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
    Show More Show Less
    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
    Show More Show Less
    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
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Home Assistant 2026.9 improves Modbus integrations, and a better activity history

    Home Assistant 2026.9 improves Modbus integrations, and a better activity history
    Sep 1 2026
    Home Assistant 2026.9 is here. Maps suffer an unexpected turn of events and easier Modbus integrations arrive. Activity history gets some love. Nabu Casa subscribers can start testing a new and improved speech to text provider via Labs.Watch this episode on YouTubeShow notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA248Support 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 Intro00:01:46 Home Assistant map outage00:05:57 Community Day, Apollo and iOS00:10:19 Mailbag: locks, pools and moving00:18:13 AI assistants versus closed ecosystems00:23:43 Proxmox upgrade compatibility warning00:29:04 Home Assistant Cloud and Modbus00:35:04 Dashboard updates00:38:12 History, accessibility and Matter maps00:43:39 New integrations and release 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.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 DiscussedApollo Automation ESPHome Starter Kit: https://esphome.io/starter-kit/Apollo Automation Cast 1: https://apolloautomation.com/products/cast-1-audio-casting-deviceHome Assistant Connect ZWA2 (Z‑Wave radio): https://amzn.to/3MfPzsPProducts 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
    Show More Show Less
    50 mins
  • Living With Home Assistant: The Other Side of the Smart Home

    Living With Home Assistant: The Other Side of the Smart Home
    Aug 18 2026

    Sofia lives in a Home Assistant smart home, but she didn’t install it. We’re breaking down what its like on the other side of the fence and how open communication and involvement make for a happier smart home.

    Watch this episode on YouTube

    Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA247


    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 Introduction

    00:02:00 Home Assistant origins

    00:04:00 Philips Hue beginnings

    00:06:30 Building automations together

    00:09:00 Sensors and safety alerts

    00:12:00 Magic mirror project

    00:15:00 Apple Home scenes

    00:18:00 Home Assistant usability

    00:21:00 Privacy and stability

    00:24:30 Voice control and wrap-up


    This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors

    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.


    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. Sign up for your free trial in your Home Assistant system: https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/cloud/ or visit https://nabucasa.com


    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


    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.com


    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 this link 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
    Show More Show Less
    38 mins
  • Rohan is Packing Up his Smart Home and Starting Over

    Rohan is Packing Up his Smart Home and Starting Over
    Aug 11 2026
    Rohan is moving house! Phil and Rohan dive into the realities of selling a Home Assistant-powered home and moving into a new property. They discuss what smart home gear is worth leaving behind, how to keep a house buyer-friendly, and why removable devices are often the safest choice. Plus, Rohan shares his plan to rebuild his smart home from scratch in a new house with a pool, septic, a generator, and plenty of new automation opportunities.Watch this episode on YouTubeShow notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA246Support 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: Intro00:01:45: Moving House Update00:04:41: Leaving Smart Gear00:08:51: Selling Smart Homes00:14:40: Lockbox Troubles00:17:31: Open House Modes00:19:59: Preparing The Yard00:23:43: Packing The Tech00:25:48: Home Assistant Move00:28:50: Server Rack Plans00:31:14: Doorbell And Locks00:34:09: Irrigation Controller00:35:19: New House Criteria00:39:00: Pool And Irrigation00:43:19: Fresh Home Assistant00:48:03: New UI Features00:51:26: Well Septic And Generator00:55:09: Move Planning ToolsThis episode was made possible thanks to our sponsorsApollo 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.ZoozIf 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.comHome 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.comClean 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
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
  • Home Assistant 2026.8 says goodbye to 8123, while SmartThings goes behind a paywall

    Home Assistant 2026.8 says goodbye to 8123, while SmartThings goes behind a paywall
    Aug 5 2026
    Home Assistant 2026.8 is here, we unpack the biggest changes. From port 8123 to port 80 for new Home Assistant OS installs, customizable entity ID formats, moon and vibration automation triggers, and the device-registry separation that may affect merged devices.Watch this episode on YouTubeShow notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA245Support 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 - Intro00:01:47 - Perth meetup and SmartThings API00:07:47 - Battery charging and leak sensors00:14:52 - Port 80 and HTTP settings00:18:03 - UI wording and entity IDs00:22:49 - Moon and vibration automations00:24:23 - Device registry separation00:30:00 - Template editor00:32:21 - Dashboards and integration updates00:36:37 - New Home Assistant integrations00:44:48 - Breaking changes and upgrade advice00:46:34 - Rohan's house move00:48:14 - Proxmox migration and Zigbee00:51:02 - Z-Wave migration and lock codes00:55:31 - AI agent automations00:57:36 - Network troubleshooting with Hermes00:59:48 - Picture frame project and closingThis 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 DiscussedSwitchBot Candle Warmer Lamp: https://amzn.to/45plQEtRoborock Q10 robot vacuum: https://amzn.to/4fVu105Harbor Sleep Baby Monitor: https://amzn.to/3Rt73VVProducts 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
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 4 mins
  • How Eugene Built a .NET Home Assistant Brain for his Smart Home

    How Eugene Built a .NET Home Assistant Brain for his Smart Home
    Jul 28 2026
    Phil and Rohan chat with Eugene about how he built a deeply automated smart home using Home Assistant, Raspberry Pi, Zigbee, Shelly devices, Aqara sensors, and even C#/.NET with NetDaemon. They explore practical automations for alarms, presence, notifications, kid management, and more.Watch this episode on YouTubeShow notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA244Support 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: Getting Into Automation00:04:15: Choosing Hardware Wisely00:06:30: Network Lessons Learned00:10:30: Current Home Setup00:15:00: Presence And Notifications00:20:30: Actionable Alerts00:27:55: Chores And Screen Time00:34:20: Morning Summaries00:39:00: .NET Automations00:46:50: School DatesThis 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.Products DiscussedShelly One relay: https://amzn.to/4wUFxj6CC2531 Zigbee controller: https://amzn.to/3RFhwgSAmazon Echo Dot: https://amzn.to/44DIBUBAqara contact sensor: https://amzn.to/4vIfUkyAqara passive infrared motion sensor: https://amzn.to/4wWJ3tnProducts 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
    Show More Show Less
    52 mins