How Andrew Rebuilt His Solo Smart Home When a Roommate Moved In

0:04 [SPEAKER_03]: Hello and welcome to the home assistant podcast. [SPEAKER_03]: My name is Phil and with me today, I've got work on hitting that. [SPEAKER_03]: Good man. [SPEAKER_03]: How you doing? [SPEAKER_03]: Good. [SPEAKER_03]: Thank you and today we've got Andrew joining us. [SPEAKER_03]: Thanks for coming on Andrew.

0:16 [SPEAKER_01]: Thanks for having me. [SPEAKER_03]: As usual, this prompts cast is sponsored by the Homeston Cloud by Nebuchasa. [SPEAKER_03]: For a small monthly fee, you'll unlock powerful features, like Secure, FLS access to your system from anywhere, your choice of voice assistance, off-site backups, and more.

0:31 [SPEAKER_03]: All configurable in the UI with no gamble needed. [SPEAKER_03]: It also supports the development of home assistant, ESP home, and other open home foundation projects. [SPEAKER_03]: Click the link in the description to learn more. [SPEAKER_03]: We'd also like to give a shout out to our Patreon members, including our executive producers, Benny, Jason, and Rob.

0:50 [SPEAKER_03]: You can help support the show and get early access to episodes or in an ad-free feed. [SPEAKER_03]: To support the show, check out Home Assistant to do on FM and click Patreon in the menu. [SPEAKER_03]: And of course, if you can't do that, we'd appreciate a like, comment, subscribe or rating.

1:03 [SPEAKER_03]: Wherever you're listening or watching us today, it really helps us out. [SPEAKER_03]: Adry, thank you so much for joining us today. [SPEAKER_03]: Um, whereabouts of the world you're joining us from? [SPEAKER_03]: Nice, so another Easton Times, don't you think? [SPEAKER_03]: I'm guessing where is it?

1:17 [SPEAKER_03]: Western, Weston, Weston, Weston, Weston, Weston. [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I'm on the other side of the view. [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_03]: Clearly, I don't get to know my geography of United States as well as they teach in US schools. [SPEAKER_03]: Um, but yeah, thank you for joining us, um, how, how did you get here today?

1:31 [SPEAKER_03]: Like, what have you always been into home automation? [SPEAKER_03]: Have you always been into, smile like, where have you on a latte background? [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I make the joke all the time. [SPEAKER_02]: I tore my first computer part when I was eight. [SPEAKER_02]: My parents hated the fact that it took me four years to put it back together, because it was our own computer.

1:45 [SPEAKER_02]: Um, and after that, yeah, started digging into it every way. [SPEAKER_02]: We got higher professionally to do some of this stuff when I was 21 and been doing it ever since. [SPEAKER_02]: I got really into, well, started getting into home automation with Apple about 10 years ago, started with the home pod and lights because I lived in an apartment and that's about all I could do.

2:09 [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_02]: And then. [SPEAKER_02]: during COVID found home assistant and your guys' podcast and started digging into it and yeah just down the rabbit also to speak. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, like it's a pretty deep rabbit hole, all right, right once again. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I don't want to mention have you, I think found like co for me, like that seems coming pretty late to the party because I've been able to see an animation a bit longer.

2:40 [SPEAKER_03]: I [SPEAKER_03]: How have you found transitioning from an Apple ecosystem into home-resistant was that like a logical step or was it something you're trying to avoid needing to do? [SPEAKER_02]: I, well, so I kind of stuttered up with it, because I found it originally, they hadn't come out with the loveless interface yet.

2:58 [SPEAKER_02]: So it was all still the ammo and I tried and got frustrated. [SPEAKER_02]: It's all still set up an Apple, I don't need to do it. [SPEAKER_02]: And then eventually, [SPEAKER_02]: bit the bull and didn't, yeah, now I can't imagine going back. [SPEAKER_02]: I still have everything passed through Apple so I can talk to, you know, and then.

3:17 [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, it was, it was a, it was interesting, you know, journey for the first couple of months. [SPEAKER_02]: Well, okay, it's this is still an apple. [SPEAKER_02]: So I got up, no, okay. [SPEAKER_02]: And then, [SPEAKER_02]: months of rewriting automations that apples ecosystem doesn't let me do too much of if then statements and much more control over it than just trigger action.

3:42 [SPEAKER_05]: So what prompted the move to go from apple to home assistant obviously it's a larger undertaking so what was lacking or what motivated the move to home assistant lack of the automation [SPEAKER_02]: Just how, how, you know, lock down they had it and how the lack of options I had within conditions and, and I still, what was the, what's the name of the app.

4:07 [SPEAKER_02]: There's one that I use that gave me a little more control, but I still wasn't still wasn't where I wanted it to be and I find it. [SPEAKER_03]: There's a short cut set on iOS, I think. [SPEAKER_02]: So the shortcuts, but there's also it's the home. [SPEAKER_02]: I might still have it actually, but I don't have a home.

4:21 [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, yeah, well, so there's somebody built a third party. [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, Apple home, basically, like, so it opened up a lot of the options that Apple had locked down. [SPEAKER_02]: And, but even that was still to restricted for my liking. [SPEAKER_02]: It was home plus. [SPEAKER_02]: That's what it was.

4:38 [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, yes. [SPEAKER_02]: Okay. [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_02]: I just had to look at the app. [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, it was home plus, and it opened up a lot of the other options, which was a nice bridge to get me part of the way there. [SPEAKER_02]: And then, once I was comfortable enough doing somebody hammering [SPEAKER_02]: and levels that come around enough so it wasn't all, you know, looking at the lining lines of code.

4:59 [SPEAKER_02]: It was much, much better and I said, yeah, all right, I'm going to take the time and do it and just one automation at a time moved him over to [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, the home assistant, now, yeah. [SPEAKER_02]: There's nothing but entities in home for me. [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, I can talk to in control.

5:15 [SPEAKER_03]: So starting from Apple HomeKit to do, then trying to keep a lot of the devices that you then bringing, like the new devices, you'll bring you to the home to be Apple HomeKit compatible and going through homeKit, or if you branched out into new protocols and directly into home equipment.

5:30 [SPEAKER_02]: Once I made this wish to home assistant, it's anything that I'm looking for that works with home assistant or scouring right at making sure that it does work with that. [SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sticking with just, unless it bit me, but it definitely restricted what I could get. [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm like, no, I want to try and I've come up with some cheap Zigbee stuff that didn't work how I wanted it.

5:50 [SPEAKER_02]: And spent more money and no, okay, well, that works better. [SPEAKER_02]: So, but yeah, it was, yeah, I'm not good. [SPEAKER_02]: I haven't sat there and done [SPEAKER_02]: Just one, I think in this room alone, I've got Siri Zigbee Switch Z-Way. [SPEAKER_02]: I'm up over the board, so. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, you've gone completely across protocol.

6:11 [SPEAKER_03]: That's good. [SPEAKER_05]: What prompted the, I know you said in your previous place, you, again, you were using, or just pyramid, she just lights in and we're not. [SPEAKER_05]: Why do it at all? [SPEAKER_05]: Like what was the problem you're solving there or is it just like a hate of school or anything?

6:28 [SPEAKER_02]: I could. [SPEAKER_02]: It was cool. [SPEAKER_02]: And I could not now. [SPEAKER_02]: Now it's I want to solve problems with it. [SPEAKER_02]: And I want to. [SPEAKER_02]: I made that leap to being like, okay, now I've done the cool stuff. [SPEAKER_02]: What else can I do with it? [SPEAKER_02]: What problems can I solve?

6:42 [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, I made that. [SPEAKER_02]: I've had the realization the other day that I haven't touched the light switch in my house and I couldn't tell you how long. [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so now it's, things like, oh, I don't want to, I don't want to have to get up and turn the fire place on, I'm going to automate that, I'm going to, yeah, very, very, you know, I don't say stupid problems, but [SPEAKER_02]: First world problems I don't need.

7:04 [SPEAKER_03]: So you mentioned before that you didn't like the Yamal base of the then called Lovelace Dashboards. [SPEAKER_03]: How have you, is that mean you've also had an a version to doing automations and coding automations in Yamal? [SPEAKER_03]: Have you preferred to use those just some automation UI to do that?

7:22 [SPEAKER_02]: I definitely do prefer the UI, but I've now years later gotten to the point that I can do it in [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I'm just it's easier to do it that way and at the time when this when I got into it I was in just a desktop desktop for support role for work So I was not doing this at all and it was fairly just me learning it So and I've moved up and done some other stuff in my career.

7:49 [SPEAKER_02]: So now it's more Oh, I understand what I'm doing because I saw this at work or vice versa, which is happened a lot [SPEAKER_03]: So what was your journey like moving to home assistant? [SPEAKER_03]: What hard did you use some hard work that you already had around the house? [SPEAKER_03]: Like just going a docker or do you go out by home assistant green?

8:05 [SPEAKER_03]: What was your sort of method to going on to home assistant? [SPEAKER_02]: I originally, uh, I had, I still think I have it. [SPEAKER_02]: Uh, the original Raspberry Pi. [SPEAKER_02]: But the one, like the, um, I made it work out. [SPEAKER_02]: You made it work. [SPEAKER_02]: That's, yeah, okay.

8:21 [SPEAKER_02]: Okay. [SPEAKER_02]: And then immediately got it. [SPEAKER_02]: to, or whatever the next one out, the most recent one out at the time was, and, well, this is much better. [SPEAKER_02]: And ran that for two years. [SPEAKER_02]: Okay. [SPEAKER_02]: Right. [SPEAKER_02]: Roughly. [SPEAKER_02]: And then, yeah, I moved to, I'm on the proxmox now with it.

8:43 [SPEAKER_02]: on that. [SPEAKER_05]: And all this is pre, pre backups, I guess, too, right? [SPEAKER_02]: And it's, yeah, when I moved to proxmox, it wasn't. [SPEAKER_02]: But beyond that, yeah, I dreaded any time, something went wrong. [SPEAKER_02]: It was not a fun time, yeah, and now, but yeah, and when I moved from the Raspberry Pi to the mini PC, it was just backup, restore, hey, I'm done.

9:11 [SPEAKER_05]: reconfigure i think the zigny stick and that was it It's but it's sometimes it's also nice just to start fresh right because it's like you you get rid of all the All the crap or just all the legacy stuff like automations that might not need to run anymore and stuff like that Where it's like oh, you know, I don't even have half of these things anymore.

