Episodios

  • 187 Automations, 300 Devices: Josh’s Smart Home Assistant Journey

    187 Automations, 300 Devices: Josh’s Smart Home Assistant Journey
    Dec 16 2025
    Josh from Josh’s Smart Home joins Phil and Rohan to unpack a 300-device Home Assistant setup running on Home Assistant Green. We dive into the move from SmartThings, building a reliable Zigbee mesh, energy automations with Tesla Powerwall and a smart pool pump and theatre room presence.Watch this episode on YouTubeShow notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA215Support the PodcastGet early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.https://homeassistant.fm/patreonShare your storyWe wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story.Chapters00:00:00 - Intro00:01:22 - Meet Josh00:02:18 - Early smart home missteps00:04:12 - SmartThings and Lutron00:05:54 - WebCoRE ends, HA begins00:09:29 - Home Assistant Green setup00:09:34 - Zigbee mesh with Aqara00:12:55 - Theater gear quirks00:14:18 - Theater automation philosophy00:22:02 - Time-of-use energy automations00:23:00 - Powerwall + solar in HA00:26:31 - ROI and arbitrage00:28:28 - Tesla automations00:32:42 - Dashboards and voice control00:37:19 - Washer/dryer and doorbell alerts00:40:37 - 187 automations, time saved00:44:20 - Motion and humidity control00:48:56 - Measuring automation impact00:50:02 - Smart blinds convenience00:50:19 - Yarbo mower and snowblower00:58:43 - Security and utility uses01:06:59 - Starting Josh’s Smart Home01:10:27 - Automation content plans01:12:45 - Top new-build tips01:15:56 - Designing and building01:21:26 - Where to find JoshThis episode was made possible thanks to our sponsorsHome Assistant Cloud by Nabu CasaEasily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML.ZoozIf you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers.For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.comProducts DiscussedReolink Video Doorbell: https://amzn.to/4a7LIIdApple TV 4K: https://amzn.to/4prsT7nNarwal robot vacuum and mop: https://amzn.to/3KgSaSKUV insect light traps: https://amzn.to/484CNEYYarbo robotic core with mower/snow modules: https://amzn.to/3LOtOQVHostsPhil HawthorneWebsiteSmart Home ProductsTwitter: @philhawthorneBluesky: @philhawthorne.comBuy Phil a CoffeeRohan KaramandiWebsiteSmart Home ProductsTwitter: @rohank9Buy Rohan a CoffeeThis podcast contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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    1 h y 22 m
  • From Alexa to Assist: NetworkChuck’s Smart Home with Frigate, UniFi, and AI

    From Alexa to Assist: NetworkChuck’s Smart Home with Frigate, UniFi, and AI
    Dec 9 2025
    YouTuber NetworkChuck joins Phil and Rohan to break down his real-world Home Assistant setup: migrating off Alexa, building a Home Assistant voice assistant (with a Terry Crews voice clone!), wiring Frigate to Reolink cameras, and using UniFi + AI to debug Wi‑Fi chaos. We also compare Node‑RED vs n8n, talk Plex vs Jellyfin and NAS headaches, inventory with Grocy, mmWave presence, ESP32 room presence, and how local AI stacks up against GPT/Claude for home automations.Watch this episode on YouTubeShow notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA214Support the PodcastGet early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.https://homeassistant.fm/patreonShare your storyWe wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story.Chapters00:00:00 - Welcome00:02:30 - Network Chuck’s background00:06:30 - Discovering Home Assistant00:10:30 - Toilet paper saga automation00:14:30 - From Alexa to Home Assistant Voice00:20:30 - Frigate cameras and Reolink lessons00:27:30 - Face and plate recognition ideas00:32:00 - Local AI models vs cloud00:39:00 - Family adoption and analog rebounds00:43:30 - Presence, phones, mmWave, ESP3200:48:30 - Halloween thunderstorm and Plex fun00:52:30 - Node-RED vs n8n in automations00:58:00 - Plex vs Jellyfin and NAS woes01:05:30 - Grocy, inventory, and shopping hacks01:12:00 - Air quality, energy, and next steps01:18:00 - Enterprise talk and wrap-upThis episode was made possible thanks to our sponsorsHome Assistant Cloud by Nabu CasaEasily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML.ZoozIf you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers.For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.comProducts DiscussedNVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs (dual GPU local AI rig): https://amzn.to/4a5Lf9wSmart locks: Nuki Smart Lock: https://amzn.to/47VH6njSmart locks: Level Lock: https://amzn.to/3XtPdBzSmart locks: August Smart Lock: https://amzn.to/4id1ovKHostsPhil HawthorneWebsiteSmart Home ProductsTwitter: @philhawthorneBluesky: @philhawthorne.comBuy Phil a CoffeeRohan KaramandiWebsiteSmart Home ProductsTwitter: @rohank9Buy Rohan a CoffeeThis episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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    1 h y 25 m
  • Home Assistant 2025.12: Labs, Smarter Automations, Real‑Time Energy and Frenck

