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HomeAssistant

Basics

Home Assistant basics – what the heck are devices, entities, integrations and services?

Home Assistant is maybe the best open smart home controller out there but if you are new to it some of the terms can be a bit confusing. As a first step towards Home Assistant basics, here is what devices, entities, integrations, services and helpers are. Home Assistant basics – Read more…

By Oliver, 3 days29.01.2023 ago
Automation

Powerful automated reminders via Home Assistant and how to clear notifications

Everybody forgets things. With Home Assistant you can use the power of your smart home to stop that. I build a well working reminder system via Home Assistant for different tasks. Its fully features with a text reminder, virtual or physical button to confirm it and a log. Here is Read more…

By Oliver, 3 weeks ago
smart heating

The hottest smart home device? Automated heating with the Aqara smart thermostat & Home Assistant

I automated my lights, my doorbell, my vacuum and more. Next are the thermostats. A smart thermostat can be very convenient and even save money. Here is how I used the Aqara smart thermostat with ZHA and Home Assistant. The hardware – Aqara E1 smart thermostat There are currently a Read more…

By Oliver, 1 month01.01.2023 ago
smart light

A small Zigbee smart plug with power measurement – is the best smart plug for ZHA from Aqara?

Smart plugs allow you to measure power usage and turn pretty much every electricity powered device smart(er). Which is the best one? The Aqara smart plug makes a pretty good case for joining your Home Assistant and ZHA DIY smart home with its small and sleek design and the included Read more…

By Oliver, 2 months09.12.2022 ago
HomeAssistant

Using the Google Pixel watch with Home Assistant – should you buy it as a smart home device?

A smart watch is great for controlling your smart home as you have it with you all the time. I recently bought the Google Pixel watch and gave it a try with the Home Assistant app – is it a great addition for your smart home or just a nice Read more…

By Oliver, 2 months04.12.2022 ago
Automation

Its magic! Controlling a Magic Mirror with a motion sensor from Home Assistant to save energy

A magic mirror is a stunning piece of furniture and tech but running it constantly draws a lot of power. I am switching mine on and off based on a motion sensor using Home Assistant. Here is how to do that. The Magic Mirror I have described how I built Read more…

By Oliver, 3 months07.11.2022 ago
HomeAssistant

Switching Zigbee coordinators with ZHA & Home Assistant without re-pairing & testing the TubesZB coordinator

The stability of your Zigbee network is largely determined by the performance of your coordinator (or router). Switching Zigbee coordinators to a new and better one used to require you to repair all your devices though. With Home Assistant 2022.9 that is a thing of the past. In this post Read more…

By Oliver, 3 months30.10.2022 ago
Software

LED control has never been easier – setup WLED with Home Assistant and the web installer in 5 minutes

WLED is a really powerful free software solution to control your LEDs in a smart way. It used to be complicated to set up bit that has changed. Here is how to get your LED setup ready in just five minutes. What is WLED? If you are looking to build Read more…

By Oliver, 3 months23.10.2022 ago
smart light

A new take on smart switches? – Evvr In-Wall Relay Switch Lite tested with Home Assistant

There are a lot of smart relays on the market. The In-Wall Relay Switch Lite from Evvr tries something new: it does not only have a small form factor and very good built quality but also a small “Sub-Assembly” that makes it work with any plain old light switch. I Read more…

By Oliver, 5 months11.09.2022 ago
Automation

Making your existing doorbell smart by repurposing an Aqara door sensor

How do you add an existing doorbell to your smart home? I did it by connecting it to a modified Aqara door sensor. Now a ring will flash lights, send a message to my phone or do anything else I want it to – with all the power of Home Read more…

By Oliver, 6 months ago

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This is my personal slice of the Internet, a place to show my projects and share ideas about all things smarthome, IoT and design

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