9:28 [SPEAKER_05]: Whatever get rid of it or I replace or Whatever, right, so that kind of stuff is nice [SPEAKER_05]: But but I feel like depending on how you build a lot of that stuff like right now I use tags for wherever I can right our labels for anything wherever I can. [SPEAKER_05]: So it's like it's just a matter of switching the labels right so my automations are still fresh and get used on whatever but But yeah, there's almost something potentially therapeutic about that.

9:57 [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I look at it and sometimes when I could review this but I also [SPEAKER_02]: don't want to don't want to completely start over if I don't have to, but yeah there's times you look at it, if you have no, I don't use that, don't do that, don't, and then I'll go turn clean it up, but yeah it's, I know I've got a bunch of old like sensors in there in the configuration that you have will file it, probably don't do anything anymore, and I just haven't offered to go clean them up.

10:23 [SPEAKER_03]: As a developer that doesn't like deleting code, like it, it's like one of the scariest things I'm like, what am I, but I'm pulling this out, what else is going to break when I took this out. [SPEAKER_02]: It's it's definitely, yeah, that's where I've gotten to it's okay, I think I'm mirroring this touches, but if I miss something.

10:40 [SPEAKER_02]: You know, are my, you're not going to unlock when I get home. [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, yeah, yeah, life's not going to come on or yeah. [SPEAKER_03]: All right. [SPEAKER_03]: So you've moved on to proxmox. [SPEAKER_03]: What does your home look like in terms of who's in the homies? [SPEAKER_03]: It's just yourself.

10:54 [SPEAKER_03]: Have you got family living with you? [SPEAKER_03]: Have you had to accommodate for them as well? [SPEAKER_02]: So when I built it originally, I was living in the south by myself. [SPEAKER_02]: And I had a friend move in with me two years ago now. [SPEAKER_02]: And [SPEAKER_02]: I had to rethink almost everyone of my automations.

11:11 [SPEAKER_02]: Yep. [SPEAKER_02]: I did have what I thought was a pretty verbose guest mode that was not in the interview for rewritten, because I assumed, because I'd live in my cell since I was 20, that I, you know, people do think it might not know. [SPEAKER_02]: She definitely made me rethink how.

11:35 [SPEAKER_02]: you know, lights work, how, you know, timers went out like she doesn't like the alerts I have on the coming through the house sometimes, but I'm like, yeah, you can deal with that. [SPEAKER_02]: And it's usually just, well, the dryer's done, but yeah, yeah, it's, but it did make me rethink.

11:51 [SPEAKER_02]: I had to rewrite. [SPEAKER_02]: arrival and you know leaving scripts because they were all just built on me Yeah, I would leave and then all of a sudden you'd be still home and everything and shut off and lock and like oh What was let me yeah? [SPEAKER_03]: So how do you handle that? [SPEAKER_03]: Did she was she happy to then be brought into the smart home ecosystem or did you want to be like a Not tracked in that way because like from a from that perspective it can get hard, right?

12:18 [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it did. [SPEAKER_02]: I found there is an iPhone tracker [SPEAKER_02]: app that can pick up some of the signals and I just hard-coded her IP address and set the set her location or her tracker to that integration and that's it so it tracks her she's home away and that's it she doesn't that she doesn't have the app on it she doesn't have any of that but and it just says when that IP address connects she's [SPEAKER_02]: I can live with that.

12:52 [SPEAKER_02]: It's, you know, mind, mind updates when I turn into the block, hers with social next to Wi-Fi. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, that's, I guess, one of the downsides you have. [SPEAKER_03]: Have you, like, is she able to interact with the smart home in the same way that you can look at the tablet on the wall or have you got to the point where the house is automated enough that there is a little to no interaction into home.

13:16 [SPEAKER_03]: There's the right way. [SPEAKER_02]: Little to no interaction. [SPEAKER_02]: It's most present sensors, which is things like that. [SPEAKER_02]: All that they all have physical switches, everything that's still work. [SPEAKER_02]: but there's no tablet on the wall, everything. [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it used to be when I first started, everything was through, you know, you had to jump into the app to do.

13:39 [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I got sick of that. [SPEAKER_02]: So I present protection with sensors, but blue to the USB home, or USB home, USB presence, yeah, it's got, I've gotten it pretty well. [SPEAKER_02]: Got a few things still yet that I want to do, but that's not always, that's an ongoing battle. [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah.

14:00 [SPEAKER_05]: And you said you got tired of, you know, using the phone and doing all that. [SPEAKER_05]: So, sounds like automations are pretty much your go-to now, but do you do any other tablets or any, I know you said you use the Apple voice system there, but is that primarily how you drive? [SPEAKER_05]: Like what do you do to modify, do one-off stuff?

14:21 [SPEAKER_02]: Or if I need to, if I do it on my phone, but I just, I didn't want to do it for, you know, when I first had the bulbs back in my apartment, I, they were smart bulbs. [SPEAKER_02]: So couldn't install these switches or putting them in on the wall. [SPEAKER_02]: So I had to use the phone to, and that was I think part of the driver too is to be like, no, I don't want to do this all the time, like to.