    Home Assistant 2025.12: Labs, Smarter Automations, Real‑Time Energy and Frenck
    Dec 2 2025
    We’re closing out the final Home Assistant release for 2025 with Frenck and a massive Home Assistant 2025.12. Home Assistant Labs, purpose‑specific triggers and conditions, a smarter automation UI, real‑time power flows in Energy, Android Auto/Widgets improvements, tons of new integrations, and more. Plus hardware talk: ZBT2, Zigbee 4, and Matter.js joining the Open Home Foundation.Watch this episode on YouTubehttps://homeassistant.fm/HA213Support the PodcastGet early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.https://homeassistant.fm/patreonShare your storyWe wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story.Chapters00:00:00 Welcome00:03:30 Frenck’s streaming cadence and creator burnout00:06:45 Moving houses: keep or strip the smart home?00:10:46 EV charger dilemma & e‑waste perspective00:12:50 2025 recap: guests, sponsors, community00:15:50 Home Assistant ZBT-2 launch, Zigbee 4 headlines, migrations00:19:10 Open Home Foundation structure & focus areas00:22:59 Matter.js joins OHF and why it matters00:24:59 Arduino policy changes & the ESPHome angle00:25:34 2025.12 overview and Labs introduction00:26:44 Home Assistant Labs: opt‑in previews, backups, feedback00:31:55 Purpose‑specific triggers & conditions explained00:40:50 New automation UI: target‑first and context‑aware01:03:17 Home dashboard upgrades & the new For You sidebar01:13:21 Energy dashboard: live power flows and water devices01:19:40 Android: Add to Widgets & Android Auto favorites01:23:13 ESPHome entity IDs standardized for new devices01:24:17 Pet tech: Tuya litter boxes and assorted updates01:25:10 OpenAI model update, SQL templates, UI card tweaks01:27:49 New integrations roundup (Hue BLE, Victron BLE, more)01:32:18 Template helper deprecation, repairs, migration path01:35:38 Integration removals: Domino’s & Hive alarm changes01:36:54 32‑bit/supervised deprecation & migration guidance01:40:25 CES plans, upcoming episodesThis episode was made possible thanks to our sponsorsHome Assistant Cloud by Nabu CasaEasily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML.ZoozIf you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers.For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.comProducts DiscussedHome Assistant ZBT2 (Zigbee radio): https://amzn.to/4pLxykTLutron Caseta light switches: https://amzn.to/48rNmSNHostsPhil HawthorneWebsiteSmart Home ProductsTwitter: @philhawthorneBluesky: @philhawthorne.comBuy Phil a CoffeeRohan KaramandiWebsiteSmart Home ProductsTwitter: @rohank9Buy Rohan a CoffeeThis podcast contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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    1 h y 43 m
  • From Pi to Blue, we’re revisiting Courtenay Watson

    From Pi to Blue, we’re revisiting Courtenay Watson
    Nov 25 2025
    We’re revisiting Courtenay, who was last spoke to on Episode 45 six years ago. She’s here to share six years of Home Assistant progress: moving from Raspberry Pi to Home Assistant Blue, mastering the Energy Dashboard with MQTT, surviving cloud outages on Tuya, and restoring from backups in minutes.Watch this episode on YouTubehttps://homeassistant.fm/ha212Support the PodcastGet early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.https://homeassistant.fm/patreonShare your storyWe wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story.Chapters00:00:00 Welcome00:01:04 2019 setup recap00:03:31 Hardware: Blue and N2+00:06:00 Real‑time energy tracking00:12:00 Breaker chaos, disaggregation00:16:30 Dashboards and thermostat00:22:00 Tuya cloud lighting00:27:30 Offline behavior, habits00:29:30 Less YAML, more UI00:33:30 Backups and restore00:38:30 Z‑Wave LR range talk00:41:30 LoRa and Meshtastic00:42:00 Hubs, Matter/Thread woes00:48:00 Voice assistants: then vs now00:51:00 Everyday control patterns00:55:00 Advice for new users00:59:30 Recorder and data01:03:07 Six‑year roadmap and robots01:06:14 Wrap‑up and contact infoThis episode was made possible thanks to our sponsorsHome Assistant Cloud by Nabu CasaEasily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML.ZoozIf you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers.For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.comProducts DiscussedRaspberry Pi 2 Model B: https://amzn.to/43Dppq4Ecobee Thermostat: https://amzn.to/3XtOTCRShelly energy monitoring clamps: https://amzn.to/488TjDXSense Home Energy Monitor: https://amzn.to/4re7ossHome Assistant Connect ZWA2 (Z‑Wave radio): https://amzn.to/3MfPzsPMeshtastic LoRa nodes: https://amzn.to/4ihcSyyHostsPhil HawthorneWebsiteSmart Home ProductsTwitter: @philhawthorneBluesky: @philhawthorne.comBuy Phil a CoffeeRohan KaramandiWebsiteSmart Home ProductsTwitter: @rohank9Buy Rohan a CoffeeThis video contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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    1 h y 6 m
  • Inside the Open Home: Darren Griffin

    Inside the Open Home: Darren Griffin
    Nov 18 2025

    Go inside the Open Home Foundation with Darren, the web developer behind Home Assistant’s sites. From keeping the various Open Home Project websites online to automating his own home, we cover a lot in this one.


    Watch this episode on YouTube

    https://homeassistant.fm/ha211


    Support the Podcast

    Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

    Support Rohan and Phil on Patreon


    Share your story

    We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story.


    Chapters

    00:00:00 Intro, sponsors, Darren’s role

    00:07:12 Community contributions beyond code

    00:12:30 Remote culture at Open Home

    00:20:30 Privacy, cloud devices, risks

    00:27:30 Digital IDs and translation dilemmas

    00:33:30 Early Home Assistant days

    00:38:30 Frigate, cameras, smart automations

    00:48:05 NSPanel Pro door previews

    00:54:30 Zigbee, Z-Wave, and locks

    01:01:00 mmWave presence and zones

    01:06:30 ESPHome projects and wrap-up



    This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors

    Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa

    Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML.


    Zooz

    If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers.

    For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to thesmartesthouse.com


    Notion

    Notion brings all your notes, docs, and projects into one connected space that just works — it’s seamless, flexible, powerful, and actually fun to use. With AI built right in, you spend less time switching between tools and more time creating great work.

    Try Notion, now with Notion Agent, at notion.com/homeassistant


    Hosts

    Phil Hawthorne

    Website

    Smart Home Products

    Twitter: @philhawthorne

    Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com

    Buy Phil a Coffee


    Rohan Karamandi

    Website

    Smart Home Products

    Twitter: @rohank9

    Buy Rohan a Coffee



    Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

    Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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    1 h y 10 m
  • Brewing With Home Assistant: From Modbus PIDs to ESPHome Fermentation Control with Greg Martin

    Brewing With Home Assistant: From Modbus PIDs to ESPHome Fermentation Control with Greg Martin
    Nov 11 2025

    Greg joins Phil and Rohan to share how he built a brewery control system with ESPHome and Home Assistant: Modbus PID retrofits, ESP32-based temperature control with one-wire probes and 24V valves, Bluetooth gravity sensors via proxies, pressure management, and full on-site HA installs with PoE satellites.


    Watch this episode on YouTube

    https://homeassistant.fm/ha210


    Support the Podcast

    Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

    Support Rohan and Phil on Patreon


    Share your story

    We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story.


    Chapters

    00:00:00 Intro, sponsors, and Greg’s background

    00:05:30 From Modbus PIDs to ESPHome brewery control (gravity, pressure, 1‑Wire)

    00:10:45 Turning it into a business: pilot installs, testbeds, and scale

    00:15:45 Local-first architecture: on-site Home Assistant, PoE satellites, Bluetooth proxy

    00:22:30 Hardware talk: Blue/Yellow/Green, mini PCs, RAM needs, migration plans

    00:28:00 Home automations: locks, Reolink presence, candles, sump/dehumidifier monitoring

    00:35:00 Water and power: AI-on-the-edge metering, overuse alerts, three-phase pumps & contactors

    00:42:00 QoL automations: fish-feeding sensor, night stair lighting, backup ideas

    00:49:30 Fun stuff: ESPN team goal lights, polling vs. streaming delays, event triggers

    00:55:00 Data + reporting: Utility Meter, History Stats, InfluxDB, AI ideas, alerts, wrap-up



    This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors

    Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa

    Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML.


    Zooz

    If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers.

