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Home Assistant Podcast

Home Assistant Podcast

By: Mostly Automated Media
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Join hosts Phil Hawthorne and Rohan Karamandi as they explore the newest Home Assistant releases and the latest Home Automation news. Featuring guests who use or contribute to Home Assistant, the podcast aims to inspire new ways to make your smart home even smarter.

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Episodes
  • Roland “Accidentally” Installed Home Assistant, Then Automated Everything

    Roland “Accidentally” Installed Home Assistant, Then Automated Everything
    Sep 22 2026
    Roland joins Phil and Rohan to share how a simple attempt to measure an old fridge's energy use led to a deeply data-driven Home Assistant smart home. Energy monitoring, solar forecasting, home batteries, EV charging, ESPHome, weather data and templates are all used to make his home smarter.Watch this episode on YouTubeShow notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA251Support the PodcastGet early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.https://homeassistant.fm/patreonShare your storyWe 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.Chapters00:00:00 Welcome00:02:01 An accidental Home Assistant install00:06:04 Scaling devices and automations00:08:04 Solar forecasts and battery control00:16:46 ESPHome windows and storm protection00:21:03 Home Assistant at the university00:26:16 Starting with energy data00:29:08 Cooling buckets and digital grass00:34:52 Turning data into automations00:37:19 Summer-winter heating and cooling00:43:52 Measuring a new home00:47:21 Whole-home energy and smart PC00:52:16 Pool monitoring and house insights00:59:07 Future projects and stable automation01:04:26 Updates, reliability and farewellThis episode was made possible thanks to our sponsorsZoozIf 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.comApollo AutomationApollo 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.Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu CasaEasily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Sign up for your free trial in your Home Assistant system: https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/cloud/ or visit https://nabucasa.comWant Phil to help with your smart home?You’ve heard him troubleshoot Home Assistant on the podcast. Now you can book him to troubleshoot yours. From broken automations and confusing YAML to dashboards, devices, and complete smart home setups: https://smarthomecto.comProducts DiscussedNavimow robotic lawn mower: https://amzn.to/4d7phniApollo Automation ESPHome Starter Kit: https://esphome.io/starter-kit/Apollo Automation Cast 1: https://apolloautomation.com/products/cast-1-audio-casting-deviceShelly smart relays/switches: https://amzn.to/4tfoHdEShelly One relay: https://amzn.to/4wUFxj6Products we RecommendHostsPhil HawthorneWebsiteTwitter: @philhawthorneBluesky: @philhawthorne.comBuy Phil a CoffeeRohan KaramandiWebsiteTwitter: @rohank9Buy Rohan a CoffeeThis 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
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Adrian’s High Availability Home Assistant

    Adrian’s High Availability Home Assistant
    Sep 15 2026
    How do you make Home Assistant resilient when an update fails or your primary server goes offline? Phil and Rohan talk with Adrian from Western Australia about his dual Home Assistant setup, webhook heartbeat failover, Git-based YAML configuration, and a 12V battery-backed home network.Adrian has shared some notes on his setup here: https://docs.na.id.au/ Watch this episode on YouTubeShow notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA250Support the PodcastGet early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.https://homeassistant.fm/patreonShare your storyWe 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.Chapters00:00:00 Intro00:02:00 Adrian's Home Assistant origin00:05:00 12V battery-backed infrastructure00:08:00 Presence and smart-light logic00:13:00 Wi-Fi scale and interference00:16:00 Matter, LIFX and 433MHz00:21:00 Alarm integrations and appliances00:29:00 Home Assistant high availability00:34:00 Zigbee, MQTT and Matter00:39:00 Git, YAML and device naming00:44:00 DHCP reservations and static IPs00:47:00 EV charging and roller shutters00:51:00 Upgrades and family installations00:55:00 Local AI and language learning00:59:00 Wrap-upThis episode was made possible thanks to our sponsorsHome Assistant Cloud by Nabu CasaEasily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Sign up for your free trial in your Home Assistant system: https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/cloud/ or visit https://nabucasa.comZoozIf 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.comApollo AutomationApollo 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 MacGet Tidy Today! Get 7 days free and use our code ASSISTANT for 20% offWant Phil to help with your smart home?You’ve heard him troubleshoot Home Assistant on the podcast. Now you can book him to troubleshoot yours. From broken automations and confusing YAML to dashboards, devices, and complete smart home setups: https://smarthomecto.comProducts we RecommendHostsPhil HawthorneWebsiteTwitter: @philhawthorneBluesky: @philhawthorne.comBuy Phil a CoffeeRohan KaramandiWebsiteTwitter: @rohank9Buy Rohan a CoffeeThis 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
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    1 hr
  • Rob went from 15 Apps to One Smart Home With Home Assistant

    Rob went from 15 Apps to One Smart Home With Home Assistant
    Sep 8 2026
    Rob joins Phil and Rohan from New Zealand to share how he replaced 15 smart-home apps with Home Assistant. Discover his AI-assisted workflow using VS Code, Claude Code, Codex, Git, YAML documentation, solar optimisation, camera-powered number plate recognition, and a resilient smart-home network.Watch this episode on YouTubeShow notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA249Support the PodcastGet early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.https://homeassistant.fm/patreonShare your storyWe 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.Chapters00:00:00 Intro00:02:00 Escaping the app overload00:07:00 First automations and Wi-Fi devices00:10:00 Batteries, presence sensors and vacuums00:17:00 UniFi network and Home Assistant upgrade00:20:00 Solar, Modbus and energy optimisation00:23:00 AI coding workflow with VS Code00:33:00 OpenCode, MCP and custom workflows00:37:00 AI documentation and automation intent00:42:00 Fail-safe smart home design00:45:00 AI camera gate recognition00:50:00 Security, modes and alarm integration00:54:00 Backup power and future projects01:01:00 Advice for a new setupThis episode was made possible thanks to our sponsorsHome Assistant Cloud by Nabu CasaEasily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Sign up for your free trial in your Home Assistant system: https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/cloud/ or visit https://nabucasa.comZoozIf 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.comApollo AutomationApollo 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.Want Phil to help with your smart home?You’ve heard him troubleshoot Home Assistant on the podcast. Now you can book him to troubleshoot yours. From broken automations and confusing YAML to dashboards, devices, and complete smart home setups: https://smarthomecto.comProducts DiscussedAirGradient air-quality sensor: https://www.airgradient.com/Home Assistant Connect ZWA2 (Z‑Wave radio): https://amzn.to/3MfPzsPAqara FP300 presence sensor: https://amzn.to/3LpkZ02Products we RecommendHostsPhil HawthorneWebsiteTwitter: @philhawthorneBluesky: @philhawthorne.comBuy Phil a CoffeeRohan KaramandiWebsiteTwitter: @rohank9Buy Rohan a CoffeeThis 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
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    1 hr and 4 mins
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