Home Assistant Podcast

Latest Episodes:

115 Zigbee Devices and a Home That Knows Who’s Where with William Devereux Nov 10, 2026

Show notes

William joins Phil and Rohan to tour his Home Assistant smart home, from 115 Zigbee devices and mmWave room presence to lights that respond to who’s home. They also discuss Sonos audio that follows you between rooms, and the automations that make it work.

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Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA258

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https://homeassistant.fm/patreon

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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

00:05:55 From Hue routines to Home Assistant

00:08:00 Zigbee switches and mmWave sensors

00:10:30 Making automated lights feel natural

00:14:20 Building room-based lighting logic

00:17:50 Identifying people with Bluetooth

00:20:30 Room states and sleep modes

00:23:15 Sonos, Music Assistant and presence

00:25:20 Migrating automations into blueprints

00:30:33 AI backups and visual reminders

00:33:50 Scripts, trigger IDs and error handling

00:36:10 Smarter Roomba scheduling

00:39:50 Follow-me audio and gentle lighting

00:42:05 Smart blinds and bedtime routines

00:45:45 Raspberry Pi performance and YAML

00:48:05 AI tools and Home Assistant MCP

00:50:20 Networking and convincing away mode

00:53:55 Hardware upgrades and HVAC plans

00:56:10 The wish for Sonos voice

00:58:20 Sonos hardware and closing thoughts

This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors

Home Assistant Link 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

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.

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 Discussed

MEATER cooking probes: https://link.amazon/A09IXiipD

Raspberry Pi 4: https://link.amazon/B00gUbl5R

Eero 7 routers: https://link.amazon/B06uC09Sc

Home Assistant ZBT2 (Zigbee radio): https://amzn.to/4pLxykT

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.

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

Home Assistant 2026.11 turns HACS into Marketplace, and adds target exclusions Nov 04, 2026

Show notes

Phil and Rohan unpack Home Assistant 2026.11, from HACS becoming the built-in Marketplace to target exclusions, entity and device naming changes, Matter cameras with two-way talk and LoRaWAN.

Watch this episode on YouTube

Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA257

Support the Podcast

Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

https://homeassistant.fm/patreon

Share your story

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:39 4,858 merged pull requests and Community Day

00:04:30 HACS becomes Marketplace

00:11:01 Security, Plex and switching to Jellyfin

00:17:33 Month of “What the heck?!” and new partners

00:20:26 Mailbag: Echo wall clock hack and Echo Dot jailbreaks

00:28:09 Dan’s gas price automation

00:30:02 Zooz joins JASCO and Zooz sponsor

00:34:33 Mailbag: a new home and Zen35 switches

00:36:06 2026.11: target exclusions and automation editor

00:40:14 Date card, light colours and naming changes

00:44:45 Self-filling dashboard sections, activity filter and logs

00:48:06 Statistics fixes and action history

00:50:05 Matter cameras and two-way talk

00:53:42 LoRaWAN, local backups and Zigbee Green Power

00:57:38 Update start trigger and AI tools

00:59:28 Energy dashboard from power sensors

01:00:44 New integrations roundup

01:07:09 Breaking changes

01:09:37 Wiimote, DuckDuckGo donation and box of shame

This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors

Home Assistant Link by Nabu Casa

Zooz

For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com

Apollo Automation

Want Phil to help with your smart home?

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

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

Dan Built His Own Smart Switches and Connected Them to Home Assistant Oct 27, 2026

Show notes

Dan joins Phil and Rohan to trace his smart home journey from X10 and MySensors to Home Assistant. Hear how he designs ESPHome light switches, controls an RS-485 thermostat, and plans new automations with Zigbee, Frigate and Reolink cameras.

Watch this episode on YouTube

Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA256

Support the Podcast

Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

https://homeassistant.fm/patreon

Share your story

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction and opening sponsors

00:02:08 Dan’s journey from X10

00:06:31 Building MySensors light switches

00:10:48 Discovering Home Assistant

00:14:00 Designing safer ESPHome switches

00:17:00 Connecting the legacy thermostat

00:20:49 Presence sensing and accessibility

00:23:23 Outdoor sensors and camera ideas

00:26:45 Collecting data

00:29:00 Zigbee, Modbus and the well

00:33:02 Leak detection and insurance

00:35:02 DIY irrigation and local weather

00:38:56 Soil moisture and greenhouse plans

00:42:43 Frigate, bins and pet detection

00:46:56 Wildlife cameras and closing thoughts

This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors

Home Assistant Link by Nabu Casa

Zooz

For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com

Apollo Automation

Want Phil to help with your smart home?

Products Discussed

Aqara FP2 presence sensor: https://amzn.to/4aVeDjo

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

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

Jason’s Home Assistant Smart Home That Watches Birds and Tracks Visitors Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

Phil and Rohan tour Patreon supporter Jason’s Home Assistant setup. Discover how he uses UniFi cameras as motion sensors, automatically aims a PTZ camera, and identifies backyard birds with BirdNet.

Watch this episode on YouTube

Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA255

Support the Podcast

Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

https://homeassistant.fm/patreon

Share your story

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome

00:02:52 From X10 to whistle-controlled TVs

00:06:44 Jason’s tech background and home lab

00:11:49 Home Assistant on Proxmox

00:14:34 Lutron, HomeKit, and reliable lighting

00:17:46 The IKEA switches that press themselves

00:20:00 WLED and the Raspberry Pi rack

00:23:45 Monitoring without alert overload

00:26:30 AI agents audit the home lab

00:29:35 Prioritizing alerts and critical devices

00:32:01 Battery reminders and daily briefings

00:34:00 Smart-home protocols

00:36:12 IKEA Matter devices and Aqara sensors

00:38:42 Water leaks, Apple TV, and climate

00:41:11 Meross thermostats and temperature mapping

00:44:47 Meal planning meets home automation

00:47:50 Shopping lists and UniFi cameras

00:50:00 Cameras that aim other cameras

00:53:17 Indoor camera rules and outdoor projects

00:56:51 BirdNet identifies backyard birds

00:59:00 Bird displays and favorite automations

01:01:40 Doorbell messages and TV automations

01:04:00 Jellyfin, Nest Hub, and closing thoughts

This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors

Clean My Mac

Get Tidy Today! Get 7 days free and use our code ASSISTANT for 20% off

Apollo Automation

Home Assistant Link by Nabu Casa

Zooz

For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com

Want Phil to help with your smart home?

Products Discussed

Lutron Caseta light switches: https://amzn.to/48rNmSN

Apollo Automation ESPHome Starter Kit: https://esphome.io/starter-kit/

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

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

A Baby Who Wouldn’t Sleep Started Maayan’s Home Assistant Journey Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

A temperature sensor, a smart plug and a baby who wouldn’t sleep started Mayan’s Home Assistant journey. Phil and Rohan explore how that first nursery automation grew into Zigbee heating controls, local white noise, custom lighting and a whole-house dashboard.

Watch this episode on YouTube

Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA254

Support the Podcast

Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

https://homeassistant.fm/patreon

Share your story

Chapters

00:00:00 — Welcome

00:02:00 — A sleepless baby starts everything

00:05:17 — Smart plugs and temperature sensors

00:08:25 — Tuya reliability and appliance safety

00:11:15 — Heating controls and nursery white noise

00:14:24 — Sonos, Spotify and local playback

00:17:22 — Choosing Zigbee over Wi-Fi

00:19:00 — ESP builds and fireplace fan safety

00:23:00 — Making custom Home Assistant hardware

00:25:20 — Projector lights and movie controls

00:27:28 — Smart-home controls

00:30:00 — Buttons, voice and kitchen tablets

00:33:55 — Night lights that help kids sleep

00:37:00 — Shared calendars on Home Assistant

00:40:00 — Organizing busy family schedules

00:43:26 — Automating a louvered pergola

00:46:30 — Hacking the pergola remote

00:49:40 — Tracking louver position

00:52:40 — DIY trade-offs and remote reliability

00:55:45 — Holiday mode and home security

00:58:40 — Solar hot water and load shifting

01:01:45 — Heat banking and energy choices

01:04:20 — A Frigate-powered AI cat trainer

01:07:30 — The mini PC running everything

This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors

Home Assistant Link by Nabu Casa

Zooz

For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com

Apollo Automation

Want Phil to help with your smart home?

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

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

Mapping all the changes in Home Assistant 2026.10 Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

Phil and Rohan unpack Home Assistant 2026.10, from redesigned maps and easier trigger-based automations to AI setup, Matter devices and Z-Wave network maps. They also discuss reports about LG TV privacy and Shelly’s planned acquisition.

Watch this episode on YouTube

Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA253

Support the Podcast

Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

https://homeassistant.fm/patreon

Share your story

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:00 Community Day plans

00:04:39 Home Assistant Link replaces Cloud

00:07:29 LG TV privacy concerns

00:16:38 Shelly’s planned acquisition

00:24:01 Critical iPhone notifications

00:26:16 Notification tips and Zooz sponsor

00:28:16 Redesigned and customizable maps

00:30:42 Easier automation trigger conditions

00:34:47 Dashboard visibility and AI tools

00:37:32 Z-Wave maps and YAML improvements

00:40:16 Generators and energy monitoring

00:44:00 Modbus, profiles and timers

00:47:56 Glass-break sensors and security dashboards

00:52:00 Matter updates and Thread plans

00:55:36 Templates, Hue and Z-Wave

00:58:00 UniFi Protect and integration updates

01:01:00 iCloud lists and local vehicle control

01:03:20 New infrared and energy integrations

01:07:18 Solar, messaging and plant integrations

01:10:27 Removed integrations and upgrade advice

01:11:24 Green Button energy data

This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors

Home Assistant Link by Nabu Casa

Zooz

For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com

Apollo Automation

Want Phil to help with your smart home?