    For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to thesmartesthouse.com


    Hosts

    Phil Hawthorne

    Website

    Smart Home Products

    Twitter: @philhawthorne

    Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com

    Buy Phil a Coffee


    Rohan Karamandi

    Website

    Smart Home Products

    Twitter: @rohank9

    Buy Rohan a Coffee



    Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

    Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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    59 m
  • Home Assistant 2025.11: Improved target picker and energy pie charts

    Home Assistant 2025.11: Improved target picker and energy pie charts
    Nov 4 2025

    In this episode Phil and Rohan break down Home Assistant 2025.11. We cover the revamped Automation UI with the new target picker, naming options on dashboards, the new Energy pie chart, update progress indicators, and an upgraded Home dashboard.


    Watch this episode on YouTube

    https://hasspodcast.io/ha209


    Support the Podcast

    Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

    Support Rohan and Phil on Patreon


    Share your story

    We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story.


    Chapters

    00:00:00 - Intro, sponsors, livestream

    00:02:30 - Open Home news, GitHub

    00:06:00 - Eltako joins works with program, Yellow retired

    00:12:30 - LinknLink eMotion mmWave sensors hands-on

    00:23:30 - AWS outage smart beds

    00:27:00 - Plex debate, privacy

    00:31:00 - Smart plugs and 3D printers

    00:35:00 - Energy monitoring, CT clamps

    00:38:30 - 2025.11 automation updates

    00:44:30 - Smoke/CO relay project

    00:47:30 - New integrations roundup

    00:51:30 - Breaking changes, Python

    00:54:00 - Neato cloud shutdown

    00:56:30 - Wrap-up and outro


    This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors

    Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa

    Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML.


    Zooz

    If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers.

    For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to thesmartesthouse.com


    Hosts

    Phil Hawthorne

    Website

    Smart Home Products

    Twitter: @philhawthorne

    Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com

    Buy Phil a Coffee


    Rohan Karamandi

    Website

    Smart Home Products

    Twitter: @rohank9

    Buy Rohan a Coffee



    Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

    Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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    57 m
  • Garage Doors, E‑Ink Dashboards, and Entity Chaos with the Evil Genius Dave Slusher

    Garage Doors, E‑Ink Dashboards, and Entity Chaos with the Evil Genius Dave Slusher
    Oct 30 2025
    Podcaster Dave Slusher joins Phil and Rohan to share hard-won smart home lessons: building a reliable mesh, solving a 100m mailbox sensor with Z-Wave Long Range and the ZWA2, and retiring MyQ with RATGDO + ESPHome. We also cover using an e‑ink terminal as a Home Assistant dashboard.Watch this episode on YouTubehttps://hasspodcast.io/ha208Support the PodcastGet early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.Support Rohan and Phil on PatreonShare your storyWe wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story.Chapters00:00:00 Welcome00:01:23 Guest intro: Dave Slusher’s podcasting origin story00:04:59 Discovering Home Assistant 00:07:20 Hardware journey: Raspberry Pi 3/4, SD crashes, backups, staying on Pi00:09:40 ZWA2 portable capability00:11:10 Zigbee mesh realities00:13:56 The mailbox quest00:19:16 Power monitoring the lawnmower + adding Z‑Wave plug to the mesh00:20:31 Beating peak electricity pricing with calendar‑driven automations00:24:50 Buying for Home Assistant00:31:26 Audi e‑tron HACS00:33:00 ‘Terminal’ e‑ink display00:41:11 Fun APIs: Domino’s throwback and accidental developer‑friendly brands00:44:25 Update strategy + restoring from backups when an upgrade breaks boot00:46:26 Entity naming conventions, device vs entity IDs, and maintainability00:49:18 The router kill‑switch: renaming a plug and unintended automations00:52:19 Ping watchdog automation for internet recovery (8.8.8.8)00:54:58 Labels, documentation, and making a smart home family‑friendly01:00:00 Selling a smart home: what stays, what goes, and account handoffs01:02:16 First device nostalgia: Sonoff relay, app sprawl, and converging on HA01:07:52 Next projects: buying with purpose, reliability over novelty01:10:00 Mac mini (Linux Mint) homelab, Synology vs Docker, consolidating services01:12:18 Package tracking with 17Track, long strings, and dashboard renderingThis episode was made possible thanks to our sponsorsHome Assistant Cloud by Nabu CasaEasily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML.ZoozIf you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers.For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to thesmartesthouse.comNotionNotion brings all your notes, docs, and projects into one connected space that just works — it’s seamless, flexible, powerful, and actually fun to use. With AI built right in, you spend less time switching between tools and more time creating great work.Try Notion, now with Notion Agent, at notion.com/homeassistantHostsPhil HawthorneWebsiteSmart Home ProductsTwitter: @philhawthorneBluesky: @philhawthorne.comBuy Phil a CoffeeRohan KaramandiWebsiteSmart Home ProductsTwitter: @rohank9Buy Rohan a CoffeeAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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    1 h y 24 m