicated Matter dashboard, and add‑ons renamed to Apps. Plus: CES 2026 highlights, the Open Home Foundation device database and a Google Home outage. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA220 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/patreon Share your story We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:00 CES Highlights and Shoutouts 00:06:00 Device Database and Open Home 00:11:30 Cloud Outage and Local Control 00:13:50 Listener Feedback and Tips 00:21:20 2026.2 Release Overview 00:23:20 Home Dashboard Becomes Default 00:26:45 Command Palette and Shortcuts 00:29:40 Matter Dashboard and Apps Rename 00:32:40 Automations, Cards, and Buttons 00:37:10 Music Assistant, Media, Sponsor Break 00:41:10 New Integrations Roundup 00:46:25 Breaking Changes: Groups, Tuya 00:49:38 Closing Thoughts and Predictions This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Miranda from the Open Home Foundation takes us inside the Works With Home Assistant program: how devices are tested, why the badge matters, and how vendors—from startups to big brands—can get certified. We cover Zigbee vs Z‑Wave vs Matter, badge misuse, regional device coverage, and Miranda’s own fun automations. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA219 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/patreon Share your story We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:20 Miranda’s path to HA 00:08:00 CES stories and community 00:14:30 Moving program to Foundation 00:22:30 Fees, pushback, endorsement? 00:29:30 Guidance, safety, and testing 00:36:30 Zigbee, Z‑Wave, Matter realities 00:43:00 Big brands, IKEA, relationships 00:50:30 Cloud integrations, Genie 00:55:30 Miranda’s home and automations 01:03:30 Blinds, garden, robots 01:10:00 Regional coverage and filters 01:15:30 Badge misuse and enforcement 01:20:30 2026 goals and wrap‑up This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com Products Discussed Home Assistant Connect ZWA2 (Z‑Wave radio): https://amzn.to/3MfPzsP Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Aaron returns to share how his Home Assistant setup evolved from endless tinkering to a rock‑solid system that runs his family life. We cover Z‑Wave provisioning, ESPHome vs off‑the‑shelf reliability, RATGDO for garage doors, HA Green/Yellow, voice‑first routines, and the rise of AI‑powered helpers. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA218 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/patreon Share your story We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story. Chapters 00:00:00 - Welcome, guest intro 00:02:30 - Aaron’s Home Assistant dev journey 00:06:30 - Life change and HA evolving 00:10:30 - HA Green/Yellow setup ease 00:14:30 - Proxmox vs appliance hubs 00:18:30 - Remote radios and antennas 00:22:30 - AppDaemon to UI automations 00:26:30 - AI helpers and sensors 00:30:30 - Dashboards vs default view 00:34:30 - Voice and automation-first 00:38:30 - Community ideas and sharing 00:42:30 - Maintain vs rebuild strategy 00:46:30 - Vacuum and dishwasher flows 00:50:30 - Guest mode with Shortcuts 00:54:30 - ESPHome vs plug-and-play 00:58:30 - Z-Wave provisioning 01:02:30 - Local-first hardware wins 01:06:30 - Matter, cameras, standards 01:10:00 - Open-source continuity, advice This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com Products Discussed Home Assistant Connect Z-Wave (ZWA2) antenna: https://amzn.to/48PrphT Ubiquiti Protect cameras: https://amzn.to/4asHXxt Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy