Discover the origins of AirGradient, which began as a volunteer project in Northern Thailand during the harsh "burning season" of 2019. Learn how this effort evolved into a company focused on providing open source air quality hardware, measuring critical metrics like PM 2.5 and CO2 to safeguard classrooms

Watch this episode on YouTube

https://hasspodcast.io/ha206

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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 Welcome

01:04 Meet Achim: From Siemens to Thailand and a Wildfire Crisis

03:20 Burning Season 2019: The School That Sparked AirGradient

07:50 DIY to Open Hardware: Arduino, ESP32, PM2.5 + CO2, and Dashboards

12:24 Values: Repairability, Ownership, and CC BY‑SA Licensing

16:40 Global Takeoff: Hacker News, Jeff Geerling, and the Kit Era

20:16 ESPHome vs Native: Building the Official Home Assistant Integration

32:26 Works with Home Assistant Platinum: Local‑First and Privacy by Default

36:40 Open Culture, Community, and Academia: Why Sharing Pays Back

41:45 UNICEF Laos: ML Air‑Quality Forecasts + Open Map Integration

44:55 Roadmap: Larger Displays, Portable Monitors, and More Pollutants

46:27 Safeguarding the Mission: Foundation Plan (Switzerland)

49:45 Achim’s Home Assistant Setup: Z‑Wave, ESPHome, Geofencing

56:16 Real‑World Use Cases: Factories, Schools, and Ventilation Control

01:01:58 Accuracy Matters: Calibration, Pitfalls, and Transparent Limits

01:05:19 Wrap‑Up and Where to Buy

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

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Rohan Karamandi

Website

Smart Home Products

Twitter: @rohank9

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We're joined by psychologist Josh Burg, who shares his unique journey from Google Home to a fully local Home Assistant setup. We get to see how he’s using some of the new Philips Hue zone capabilities to make his home smarter

Watch this episode on YouTube

https://hasspodcast.io/ha205

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 Introduction

00:01:09 Introducing Josh

00:01:15 Josh's Location and Weather

00:02:41 Journey into Home Automation

00:03:40 Networking Challenges

00:06:14 Switching to Unify Networking Gear

00:09:10 Home Assistant Setup

00:13:16 Smart Home Integrations and Projects

00:17:25 Lighting Automation

00:27:20 Introduction and New Gadget Excitement

00:27:30 Home Assistant Update

00:27:52 Motion Aware Technology

00:28:38 Setup Challenges

00:29:39 Community Involvement

00:30:37 Sensitivity and Testing

00:31:36 Performance Comparisons

00:31:55 Hardware and Ecosystem

00:38:05 Hue Light Scenes

00:47:22 Randomized Notifications

00:51:45 AI Integration

00:53:49 Google Home Issues

00:54:26 Apple Ecosystem

00:54:35 Home Integration and Nest

00:56:22 Network Concerns

00:57:10 Privacy and Data Traffic

00:58:06 Local vs. Cloud Hosting

01:01:55 Community Support

01:06:17 Open Source Development

01:07:10 Supportive Communities

01:09:11 Conclusion and Farewell

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

Rohan and Phil are breaking down the 2025.10 release, which includes bilingual support for assistants. Meanwhile Sonos finds a new partner, and we answer some listener questions

Watch this episode on YouTube

https://hasspodcast.io/ha204

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 Introduction

00:00:59 Discussion on 2025.10 Release

00:01:25 Automation Editor Updates

00:03:51 AI Image Generation Service

00:06:05 Dashboard Entity Suggestions

00:11:39 Voice Assistant Updates

00:12:05 AccuWeather and Reolink Features

00:22:51 Media Player Panel Update

00:24:31 Matter and Logbook Updates

00:25:28 Philips Hue Motion Updates

00:27:14 LG ThinQ and Litter Robot Enhancements

00:29:39 Lutron Caseta Multi-tap Actions

00:33:24 Shelly and SwitchBot Updates

00:57:20 Notification Customization

00:57:42 Using Emojis for Alerts

00:58:35 Testing LLM Vision for Driveway Gates

00:59:22 Memory Feature in LLM Vision

01:00:10 Discussion on Breaking Changes

01:00:38 Shoutout to Home Assistant Cards

01:01:11 Philips Hue and Sonos Partnership

01:02:33 Conclusion

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

Phil and Rohan talk to Gimmy Chu, CEO of Nanoleaf, about the Nanoleaf smart lighting ecosystem, their open API vision, and how Nanoleaf got its start in the world of innovative lighting technology.