14:42 [SPEAKER_02]: And I, because I kind of go all the way to the wall when I do this. [SPEAKER_02]: I'd replaced all the bulbs in my apartment with smart bulbs, including my bedroom ones and the living bulbs. [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, sure. [SPEAKER_02]: I was having to turn off everything from my phone. [SPEAKER_02]: I'm like, oh, I didn't you press, press, press.

14:58 [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_02]: I went to far with it and when I saw when I bought this house and moved in, it's like, okay, do plan. [SPEAKER_02]: I do. [SPEAKER_02]: I don't do that at all. [SPEAKER_02]: I think I still have a few smart bulbs, but I have installed like a car or a car of buttons or the little tube dimmer switches that I can map to them.

15:18 [SPEAKER_02]: So I still have some physical control, but not as rely on just the app or whatever or the way you're seeing us sometimes. [SPEAKER_05]: Saying, yeah, sometimes that tactile bit is just just easiest, right? [SPEAKER_05]: And especially depending if there's other folks and my wife never has any idea where her phone is.

15:38 [SPEAKER_05]: It's like, it's just way easier to get up and just press button. [SPEAKER_03]: Okay, it's a button to you used to ping your phone because I had a personally used case for that with my wife to. [SPEAKER_05]: Oh, no, no, no. [SPEAKER_05]: I mean, I mean, to actually turn on and off like a switch.

15:51 [SPEAKER_05]: I still don't have all right. [SPEAKER_05]: For the same thing, the iPhone, that's what I Apple watches for. [SPEAKER_05]: It's got a little. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: I think that just that I cloud website still have that. [SPEAKER_00]: I think the one point they did. [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah, or you can do like I don't know from my phone.

16:07 [SPEAKER_05]: I can ping hers. [SPEAKER_05]: That won't do that ding ding ding. [SPEAKER_05]: Whatever. [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah [SPEAKER_03]: Have you got sort of like an imagining with your friends to live with you, but like three sort of Zones in the home. [SPEAKER_03]: We've got your own where it could be completely automated and middle zone where it's, you know, friendly for a non-smart home user Ish and then her zone where it's little to no automation would I be roughly right and that's how you sort of yeah.

16:34 [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so this is a three story townhouse that I live in and the other common areas are [SPEAKER_02]: presence detection lights, smart lock, smart garage door, things like that. [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, my room and bedroom completely automated, I don't touch anything. [SPEAKER_02]: Her bedroom has a door sensor and a smart bulb and a car button and that's it.

16:59 [SPEAKER_02]: There's nothing else in there that I, you know, if, if when she moves out, I'll probably do a little more to it. [SPEAKER_02]: But right now it's, yeah. [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, you want them to be comfortable too, and it's because I think the only thing I want to do left in that room is the main overhead light that I didn't do before she moved in and I feel we're going in there and doing that, but yeah, other than that, and it's yeah we've got, yeah, the we get home, the garage door opens and door front door on locks, based on who's there and [SPEAKER_02]: lights come on as we walk in the room, but yeah, hers is pretty well not the only automation I think I have for hers is when she opens the bedroom door tonight to get the halllight comes on.

17:45 [SPEAKER_03]: So what's [SPEAKER_02]: Hardware are you using for the front door like and the garage door if you've got like I'm compatible locks to use Apple HomeK or using it's a Yale model but it's a Yale lock originally had the when I was in the apartment had the August one that they you could retrofit fit over the top of the the deadbolt and use that until it finally died and then replaced it with a [SPEAKER_02]: and it's worked pretty well, and then I had the dreaded mic you originally for the garage door.

18:19 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_02]: And when that happened, I was like, nope, no more, no. [SPEAKER_02]: And looked at Ratt GDO, and up going with the morose that is home-kick compatible just in case. [SPEAKER_03]: Yes. [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, that's what I went with for that, and it's been rock solid.

18:37 [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, that's what I've got on my garage door. [SPEAKER_03]: Like I'm just pulling it into time. [SPEAKER_03]: Is it through home kit? [SPEAKER_03]: I'm an Android user, so I don't have an Apple home user at all. [SPEAKER_03]: And it's solid, right? [SPEAKER_03]: Like it's got the little re-sensor, so it knows when the door is open or closed.

18:52 [SPEAKER_03]: And it just works. [SPEAKER_03]: And it's a really fun idea. [SPEAKER_02]: I think the only problem that I've had where it was, was in a month or two ago, an update happened, and I had to change some setting in the config and an almost [SPEAKER_02]: the it would be got stuck. [SPEAKER_02]: I was opening your in the opening or closing state, but right.

19:10 [SPEAKER_02]: I was the only thing I've had to change on it. [SPEAKER_02]: And then they fixed it the next update. [SPEAKER_02]: And it's been nice solid sense. [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, it was yeah, concerning when I was at work and still said my garage door was running. [SPEAKER_02]: I think it was closing because that was what freaked me out.

19:24 [SPEAKER_02]: Like, oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah. [SPEAKER_05]: Why is it closing now? [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah, yeah. [SPEAKER_05]: It's it's funny. [SPEAKER_05]: So third reality makes this one thing where it's like, you know, there's still, there's still work to be done when you, when you have to wire into the relays of the [SPEAKER_05]: garage door and stuff and I thought it was hilarious when when the third reality we're filling I caught up with them at CES and the CEO of third reality is like yeah we just I'm just going a lot simpler and just make a button so they literally have this mechanical thing where it's like you slide your garage door like the remote in there like a spare remote and it just goes beep and it presses the button and I'm like

20:06 [SPEAKER_05]: It's a genius and it's matter and it's matter compliant. [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, so I have there's that does one of the the toggle lights, which is They've been yeah, they have that yeah, I have went for the for my fireplace because I wasn't I'm okay with electrical but yeah, and I'm like this is going to be just a and I found found that I'm like oh, yeah, this did it [SPEAKER_03]: So that turns on and off the lights on your fireplace.

20:33 [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, well, so no, it just turns off on on the fireplace. [SPEAKER_02]: So it's wired in, it's a gas fireplace. [SPEAKER_02]: You have a switch that I can turn it off. [SPEAKER_02]: And I tore apart the switch. [SPEAKER_02]: I'm looking at it. [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm just, no, I don't feel comfortable doing this.

20:45 [SPEAKER_02]: And we just got put on the back burner. [SPEAKER_02]: and eventually when I found the third reality thing, like yep, bought it and hooked it in and just... That's awesome. [SPEAKER_03]: How do you then track the state of the fireplace? [SPEAKER_03]: It's like, for me, the advantage to having a fireplace in home systems would be if I out, oh, did I leave the fireplace on?

21:03 [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, yes, I did, turn it off. [SPEAKER_03]: But if you're just using literally pushing a button on and off, how do you know if the fireplace is in use? [SPEAKER_02]: I haven't done that yet, it's I have one automation where if we're sitting in the living room for more than 10 minutes it kicks in it's after you know in the winter and after you it's a lot of conditions, but it will kick on after 10 minutes and I do have one that turns it off, but yeah, I'm still let's still want I'm [SPEAKER_02]: If I walked out of the room, I'm generally hitting the button.

21:34 [SPEAKER_03]: I wonder if there's like a sensor you could use maybe like a, if it's a gas, maybe you could use like a gas, no, it's gas being used. [SPEAKER_03]: Use the moment. [SPEAKER_03]: Maybe even just a light sensor, maybe you get like a cheap HP light sensor, pointed at the fireplace, and if there's enough light coming from the fireplace, that means it's all.

21:56 [SPEAKER_02]: Because yeah, I mean, it's so far this, which is work. [SPEAKER_02]: It's just one of the [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, with what it is, I feel, I mean, it is set set to turn the thing off when we leave the room or leave the house. [SPEAKER_02]: But I think actually coming up here to film this, I left it on and we'll see if it, there you go.

22:15 [SPEAKER_05]: Perfect test. [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah, it's cool. [SPEAKER_05]: I like their ethos of just like, you know, a lot of times when you're doing smart things. [UNKNOWN]: It's just, [SPEAKER_05]: you get so caught up into it and it's like, oh, what if I do this? [SPEAKER_05]: What if I do it? [SPEAKER_05]: And they're just like, listen, you can do all the encryption in the world you want, but the button pressing the thing that's authorized is fine.

22:35 [SPEAKER_05]: And I just thought that that that was hilarious. [SPEAKER_05]: And I was like, you know what? [SPEAKER_05]: I meant, right? [SPEAKER_05]: And yeah, so we can get with that. [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, yeah, the the Morose garage, it literally, it's a little remote, but it is the same thing. [SPEAKER_02]: You just program it and it's stuck on the wall [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah, yeah, so apparently Chamberlain is going to be releasing security 3.0 or whatever the next generation of their whatever you want to call it.

23:04 [SPEAKER_05]: They're their encryption standard thing that they want to lock people out of stuff. [SPEAKER_05]: Presurity purposes obviously. [SPEAKER_05]: whatever. [SPEAKER_01]: If someone's trying to get into my garage door, they're getting into my garage door, they're getting into my garage door.

23:21 [SPEAKER_01]: This is just so I don't have to think about it when I get home. [SPEAKER_01]: I don't, and then I forget to close it at night. [SPEAKER_05]: So I mean, when you're, when you're going through automations and stuff like that, like, how do you, what's your typical mentality around building it?

23:33 [SPEAKER_05]: Is it just like, hey, like, I know I'm going to be in this room or leverage presence for those kind of stuff. [SPEAKER_05]: I know you talked to my friends a couple of times. [SPEAKER_05]: And also, part two of that is, how do you leverage presence? [SPEAKER_05]: Like the motion is it actual presence sensors or what are you doing?

23:50 [SPEAKER_02]: Well, again, this is, this room is a really good example. [SPEAKER_02]: I have a presence, or a motion sensor, right on top of the door behind me, that kicks the light on when I walk in. [SPEAKER_02]: And then I have a presence sensor that I need to, that's, I need to look at the model, but I've got a presence sensor sitting off to the left of me that keeps the light on.

24:10 [SPEAKER_02]: as it can see me. [SPEAKER_02]: And I also have an ESP presence, ESP home area, ESP through to who device sitting on the desk. [SPEAKER_02]: That was the first way I tried, I started doing it. [SPEAKER_02]: Hey, I can turn on the light as I'm walking in. [SPEAKER_02]: Don't turn it off if you see me sitting in the, if you detect my watch, because that's what I use for the presence in the office.

