Category: Home Automation
Tesla Model Y – How it all started
Six months ago I ordered a new car and four months ago I took delivery of it. The title of this post already gave it away: I went fully electric and now drive a Tesla Model Y. Before I go into more detail about how I integrate the new car into my home automation ecosystem,…
Smarter Swimming Pool 7: Pool Gate
It’s time for an update on the endeavour to make my swimming pool smarter. After we partially refurbished our pool fence last year I thought it would be great to add a door sensor to the gate to notify myself when someone left the gate open for too long.
Regain Local Control to Smart Panel Heater
It’s time for an update on my Arlec panel heater (Model PEH223HA) after I partially lost control of the device in Home Assistant. So, here are the steps that I took to regain access.
Smart Lock – First impressions of the Aqara A100
After removing my old Kaadas K8 smart door lock after 4 years, I decided to try a different brand and model – in this case an Aqara A100. This post provides an overview of the installation process itself, integration into Home Assistant and the performance of the lock so far.
Working from Home – Migrate to Docker
I recently refreshed my work laptop and in that process moved away from Windows 10 onto a MacBook Pro. I am still using Microsoft Teams every day but the application PresenceLight that I installed 2 1⁄2 years ago to share my availability with Home Assistant does not work on macOS. The good news is that…
Smart Lock – Kaadas K8 Post Mortem
Four years ago I bought a Kaadas K8 smart lock and now I am replacing it with one from a different manufacturer. The following review is based on my own experience with the lock and somewhat anecdotal, and I hope it helps others when going on the journey to find and assess a suitable smart…
Gleaming Greenhouse Guide
I have recently found myself building a small indoor greenhouse as a prototype for a bigger one in the future. I am not a gardening expert myself, but I couldn’t resist in using some smart home technologies in this in-house commissioned project.
Subfloor Ventilation Made Easy
A subfloor ventilation system is probably something that most people get installed, configured and then forget about. And in many cases that might be fine, but if you had the opportunity, wouldn’t it be better to take more control over such a system? I decided to do exactly that and control the ventilation system based…
Smarter Swimming Pool 6: Chlorinator
My old pool chlorinator motor broke and instead of forking out another $600 on an overpriced pool accessory I decided to fix it using a new reduction gear motor, connect it to an ESP and control dosing liquid chlorine via Home Assistant.
