Smart Home

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opendisplay-reterminal-e1002
Home Assistant's ePaper ecosystem finally has an open standard worth building around

OpenDisplay looks like it could unify a display standard for all kinds of devices.

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Switchbot Curtain 3 on curtain rod
Curtain automation is fun, but the weird smart home projects are where things get really useful

Make your smart home work for you.

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Blink Video Doorbell + Outdoor 4
Budget security doesn't mean compromise, but this bundle proves most paid options are overpriced

The 69% discount is jaw-dropping

A white Amazon Echo Dot 2nd Generation smart speaker
I finally audited my smart home after 3 years and found 4 security problems hiding in plain sight

Don't risk missing these.

Running HASS on a laptop
Local LLMs changed how I use Home Assistant, and now my smart devices actually listen

Local LLMs made my Home Assistant setup far more responsive than any app or integration

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Fmaily holding an Arzopa D14 photo frame.
Arzopa’s D14 digital photo frame turns Mother’s Day into a gallery of memories

This article is sponsored by Arzopa.

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Home Assistant iPhone 12 controller
Home Assistant's intimidating reputation is completely undeserved once you survive the first week

This smart home platform is a lot easier once you get accustomed to its quirks

Holding a smart plug in front of some home lab devices
Most smart home problems aren't automation problems, they're network problems in disguise

Router is the culprit

smart home devices on a table including a camera and tv box
Cloud-connected smart home gear isn't smarter, it's just slower and riskier

Local only is the best way forward for so many reasons

A Google Home Mini on a table
Gemini for Home sounds impressive until you realize Home Assistant already does it better

Google is too late to the party

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Photo of diyHue software for Home Assistant running on a laptop
I tried Hue Bridge Emulator for my smart bulbs and lights — turns out, I didn’t need it

One layer too many.

A photo of tablet running Assist in to use Speech to Phrase in Home Assistant
5 boring Home Assistant automations I’d set up before trying AI control

Set the foundation first.

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The Apple TV 4K sitting on a couch
Matter promised to fix smart homes, but created a worse mess instead

It seemed so great in theory.

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A photo of smart plugs, smart bulbs, smart speakers, and a laptop running Home Assistant
Smart home guides keep pushing the wrong starter setup – here are some tips that actually work

The wrong smart home setup can cost you a lot of time and money

Chromecast in front of pink wall
I turned my dusty Chromecast into a $250 smart home hub replacement

Don't let your old devices become e-waste.

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xiao esp32 c5 grove gesture sensor
I replaced my Echo with a $4 ESP32-powered speaker that runs entirely on my local network

You don't have to worry about your voice travelling to servers you don't control.

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ESP32 makes more sense than Raspberry Pi in a smart home
The ESP32 makes more sense than a Raspberry Pi for your smart home

More coverage, less overhead.

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Using Qwen 3.5 to query Home Assistant about entities via the HA-MCP Server
I connected my local LLM to Home Assistant through MCP, and now my smart home manages itself

Yet another fun way to control my smart home hub

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Home Assistant Global Health Score displayed on Windows PC - featured
Stop automating your smart home, it's making things worse

Now my smart home demands less attention and generates less confusion, all while still handling the tasks I actually care about.

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switch
Most DIY smart home buttons are terrible, so I built one that actually feels good

Keyboard switches for the win.

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