24:31 [SPEAKER_02]: Like, and it worked fairly well, but because I have the living room right below me, where there's one, and then my bonus room upstairs, where there's one, [SPEAKER_02]: it bounces between and you can only do so much with that because you can set up the sensor the how far away from the sensor you can be to and the living room one is literally right below me so I am even though I think I have the office one set to one meter I'm still about two meters away from the one living room set straight now.

25:01 [SPEAKER_03]: Why don't you do something like a Bayesian sensor and multiple sensors to like filter that out? [SPEAKER_03]: What's the probability of being upstairs? [SPEAKER_03]: This is downstairs based on you know, is another motion sensor detecting activity down there or you know, the computer on downstairs like, what, yeah.

25:18 [SPEAKER_02]: The fact that this is where I'm at trying to figure out those kind of problems is, I think I did a pretty good job with getting the setup and working for the most part. [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, there's BS or that, I'll three of those. [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, it's, and then when I start an automation, it's okay, what's the end goal of it?

25:34 [SPEAKER_02]: I kind of work backwards from that, and then what can I use to trigger that, whether it's a presence, whether it's location, I have some really fun ones that are one of your guests and camera camera with his name, but had the ESPN sports team tracker, I do the same thing he did. [SPEAKER_02]: It starts playing the fights on throughout the house and how do you find a lot like is there in delay if you're watching the game like If I'm watching it through YouTube TV or Amazon Prime, it's usually about a 10 second delay.

26:20 [SPEAKER_02]: So I just built that into the automation and it works pretty well. [SPEAKER_02]: and then yeah that one got iterated through where at first it just didn't matter what what they did if they score they played then it's oh I got to be home for it to happen then it was still doing it and now it's I got to be home and I got to be watching one of those two as always just going to be a random stuff growing up and you're like yeah because you know nothing like Nirvana's lithium blasting through your house and we're talking team scores but you're not watching it yeah so that's I start with the [SPEAKER_02]: What do I want to happen and work backwards from there and then add fully other conditions that make it more tuned?

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28:00 [SPEAKER_03]: So for the best prices on all Zeus products, head over to thesmartesthouse.com. [SPEAKER_03]: That's thesmartesthouse.com. [SPEAKER_05]: So we always have to ask this Andrew, um, your favorite automations are like, oh, wildest ones are the wackiest or most unhinged, whatever the dairy you want to go.

28:19 [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I talked about one of the sports ones are always pretty fun. [SPEAKER_02]: One of the ones that's kind of boring to think about, but ended up changing a lot was I figured out used motion sensors, humidity sensors, and the, I don't know, yeah, so those in my bathrooms, my bathroom fan kicks on automatically when I don't have to think about it anymore and then it.

28:42 [SPEAKER_02]: looks at the aggregate humidity in the rest of the house and keeps going until it hits that. [SPEAKER_02]: That one was a game changer for me. [SPEAKER_03]: That's absolutely really good. [SPEAKER_03]: I didn't think of using the relative humidity around the rest of the house, right? [SPEAKER_03]: I would have bought it as a threshold, but no, now you are using smarts, so I actually know this isn't abnormal to the rest of the house, kick the fan on.

29:06 [SPEAKER_02]: And it does it even if, I mean, even if I'm not taking a shower, it will kick it on to keep the [SPEAKER_02]: The, unfortunately, the problem with my bathroom is it's in the middle of the house and no windows with no I have to be very cognizant of keeping it yeah yeah so you can be problem comfortable to mold and stuff.

29:23 [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I had that problem in my other place and that's what made me since I bought this and I'm like, oh, same problem. [SPEAKER_02]: Okay, let's yeah, not have that here. [SPEAKER_03]: So what does it say? [SPEAKER_02]: So it's all a car sensors in the bathroom and then I've got an eco be that does the rest of the house.

29:40 [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, right. [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, I found that the eco be, you made a least end or that the car, you could a car, a community sensor and I've just got it stuck right next to the shower. [SPEAKER_05]: Do you find that like when you start measuring all of that and taking the averages and stuff?

29:56 [SPEAKER_05]: Do you find that like sometimes I don't know like for me when I when I do averages with like I do average of my home temperature and stuff like that sometimes I have like ones that [SPEAKER_05]: like sensors die, right? [SPEAKER_05]: So then, or sensors get disconnected for whatever reason, whatever.

30:13 [SPEAKER_05]: And that tends to sometimes mess it up. [SPEAKER_05]: And then it took me a while to find that, hey, I can actually exclude non-zero, or non numerical sensors and stuff. [SPEAKER_05]: But then sometimes I start getting random, like, [SPEAKER_05]: Hey, these things are deprecated and it's like, okay, cool, I removed it and it's like still like, hey, it's deprecated and something like, do you find like when you're creating custom sensors like that, there's sometimes some weirdness there or I'm wondering if it's just a me think it might just be anything.

30:38 [SPEAKER_02]: I've run into a little bit of it, but I haven't, so the, I have the eco be handle all of the averaging and things like that and then I just pulled that data into homo system. [SPEAKER_02]: And I've had. [SPEAKER_02]: battery issues on some of my sensors that I think the humidity does get to it because they get says they're dead but they've been running.

