Living off the grid offers a unique blend of freedom and sustainability, and our cabin exemplifies this with its innovative power solution. Absent from the traditional electric grid, all of our electrical needs are met through solar energy, harnessed and managed with exceptional efficacy thanks to Victron’s state-of-the-art systems. Victron…
Automate Battery Replacement Tracking in Your Smart Home with Battery Notes
Introduction: In the realm of smart home management, keeping track of device batteries is paramount to ensure uninterrupted functionality. However, manually resetting battery replacement notifications can be cumbersome and easily forgotten. Fortunately, with the Battery Notes, you can automate this process effortlessly, ensuring your smart home devices run smoothly without…
Navigating Smart Home Connectivity: A Comprehensive Comparison of Wireless Protocols
In the ever-evolving landscape of smart home technology, the choice of wireless protocol becomes a pivotal decision, influencing the seamless connectivity and interoperability of devices. Let’s delve into the intricacies of Z-Wave, Zigbee, Thread, Matter, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi, examining their origins, features, and applications to empower you with the knowledge…
Optimizing Home Comfort: Introducing Advanced Heating Control in Your Smart Home
In the fast-paced world of Smart Home technology, efficient control over heating has become a crucial aspect of creating a connected and intelligent living space. While manual adjustments may seem outdated, the true brilliance lies in the automation possibilities that can be harnessed to create a seamless and comfortable environment….
Keep Track of Your Smart Home Device Batteries with Battery Notes
If you, like me, have a wide range of battery-powered devices in your smart home setup, it can be challenging to keep track of the battery types for each device. However, I recently stumbled upon an excellent solution called Battery Notes, a smart custom component that simplifies this task. Battery…
Smart gingerbread houses
OK, maybe a gingerbread house can’t be very smart. But the goal has long been to be able to control the lights in the gingerbread houses with the help of Home Assistant. So now it was time to do something about it. This is a fairly simple job. All one…
Internet in the cottage
We have a good old-fashioned cottage in the mountains, without running water or electricity. There is hardly GSM coverage in the cottage. But for a long time, we have wanted the option of internet.We have tried different solutions, everything from an amplifier on the Wi-Fi signal from a farm on…
Zigbee2MQTT -> ZHA
There are many opinions about which Zigbee solution is best for the Home Assistant. Some swear by Zigbee2MQTT and others want ZHA or Deconz solution. All three have their advantages and disadvantages.For a long time, I have used Zigbee2MQTT as a solution for the Zigbee network at home. It consists…