187 Automations, 300 Devices: Josh’s Smart Home Assistant Journey

28 snips

Dec 16, 2025

Josh, a home automation enthusiast and creator of the Josh's Smart Home YouTube channel, shares his journey of building an extensive setup with 300 devices. He discusses migrating from SmartThings to Home Assistant Green and how he established a reliable Zigbee mesh. Energy automations using a Tesla Powerwall are a highlight, as are his unique theater room automations. With 187 active automations, Josh emphasizes the tremendous time savings from smart devices, including robotic mowers and automated blinds, making home life efficient and enjoyable.

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INSIGHT

Time-Of-Use Automation Pays Off

Automate high-energy devices around time-of-use to save cost and avoid peak charges.
Josh schedules dehumidifiers and pool pump for cheapest tariff windows and pauses non-essential loads on outages.

ADVICE

Integrate Batteries Locally For Smarter Control

Integrate Powerwall and solar data locally into Home Assistant to enable smarter arbitrage and outage behavior.
Josh uses local Powerwall integration plus helpers to limit daily discharge and protect backup needs.

ADVICE

Use Car State For Garage And Climate

Use vehicle presence and state to trigger garage automations and preconditioning.
Josh checks Tesla driving state and location to open the correct garage and precondition when at work.

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