Home Assistant Podcast

Mike (SmartyVan), a YouTuber and vanlifer who converted a Mercedes Sprinter into an off-grid smart RV, walks through designing mobile smart-home systems. He covers power choices like solar and alternator charging. He discusses Starlink on the move, Bluetooth presence and geolocation, wired vs Zigbee sensors, PoE cameras with Frigate, and reliability considerations for life on the road.

We’re diving into Kaden’s cat-first smart home: Reolink + Frigate for pet detection, PetLibro feeders, and a Litter-Robot 4 all tied together with Home Assistant and LLM-generated dashboards.Watch this episode on YouTubeShow notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA226Support the PodcastGet early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.https://homeassistant.fm/patreonShare your storyWe 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.Chapters00:00:00 Intro00:03:35 From HomeBridge to Home Assistant00:07:20 Cat cams and Frigate detection00:12:45 Smart feeders and litter box00:16:40 Human presence and privacy00:20:50 Garage automation journey00:24:42 State models and sponsor break00:30:50 Wall tablet dashboards00:36:27 Water monitoring with RTL-SDR00:40:32 Energy tracking and panel CTs00:44:52 Cutting server power draw00:48:06 WLED beats Govee cloud00:51:00 BLE proxies and neighbors00:54:00 On-call alerts and alarms00:56:20 Wrap-up and linksThis episode was made possible thanks to our sponsorsHome Assistant Cloud by Nabu CasaEasily 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.ZoozIf 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.comClean My MacGet Tidy Today! Get 7 days free and use our code ASSISTANT for 20% offProducts DiscussedPetLibro automatic feeder: https://amzn.to/4bh3NnjPetLibro water fountain: https://amzn.to/4aIDjLsWhisker Litter-Robot 4: https://amzn.to/4ch47DISamsung Galaxy Tab A9 Plus: https://amzn.to/4rVv0lmNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti: https://amzn.to/4tZ8NodGoogle Coral AI Accelerator (referenced): https://amzn.to/4r44S6EHome Assistant Connect ZWA2 radio (ad): https://amzn.to/47jdYp3HostsPhil HawthorneWebsiteSmart Home ProductsTwitter: @philhawthorneBluesky: @philhawthorne.comBuy Phil a CoffeeRohan KaramandiWebsiteSmart Home ProductsTwitter: @rohank9Buy Rohan a CoffeeThis 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

They dig into using local and private LLM models to power Home Assistant automation and routing. They talk about using Copilot to generate YAML and HACS add‑ons like AI Agent and AI Suggester. Vision models on doorbells and cameras for alerts and token-saving heuristics get practical coverage. They also wrestle with OpenClaw integration, OAuth quirks, and when agent-style automation actually helps.

Updates include mapping robot vacuum rooms to Areas for voice control and better segment handling. Discussion of Android wake-word support to set Home Assistant as the default assistant. Highlights on Python 3.14 performance gains and SendSpin multiroom sync progress. New integrations and device support roundups and a review of notable breaking changes.

A maker rebuilds a multi-user smart home after moving in a roommate. They discuss presence detection with ESP32s and clever non-phone tracking, replacing MyQ and adding Yale locks, and bathroom humidity fan automations to prevent mold. There are playful automations like sports goal alerts and WLED lighting ideas mixed with hardware upgrades from Pi to Proxmox.

Will Osborne-Kennedy, a DIY home automation tinkerer and blogger, explains taming a period UK house and a remote Canary Islands property with Home Assistant, ESPHome, Zigbee, and Shelly. He covers remote pool and hot-tub control, a cheeky straw-antenna fridge sensor, tactile dashboards, AI-assisted heating tricks, and multi-site remote access strategies.

A midcentury home kept looking 1950s while sneaky smart devices hide in plain sight. Lighting hacks, hidden audio tricks, and clever washer/dryer and leak alert signals save headaches. Roborock timing, Zigbee and hub strategies, running full Home Assistant on a Mac mini, and quirky TV art‑mode and pool automation problems round out the conversation.

They walk through the 2026.2 release with the new default home dashboard, Command‑K command palette, and a dedicated Matter dashboard. They discuss renaming add‑ons to apps and expanded automation triggers. CES 2026 highlights, the Open Home Foundation device database, and a Google Home outage are also covered.

Miranda Bishop, Partnerships Manager at the Open Home Foundation who runs the Works With Home Assistant program, walks through device testing and partner onboarding. She discusses Zigbee vs Z‑Wave vs Matter, how the badge is policed, regional device coverage, and practical testing workflows. She also shares fun personal automations and future certification goals.

Aaron shares his journey transforming his Home Assistant setup into a reliable system for family life. He discusses Z-Wave provisioning and contrasts ESPHome with off-the-shelf solutions. Voice-triggered automations for cleaning and scheduling, like dishwasher flows, highlight practical applications. Aaron emphasizes the importance of modular UI and community contributions, while expressing cautious optimism about the Matter standard. He also shares tips on maintaining and decluttering automations for long-term success.