Home Assistant Podcast

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.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

By day Artem works for JetBrains, developing coding IDEs for software professionals. But today we want to learn about his smart home, and how he is using Home Assistant to make it more energy efficient

Watch this episode on YouTube
Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA217

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, guest intro
00:02:30 - Developer life and new home
00:06:30 - Shutters and first automations
00:12:20 - Wi‑Fi presence and WAF/PAF
00:17:30 - Cabling regrets and PoE lessons
00:21:30 - Zigbee over Ethernet; IKEA fix
00:25:58 - Dynamic tariffs, solar and battery
00:33:20 - Smart appliance scheduling
00:41:00 - mmWave presence sensors
00:45:20 - Doorbell NFC and Nuki lock
00:50:10 - Wishlist, Hue and wiring
00:53:10 - Climate tuning and valve fix
00:58:40 - Versatile thermostat 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
Ubiquiti UniFi Protect G4 Pro Doorbell: https://amzn.to/4aT1IhF
Aqara FP2 mmWave presence sensor: https://amzn.to/4s4M4WM

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 podcast 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.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Rohan and Phil are here to break down the 2026.1 release. We’re talking Home Dashboard improvements, a new multi-room audio protocol from Music Assistant, and of course some Zigbee quirks thrown into the mix

Watch this episode on YouTube
Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA216

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 - New Year, housekeeping, sponsors
00:03:00 - SendSpin: open sync audio arrives
00:10:00 - Cross‑ecosystem sync caveats
00:14:00 - Voice PE audio and DIY speakers
00:16:00 - Listener Q&A and AI log help
00:20:00 - 2026.1 mobile Home dashboard
00:24:00 - Purpose‑specific triggers expansion
00:27:00 - New integrations
00:31:00 - Labels/templates for presence
00:37:00 - Protocol hubs, Matter, graphs, devices
00:41:00 - Breaking changes, EcoWitt PSA, CES

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
Roborock Q7 robot vacuum: https://amzn.to/4bkyEjo
EcoWitt weather station: https://amzn.to/4jBcX0M
Sonos One: https://amzn.to/4pmsz9H

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.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Josh from Josh’s Smart Home joins Phil and Rohan to unpack a 300-device Home Assistant setup running on Home Assistant Green. We dive into the move from SmartThings, building a reliable Zigbee mesh, energy automations with Tesla Powerwall and a smart pool pump and theatre room presence.

Watch this episode on YouTube
Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA215

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
00:01:22 - Meet Josh
00:02:18 - Early smart home missteps
00:04:12 - SmartThings and Lutron
00:05:54 - WebCoRE ends, HA begins
00:09:29 - Home Assistant Green setup
00:09:34 - Zigbee mesh with Aqara
00:12:55 - Theater gear quirks
00:14:18 - Theater automation philosophy
00:22:02 - Time-of-use energy automations
00:23:00 - Powerwall + solar in HA
00:26:31 - ROI and arbitrage
00:28:28 - Tesla automations
00:32:42 - Dashboards and voice control
00:37:19 - Washer/dryer and doorbell alerts
00:40:37 - 187 automations, time saved
00:44:20 - Motion and humidity control
00:48:56 - Measuring automation impact
00:50:02 - Smart blinds convenience
00:50:19 - Yarbo mower and snowblower
00:58:43 - Security and utility uses
01:06:59 - Starting Josh’s Smart Home
01:10:27 - Automation content plans
01:12:45 - Top new-build tips
01:15:56 - Designing and building
01:21:26 - Where to find Josh

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 Video Doorbell: https://amzn.to/4a7LIId
Apple TV 4K: https://amzn.to/4prsT7n
Narwal robot vacuum and mop: https://amzn.to/3KgSaSK
UV insect light traps: https://amzn.to/484CNEY
Yarbo robotic core with mower/snow modules: https://amzn.to/3LOtOQV

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 podcast 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.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

YouTuber NetworkChuck joins Phil and Rohan to break down his real-world Home Assistant setup: migrating off Alexa, building a Home Assistant voice assistant (with a Terry Crews voice clone!), wiring Frigate to Reolink cameras, and using UniFi + AI to debug Wi‑Fi chaos. We also compare Node‑RED vs n8n, talk Plex vs Jellyfin and NAS headaches, inventory with Grocy, mmWave presence, ESP32 room presence, and how local AI stacks up against GPT/Claude for home automations.

Watch this episode on YouTube
Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA214

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
00:02:30 - Network Chuck’s background
00:06:30 - Discovering Home Assistant
00:10:30 - Toilet paper saga automation
00:14:30 - From Alexa to Home Assistant Voice
00:20:30 - Frigate cameras and Reolink lessons
00:27:30 - Face and plate recognition ideas
00:32:00 - Local AI models vs cloud
00:39:00 - Family adoption and analog rebounds
00:43:30 - Presence, phones, mmWave, ESP32
00:48:30 - Halloween thunderstorm and Plex fun
00:52:30 - Node-RED vs n8n in automations
00:58:00 - Plex vs Jellyfin and NAS woes
01:05:30 - Grocy, inventory, and shopping hacks
01:12:00 - Air quality, energy, and next steps
01:18:00 - Enterprise talk 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
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs (dual GPU local AI rig): https://amzn.to/4a5Lf9w
Smart locks: Nuki Smart Lock: https://amzn.to/47VH6nj
Smart locks: Level Lock: https://amzn.to/3XtPdBz
Smart locks: August Smart Lock: https://amzn.to/4id1ovK

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.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy