Hiding Smart Tech in a 1950s Home: Mike’s Home Assistant Journey
Home Assistant Podcast
What Mike won't automate and locks debate
Mike explains being cautious about door locks, aesthetics, and testing SwitchBot and Level options.
Mike joins Phil and Rohan to share how he hides smart tech in a 1953 mid‑century home so it looks analog but works like magic. Plus: Roborock tricks, leak sensors that turn rooms blue, HomePod TTS vs Sonos ducking, Samsung Frame art‑mode headaches, and running full HA OS in a VMware Fusion VM on a Mac mini.
Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA221
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Chapters
00:00:00 Welcome
00:03:00 Lighting gateway and Hue hack
00:05:30 Sneaking tech and dance reveal
00:08:00 From HomeKit/HomeBridge to HA
00:10:30 Dashboards and camera setup
00:12:30 Bulbs vs switches in 50s home
00:14:30 Bathroom fan and comforts
00:16:30 Homelab and Zigbee backbone
00:19:00 LLMs and announcements
00:21:30 Laundry alerts and Mac lab
00:25:30 Presence sensing strategy
00:28:00 Leak sensors and water safety
00:31:00 Light signals around the home
00:33:00 Roborock automations and hacks
00:40:30 Bedroom presence routines
00:43:00 Bayesian sensors and design
00:49:50 Time Machine and Frame TV
00:54:30 Pool fountain control
00:56:30 Power and crawlspace cabling
00:59:10 Party trick and outro
This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors
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Products Discussed
Philips Hue bulbs and lightstrips: https://amzn.to/4k7paur
Aqara T2 wall switch: https://amzn.to/4jUTZm1
Samsung The Frame TV (43"): https://amzn.to/4t5mTnr
Zigbee main water shutoff valve (generic): https://amzn.to/4aURldj
Aqara water leak sensors: https://amzn.to/3Nest6A
Aqara door/window sensors: https://amzn.to/49hmu9B
Third Reality sensors: https://amzn.to/455ZR5F
Ecobee thermostat with room sensors: https://amzn.to/4t4XYjO
Bond Bridge (ceiling fan RF hub): https://amzn.to/3YAbHBm
Aqara roller shade controllers: https://amzn.to/3O8ihwI
Level Lock: https://amzn.to/3ZcU3Ug
SwitchBot Lock (with keypad/fingerprint accessory): https://amzn.to/4a55H92
Hosts
Phil Hawthorne
Twitter: @philhawthorne
Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com
Rohan Karamandi
Twitter: @rohank9
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.
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