Steve from New Zealand (Kiwi Smart Tech) shares his journey from Tuya bulbs to a powerful Home Assistant setup. We dig into garage door woes and wins, cross‑protocol sensors, mmWave presence, and why Apple Home is his go‑to interface

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Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA237

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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 Steve’s Kiwi smart home origin

00:10:15 First Home Assistant wins and fails

00:16:00 Garage door saga and ESPHome

00:23:50 Access control

00:28:01 From tinkerer to creator

00:41:00 Apple Home as UI

00:46:30 Ambient alerts: plants, leaks

00:55:10 Appliances, HACS, lock‑in

01:04:00 Cameras and continuous video

01:07:30 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

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 we Recommend

Hosts

Phil Hawthorne

Website

Twitter: @philhawthorne

Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com

Buy Phil a Coffee

Rohan Karamandi

Website

Twitter: @rohank9

Buy Rohan a Coffee

Rohan and Phil are breaking down the 2026.6 release, which features updates for Infrared, Purpose specific triggers and conditions. Plus we talk KVM’s, eInk displays and starting from scratch in 2026.

Watch this episode on YouTube

Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA236

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

00:04:30 - New Works With HA gear

00:06:30 - Open Display collab, e‑ink

00:12:00 - E‑ink uses and costs

00:16:30 - OHF privacy paper

00:18:30 - RF and plugs

00:26:00 - JetKVM and PiKVM talk

00:29:30 - 2026.6: IR receivers

00:34:30 - Dashboards and Matter BLE

00:36:32 - Cards and automations

00:42:30 - Z‑Wave, Sonos, Reolink, Tuya

00:47:30 - New integrations roundup

00:54:30 - Breaking changes

00:56:30 - Fresh HA vs restore

01:00:00 - UniFi hiccup resilience

01:02:00 - Wrap‑up and callouts

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

JetKVM IP KVM: https://amzn.to/4wU1bEO

Yale Z‑Wave smart locks: https://amzn.to/4visNSl

MyPropane tank monitor: https://amzn.to/3QjJZbn

Yoto audio player: https://amzn.to/4xlZhNJ

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.

Giovanni joins Rohan and Phil to dive into a fully local, privacy-first smart home. We cover Home Assistant on an Intel N100, Shelly devices, Zigbee vs Wi‑Fi, ESP32 Bluetooth proxies, Frigate with a Coral TPU, Reolink cams, and smart lighting with pets.

Watch this episode on YouTube

Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA234

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

00:05:00 Local-only gear and protocols

00:12:00 Lighting, presence, and pets

00:18:00 Cameras, Frigate and automations

00:27:20 Media servers

00:33:00 Plex vs Jellyfin

00:41:00 Nextcloud and Immich photos

00:47:00 Backups and offsite strategy

00:53:00 Security, reverse proxy, 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.

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Products Discussed

Intel N100 mini PC: https://amzn.to/3OP00FI

NVIDIA Shield TV: https://amzn.to/4w9E2Ok

Google Coral USB TPU accelerator: https://amzn.to/4cNVot1

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.

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.

Watch this episode on YouTube

Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA233

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

00:02:00 - SmartThings beginnings and first automations

00:06:00 - Old timers to cameras after a theft

00:09:30 - Discovering Home Assistant and server build

00:16:00 - From Node-RED to cleaner HA automations

00:19:50 - Reolink AI triggers outside lighting

00:23:30 - Server failure and Proxmox migration

00:28:30 - UPS woes and garage door backup issue

00:38:00 - Presence, Ecobee, salt and propane projects

00:44:00 - Matter locks, long-range Z-Wave ideas

00:49:00 - New Overview, Alarmo plans, 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

Aladdin garage door openers (with battery backup): https://amzn.to/4mxGfPl

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 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.

We’re diving into Home Assistant 2026.5 and re-capping the highlights from State of the Open Home 2026. There’s new RS-232 serial control, dashboard strategies, and more purpose-specific triggers.

Watch this episode on YouTube

Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA232

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

00:10:30 Roadmap deep-dive and HTTP 80

00:15:30 Easter eggs, Project BLAST, merch

00:19:30 IR databases and Z-Wave spectrum

00:23:00 2026.5: RS-232 and RF proxies

00:28:30 RF rolling codes and SDR hopes

00:31:30 Dashboards: strategies and shortcuts

00:36:00 Vacuums chat and power strip ad

00:41:00 Purpose-specific triggers (Labs)

00:44:00 MQTT, Matter, ESPHome updates

00:46:30 Shelly, Sonos, groups, and S1/S2

00:50:30 Apple TV typing, WLED, notifications

00:54:00 Immich photos, Subaru, and UniFi

00:57:00 New integrations roundup

01:00:00 Breaking changes: Ring, webhooks

01:01:30 Template docs overhaul

01:02:30 Network outage story and resilience

01:05:30 Wrap-up and sign-off

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

Broadlink RM4 Pro (433 MHz IR/RF blaster): https://amzn.to/4tesZk8

UniFi Protect PoE Smart Siren: https://amzn.to/4w4ZWCh

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.

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.