How Andrew Rebuilt His Solo Smart Home When a Roommate Moved In
Home Assistant Podcast
Physical controls, voice, and reducing phone reliance
Andrew discusses using physical switches, buttons, and voice assistants to balance automation and manual control.
Andrew joins Phil and Rohan to share how he outgrew Apple HomeKit and built a powerful multi-user smart home in Home Assistant. We cover presence detection with ESP32s and sensors, ditching MyQ for a Meross garage opener, Yale smart locks, bathroom humidity fan automations, and fun ESPN sports goal alerts.
Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA223
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Chapters
00:00:00 - Welcome, Sponsors, Intro
00:02:00 - Andrew’s Tech Beginnings
00:05:00 - From Apple Home to HA
00:08:00 - Breaking HomeKit Limitations
00:11:00 - Hardware: Pi to Proxmox
00:14:00 - Backups, Restores, Cleanup
00:16:30 - Multi-User Automation Challenges
00:19:00 - Presence Without Phone Tracking
00:22:00 - Buttons, Switches, Voice Balance
00:25:00 - ESP32 Presence And Motion
00:29:00 - Bathroom Humidity Fan Logic
00:33:00 - Sensor Health & Batteries
00:36:00 - Lighting Philosophy & Accents
00:39:00 - WLED, TV Backlights, Aesthetics
00:41:30 - Goals For The Year, 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.
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
Notion is an AI-powered, connected workspace for teams. Notion brings all your notes, docs, and projects into one space that just works. Try Custom Agents now at https://notion.com/homeassistant
Products Discussed
Meross Smart Garage Door Opener (with reed sensor): https://amzn.to/4ratgV5
Third Reality Smart Switch (Toggle/rocker add-on): https://amzn.to/4kupS4S
Aqara Temperature & Humidity Sensor: https://amzn.to/4twysV1
Philips Hue Dimmer Switch: https://amzn.to/3MskUZN
Philips Hue Lightstrips: https://amzn.to/465QhA5
Govee Floor Lamp: https://amzn.to/4rfMRDv
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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