31:02 [SPEAKER_02]: months with it saying, oh, it's a bit of a percent left or whatever. [SPEAKER_02]: I'm just like, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not unhooking all this just to change the battery until it dies. [SPEAKER_03]: You know, I've had the opposite way, like, senses won't report their battery level, it will just be at 100% the whole time and then they'll just stop reporting.

31:20 [SPEAKER_03]: And they still were putting like 100% because that was the last reading they gave to the system. [SPEAKER_03]: But they are offline. [SPEAKER_03]: So then I have, like, health sensors to go, okay. [SPEAKER_03]: If this device hasn't been seen for 24 hours, market as it's dead, right? [SPEAKER_03]: While you use like, as that wave has a great feature way, you can actually see when the node was last on the network.

31:42 [SPEAKER_03]: So if that exceeds a certain amount of time, mark that sensor is needed to be back to replace or something. [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_02]: I haven't had to run into that yet, but yeah, that would be a good, because yeah, it's actually not on the Z-wave, the pieces that I have there, but then I don't have that [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, it may be just a car and they're the version of Zigbee.

32:05 [SPEAKER_03]: It can be, like they can have some really good devices seem to comply to be, but they're old as stuff, like yeah, it can be a hidden miss on what is supported compared to, like, maybe Zigbee to MPTT would have better support versus that H.A. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, it's just, yeah. [SPEAKER_02]: And I think to your point, I think one of the, the one I've got in the bathroom [SPEAKER_02]: is one of the older ones, and it sets their net.

32:33 [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, it's working, but it says it's, yeah, or if you're right, I think I have had it works. [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, no, it's reporting, and nope, no, it's not working. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_03]: So then you'll create the automation set. [SPEAKER_03]: You go to like a fun automation that you just have the part from the football songs going off.

32:53 [SPEAKER_02]: I did just download a new [SPEAKER_02]: integration that's something that could be defined as what it's called and it's a music trivia game I'm assistant yeah in the home assistant and I haven't had a chain I haven't had a chance to test it out yet I did a while I was on a trip last week I installed it remotely I'm like oh I'll do it when I get back and I haven't had a chance this week so that was going to be my plan after after this was to tell you how does this work it [SPEAKER_02]: music, it's either YouTube, it's your app and music.

33:30 [SPEAKER_02]: And it just plays a song and you have to identify it. [SPEAKER_02]: I'm a little worried because it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a German developer. [SPEAKER_02]: So I'm a little worried that I'm not going to know any of the music, but I'm going to give it a shot. [SPEAKER_03]: I think this got mentioned randomly in one of our criticals with the timid nevacasa in open home about, yeah, like, it was very fresh coming out.

33:53 [SPEAKER_03]: So yeah, I haven't played with this one yet, but it does look fun. [SPEAKER_02]: I'm, I'm a, I'm a, in addition to being a huge automation nerd and a huge trivia nerd too. [SPEAKER_02]: So I was just going to combine both. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_03]: that's cool. [SPEAKER_03]: And what about lighting?

34:08 [SPEAKER_03]: Like you mentioned before, you've got some Philips Hue buttons. [SPEAKER_03]: Have you done any accent lighting as well as just lumbar lighting? [SPEAKER_03]: If you don't like any omission with colors or anything? [SPEAKER_02]: Not really. [SPEAKER_02]: I've got the wake up, my wake up thing that does, that simulates the sunlight, a sunrise in the morning.

34:27 [SPEAKER_02]: It does, you know, the warm [SPEAKER_02]: one of the Philips you and go land something like that behind a TV for a while and it didn't work and because the Philips light strips are the few light strips are so expensive I haven't and I know there's a couple other options but I just have bit the bulletin bought one of those it but it's coming I know it but I just need to have the disposable income to do it [SPEAKER_03]: I think for me, WLAD is just that another rabbit hole that I know is so deep that I'm trying to avoid going down.

35:07 [SPEAKER_03]: Because it looks like the things people do with that are so cool and I know if I get started, I'm never coming out of that rabbit hole. [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, that excites, I've seen some of that too and I'm like, okay, that's another piece of this that I don't know very well. [SPEAKER_02]: And yeah, the same way I'd be like up after I'm going to dive in, start with just...

35:27 [SPEAKER_02]: 14 to do one color, and then the next, you know, I'll be doing patterns and all sorts of stuff with it. [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, I'd like to get the backlit TV stuff. [SPEAKER_02]: I'd like to get, I have the most of my counters or coverage have under counter lighting, and it already that are just straight LED's, but I have the up to a smart switch and that works that way, but yeah, I haven't really found it.

35:58 [SPEAKER_02]: say that I'd get a lot into, but I want the function of the color matching on the TV when I watch it, and I want that kind of stuff. [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, the just to have a WLED running around the top of my ceiling would doesn't really do much for me. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, and for me, like, yeah, I see like, you see some concept images like from, you know, like, Philips Hue and stuff, and I have like the LEDs around in the archives, something like, if I had Octopus, maybe I don't do that, [SPEAKER_02]: Would you, would you, would you use it?

36:28 [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, um, like, and particularly when you have multiple people in the home, like I like having the likes down low, so that the color lights around the house look nice. [SPEAKER_03]: I like the accent lighting that, um, they could like fill two lights can do, but my wife doesn't like she likes the, to be bright at night, um, around the house.