Products Discussed

Shelly smart relays/switches: https://amzn.to/4tfoHdE

Home Assistant ZBT2 (Zigbee radio): https://amzn.to/4pLxykT

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

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

Home Assistant was Trey’s answer for a local first smart home Oct 02, 2026

Show notes

Phil and Rohan are joined by Trey from Tallahassee, Florida, to explore his local-first Home Assistant setup. From an X10 beginning and a MyQ API shutdown to Zigbee migrations, Trey has seen a lot!

Watch this episode on YouTube

Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA252

Support the Podcast

Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

https://homeassistant.fm/patreon

Share your story

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:00 From X10 to Home Assistant

00:06:00 Zigbee migration and device choices

00:10:00 Smart lighting and cat alerts

00:14:00 Automation philosophy and voice control

00:18:00 Voice assistant TV pausing

00:20:00 Zigbee, Thread and Z-Wave

00:24:00 Batteries and dual Zigbee networks

00:28:00 UniFi networking

00:30:00 Garage and freeze automations

00:34:00 IKEA blinds and local AI

00:38:00 Local LLM voice pipeline

00:42:00 Backups and outdoor camera plans

00:46:00 Indoor cameras and privacy modes

00:50:00 Frigate, recognition and smart locks

00:54:00 Ring keypad and closing

This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors

Home Assistant Link by Nabu Casa

Zooz

For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com

Apollo Automation

Want Phil to help with your smart home?

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.

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

Roland “Accidentally” Installed Home Assistant, Then Automated Everything Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

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 YouTube

Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA251

Support the Podcast

Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

https://homeassistant.fm/patreon

Share your story

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome

00:02:01 An accidental Home Assistant install

00:06:04 Scaling devices and automations

00:08:04 Solar forecasts and battery control

00:16:46 ESPHome windows and storm protection

00:21:03 Home Assistant at the university

00:26:16 Starting with energy data

00:29:08 Cooling buckets and digital grass

00:34:52 Turning data into automations

00:37:19 Summer-winter heating and cooling

00:43:52 Measuring a new home

00:47:21 Whole-home energy and smart PC

00:52:16 Pool monitoring and house insights

00:59:07 Future projects and stable automation

01:04:26 Updates, reliability and farewell

This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors

Zooz

For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com

Apollo Automation

Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa

Want Phil to help with your smart home?

Products Discussed

Navimow robotic lawn mower: https://amzn.to/4d7phni

Apollo Automation ESPHome Starter Kit: https://esphome.io/starter-kit/

Apollo Automation Cast 1: https://apolloautomation.com/products/cast-1-audio-casting-device

Shelly smart relays/switches: https://amzn.to/4tfoHdE

Shelly One relay: https://amzn.to/4wUFxj6

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

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

Adrian’s High Availability Home Assistant Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

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 YouTube

Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA250

Support the Podcast

Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

https://homeassistant.fm/patreon

Share your story

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:00 Adrian's Home Assistant origin

00:05:00 12V battery-backed infrastructure

00:08:00 Presence and smart-light logic

00:13:00 Wi-Fi scale and interference

00:16:00 Matter, LIFX and 433MHz

00:21:00 Alarm integrations and appliances

00:29:00 Home Assistant high availability

00:34:00 Zigbee, MQTT and Matter

00:39:00 Git, YAML and device naming

00:44:00 DHCP reservations and static IPs

00:47:00 EV charging and roller shutters

00:51:00 Upgrades and family installations

00:55:00 Local AI and language learning

00:59:00 Wrap-up

This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors

Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa

Zooz

For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com

Apollo Automation

Clean My Mac

Get Tidy Today! Get 7 days free and use our code ASSISTANT for 20% off

Want Phil to help with your smart home?

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

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

Rob went from 15 Apps to One Smart Home With Home Assistant Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

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 YouTube

Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA249

Support the Podcast

Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

https://homeassistant.fm/patreon

Share your story

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:00 Escaping the app overload

00:07:00 First automations and Wi-Fi devices

00:10:00 Batteries, presence sensors and vacuums

00:17:00 UniFi network and Home Assistant upgrade