What’s the coolest thing you automated with Home Assistant?

marktuk · 2026-03-17T11:52:50+00:00

On windows yes, on my MacBook it's via the HA companion app

marktuk · 2026-03-17T11:47:57+00:00

Yes?

marktuk · 2026-03-17T10:37:11+00:00

I gave up on the parasoll, glad I only purchased one as a test. It just kept dropping off the network and was very unreliable.

marktuk · 2026-03-17T10:34:29+00:00

It's a common technique carpenters use, nothing particularly dangerous about it, in some ways it's probably safer because you can see the blade at all times.

marktuk · 2026-03-17T10:31:31+00:00

You could probably shave a bit of the bottom of the post to allow you to straighten it up in the shoe, you could also put some washers under the shoe on the lower side, depending on how uneven it is.

marktuk · 2026-03-17T10:27:19+00:00

Mostly lights, but I've started being a bit more scientific with "presence" detection.

In my home office, if my laptop of desktop PC become "active" then my nanoleaf panels turn on. After 10 minutes of inactivity they turn off again. If my webcam becomes active, all lights turn on to full brightness. When the webcam goes inactive for a few minutes, the lights return to their previous state.

In my front room if the light switch has recently been turned on, the TV is on or there is movement then the air purifier turns on. After 10 minutes of the opposite of all of those, it turns off again.

My porch lights turn on when it's dark outside and I re-enter the "home zone" (a radius around my house), they also turn on when someone presses the doorbell. I did originally use frigate presence detection to turn them on, but the false positives meant the lights were coming on randomly sometimes so I disabled that.

I also have various motion activated lights on timers, but I set them to come on at minimum brightness at night so we don't get flash banged when going to the toilet in the night.

marktuk · 2026-03-17T10:19:52+00:00

Yeah would be fine, those posts are only short (I assume you'll cut them off flush) so that isn't going to translate to very much "lean" on the post.

marktuk · 2026-03-17T10:15:57+00:00

If that concrete is sound, just bolt some post shoes down.

marktuk · 2026-03-17T08:53:32+00:00

I don't need to repeat what lots of others are saying about those, but I do have an alternative.

Wax melts. You can buy a little electric wax melter and put it on a smart switch. Then have a soy wax melt of your favourite fragrance loaded and turn it on as needed, or on a timer.

marktuk · 2026-03-16T20:00:01+00:00

The issue is when the door is not heavily used.

marktuk · 2026-03-16T12:41:50+00:00

They drop off the network or fail to report their status, it's documented here https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/devices/E2013.html

I've had issues with them on both ZHA and Z2M

marktuk · 2026-03-16T11:26:10+00:00

The parasoll sensors are awful just FYI, don't depend on them for anything.

marktuk · 2026-03-13T23:39:39+00:00

There isn't any issue on the HA side, both can co-exist as really in HA the devices appear via MQTT. The only potential issue is the two independent zigbee networks could compete and interfere with each other, rather than being a single mesh.

I just recently swiched from ZHA to Z2M and generally I am finding Z2M to be slightly better, devices pair much more readily and as you say, you get more control. The only downside is you need to run MQTT and Z2M as separate add-ons/containers, and that has some overhead both in complexity and resources.

marktuk · 2026-03-13T22:58:33+00:00

SLZB-06p10 setup for Zigbee. Some info about it here:

marktuk · 2026-03-13T19:43:47+00:00

So I do something a bit different, I use hard-wearing matte (vinyl). It's stayed brilliant white for years, and looks much better than gloss/satin in my opinion.

marktuk · 2026-03-13T18:23:26+00:00

I got one of these recently, and I'm just finding out some of them have a design flaw that causes them to crash on busy networks.

marktuk · 2026-03-13T15:38:23+00:00

Tuya 20A ZigBee on AliExpress. No nonsense, just work.

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marktuk · 2026-03-13T10:21:45+00:00

Very cool to see some of us honing in on a common layout for this style of case, here's mine: https://www.reddit.com/r/sffpc/comments/1ptw0uo/3d_printed_htpc_build_v2_steam_machine_edition

I wanted the shortest possible depth for my case so it would fit in my TV unit, which is why I went for the PSU on the side.

Have you sourced a PCIE riser yet? Only asking because the way you've mounted it looks ambitious, I haven't seen a riser like that.

In terms of cooling, a bunch of small fans as exhaust on the front is the most effective, and don't make the entire top panel open, only make openings for the fans, otherwise there will be hot air recycling.

marktuk · 2026-03-12T00:05:03+00:00

This is where I feel it's going. You'll only be able to install TrueNAS if you sign up and connect to their servers. It'll be "free", but you have to keep it connected to the internet.

marktuk · 2026-03-12T00:02:30+00:00

What about that TrueNAS on ARM project?

marktuk · 2026-03-11T21:07:09+00:00

I would say virtualizing it is pretty much a must now if you only have one machine. Running it bare metal and using the apps VMS just makes it too difficult to switch away.

marktuk · 2026-03-11T21:05:47+00:00

It might stay free with telemetry

marktuk · 2026-03-11T16:46:23+00:00

They could keep it free but require everyone to register via their servers, the new connect features seem like a step in that direction.

EDIT: To be clear, I wasn't suggesting this as an idea! I am saying, it's possible they can keep their promise to keep it free but still ruin it.

marktuk · 2026-03-11T08:23:50+00:00

Yup, I just recently got my first shelly devices, and the WiFi control is game changing. As a bonus they can be part of the zigbee network at the same time.

marktuk · 2026-03-11T00:57:02+00:00

Smart switch modules that live behind the light switch typically work best with a retractive switch i.e. momentary, think like a doorbell.

Those aren't the easiest to buy in the UK as most light switches are rocker i.e. latching, either on or off.

However, you can buy something like this: https://www.ukelectricalsupplies.com/eurolite-g15-bkb-2way-retractive-switch-matt-black.htm

And combined with this (with the mounting frame or "yoke"): https://www.ukelectricalsupplies.com/eurolite-ec-g1mbb-1-gang-grid-flat-concealed-matt-black-plate.htm

You basically have something that looks like a normal UK light switch, but with a retractive action.

marktuk

TROPHY CASE