36:46 [SPEAKER_03]: So then that sort of defeats the purpose, um, and like that's just my house. [SPEAKER_03]: I'm sure there's everyone's got like different, you know, what people want in there [SPEAKER_05]: like I like like accents and like I mean Phil you've got the nano leaves behind you there right like I like that kind of stuff where it's like it's kind of functional but it looks nice but it's like like and you know and I know this is a thing that's probably for a way younger demographic than I am but it's like I see like the curtain LEDs for example right that are on people's walls and stuff like that and I was like [SPEAKER_05]: I don't love the look of that.

37:22 [SPEAKER_05]: I again, it's not for me. [SPEAKER_05]: I totally get it where why people like it and that kind of thing, but it's [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah, I'm one of those people where it's even like as I drive down the street during Christmas time and it's like you'll see sometimes like you'll see that nice like clean like taught like Christmas lights and then you'll just see the ones that are kind of just like all over the place and it's just yeah.

37:45 [SPEAKER_02]: So it's like I I get that right, but yeah, so I've got one of the nano leaf things in my bedroom and I use that as part of the wake up. [SPEAKER_02]: But automation and a goal and again again a goby would have the floor lamps so those are those are on more often My better and then the ceiling light is but the yeah, that's it.

38:07 [SPEAKER_02]: I mean it's nice to help just keep it look lit But not too bright and helping won't help you wind up or wind down and but yeah, I can Look back at you know teenagers and teenage years and teenagers that I know now that have the lights [SPEAKER_02]: loosely stronger on the seat they're sealing and it's like, and if I'm going to do it, it's going to look nice, but it's just not one of those that and don't get me wrong.

38:34 [SPEAKER_05]: If I was born, if I was like, say 15 years younger, I would totally take that. [SPEAKER_05]: Like I would I would be all over that, right? [SPEAKER_05]: It's so I'm I'm by no means poopoing on people that that like it's it's I think for me, I've just grown out of that in my, yeah, semi advanced age.

38:51 [SPEAKER_05]: Let's call it. [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_03]: So we're recording this on, for me, at least it's the last day of January, on 26, what are you hoping to achieve this year? [SPEAKER_03]: Like, what is there anything cool or new that you're hoping to achieve in your home? [SPEAKER_03]: This isn't set up this year that you want to try and get done, you haven't had a chance to start yet.

39:11 [SPEAKER_02]: I'm trying to think there isn't, I mean, so I just recently got, you can kind of see it here. [SPEAKER_02]: The bamboo 3D printer, I'm trying to do more with that. [SPEAKER_02]: I got the integrated into [SPEAKER_02]: done and paused and all that stuff trying to figure out, you know, ways that I can do that.

39:30 [SPEAKER_02]: There's, I'm just constantly trying to make it, I don't say better, but more efficient, more, you know, I've rewritten several of my integrations last couple of months to make them do a better job than what I originally wrote it, you know, two, three, four years ago. [SPEAKER_02]: I'm constantly in their tinkering.

39:48 [SPEAKER_02]: I would like to, at your point, the WLED stuff, I know if I do [SPEAKER_02]: all in the ESP 32 devices in general. [SPEAKER_02]: I want to get more into and figure out what I can do with. [SPEAKER_02]: I've got three boards just sitting here that I haven't even done anything with. [SPEAKER_02]: That's the stuff that I'm like, okay, I have to the point that I gotta get some accessories for them, but I can make it do some pretty cool stuff if I want and I just need to decide what that is.

40:20 [SPEAKER_02]: And yeah, most of the rooms are pretty kidded out, so I don't need to do more additional stuff. [SPEAKER_02]: It's just, sure. [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_03]: Well, that's awesome. [SPEAKER_03]: Every thank you so much for joining us today. [SPEAKER_03]: We really appreciate it. [SPEAKER_03]: And yet, well, I'm going to leave a confinder a link to that music trivia component.

40:40 [SPEAKER_03]: You just mentioned to all the app there. [SPEAKER_03]: I'll leave that in the show tonight, because that I think's going to be a fun onto the football play with. [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I'm just, like I said, I'm just hopeful that it's [SPEAKER_02]: more because I recognize that the guys with the developers from Germany and I'm like, okay, it could be, I know one of the one of the categories was Eurovision songs, but other than that, I'm like, it says one hit wonders from where.

41:02 [SPEAKER_03]: So, that's fine, down. [SPEAKER_03]: I like it. [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah, I mean, it's trivia, right? [SPEAKER_05]: Did you make it as easy as it could be? [SPEAKER_05]: So, maybe it's like mud mode and it's like, here's this random, I know it's a German developer, but it's like here's this random, like Latvian top 10 song.

41:20 [SPEAKER_03]: Awesome. [SPEAKER_03]: Thank you so much for joining us. [SPEAKER_03]: We really appreciate it. [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for having us. [SPEAKER_02]: Thanks for having us. [SPEAKER_02]: Thanks for having us. [SPEAKER_02]: Thanks for having us. [UNKNOWN]: Cheers. [SPEAKER_03]: Cheers. [SPEAKER_03]: If you want to share your home assistant journey or come on as a guest, reach out to us at feedback at haspodcast.io.

41:38 [SPEAKER_03]: That's HAS podcast.io. [SPEAKER_04]: this podcast is hosted by Phil Hawthorne and myself, Rohan Keremandi.