Watch the full episode on YouTube

https://hasspodcast.io/ha203

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:27 Home Assistant and IoT

00:06:43 AI and IoT Integration

00:11:31 Challenges in IoT Development

00:17:54 Open Source and Future of Nanoleaf

00:22:42 Nanoleaf Origin Story

00:27:35 Introduction of Nanoleaf Product

00:27:48 Development of Energy Efficient Light Bulb

00:28:33 Launch and Success on Kickstarter

00:28:44 Rebranding to Nanoleaf

00:29:33 Impact of COVID on Home Décor

00:32:41 Home Automation and Product Testing

00:42:32 Challenges in Commercial Lighting

00:45:13 Development of Lighting Effects and Orchestrator App

00:51:39 Future Products and Expansion

00:56:02 Challenges with Matter Over Thread

00:56:37 Current Solutions with Nanoleaf

00:57:39 Issues with Matter Adoption

00:58:45 Future of Matter and Thread

01:01:12 Personal Experiences with Matter

Support the Podcast

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

Support Rohan and Phil on Patreon

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.

So 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

Phil and Rohan chat with Thomas about his journey building an accessible smart home with Home Assistant. From experimenting with bulbs and voice assistants to creating cutting-edge automations like occupancy sensors and even a ChatGPT-powered smart mirror, Thomas shares how he tailors his setup to support his lifestyle and family.

Watch the full episode on YouTube

https://hasspodcast.io/ha202

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:08 Introduction of Thomas

00:01:22 Thomas' Journey into Smart Homes

00:02:51 Experiments with Smart Devices

00:07:17 Setting Up a Smart Home

00:14:07 Challenges of Automation

00:18:02 Focus on Accessibility

00:19:53 Innovative Projects for Visual Impairment

00:26:23 Smart Home Challenges and Solutions

00:30:47 Guest's Technical Background

00:31:09 Managing Home Assistant

00:32:30 Voice Assistants at Home

00:34:32 Voice Assistant Preferences

00:35:26 Accessibility Interface

00:36:20 Apple Products Integration

00:39:01 Automation Challenges and Planning

00:41:40 Security and Smart Locks

00:49:05 Pets and Automation

00:52:21 Language and Voice Recognition

00:54:18 OpenAI Integration

00:57:44 Favorite Automations

01:02:19 Closing Remarks

Support the Podcast

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

Support Rohan and Phil on Patreon

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.

So 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

Join us for a fascinating conversation with Tsvi Mostovicz, the visionary behind Home Assistant's Jewish calendar component, which he developed to enable crucial Sabbath-compliant automations. Discover his pragmatic approach to smart home harmony, seamlessly integrating Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Wi-Fi devices for everything from privacy-focused voice control to automated synagogue lighting.

Watch the full episode on YouTube

https://hasspodcast.io/ha201

Special thanks to today's guest Tsvi

Tsvi's Github: https://github.com/tsvi

Tsvi's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tsvim

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:03 Tsvi's Journey into Home Automation

00:02:32 Challenges and Evolution of Home Automation Systems

00:10:00 Building Home Assistant Integrations

00:16:27 Home Automation for Religious Practices

00:18:43 Maintenance and Future of Integrations

00:26:14 Favorite Home Automations and Troubleshooting

00:32:53 Forward Simulation Concept

00:35:20 Automation Interfaces and Challenges

00:36:03 Dashboard Management

00:38:10 Hot Water System Integration

00:40:40 Smart Home Cameras and AI

00:44:18 Future Plans for Smart Home

00:50:39 Community and Impact

Support the Podcast

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

Support Rohan and Phil on Patreon

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.

So 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

Home Assistant has launched their own Z-wave radio. 2025.9 lands with a new experimental home screen. Meanwhile Rohan and Phil discuss LLM Vision and some of its use cases

Watch the full episode on YouTube

https://hasspodcast.io/ha200

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:14 Home Assistant Connect ZWA2

00:03:01 Z-Wave Network Challenges and Migration

00:16:45 Rainbird Integration and Irrigation Setup

00:23:25 New Features in Home Assistant 2025.9

00:30:13 Introduction to Smart Home Automation

00:33:17 Husqvarna Automower Features

00:35:54 Reolink Doorbell Updates

00:38:00 PlayStation and Unify Integrations

00:39:11 Tesla and Other Cars Integration

00:41:21 Weather and Bayesian Sensors

00:44:10 AI Vision and Home Automation

00:51:40 New Integrations: Seco, Sleep as Android

00:53:56 Breaking and Backward Incompatible Changes

00:55:26 Hacs Components: Person Location

Support the Podcast

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

Support Rohan and Phil on Patreon

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.

So 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

Curious about Shelly? COO Doug Roberson explains their local control philosophy, versatile products, and commitment to empowering your Home Assistant experience

Watch the full episode on YouTube

https://hasspodcast.io/ha199

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:54 Intro to Doug from Shelly

00:03:04 Shelly's Product Offerings

00:03:41 Privacy and Local Control

00:08:56 Shelly's Certification and Community

00:14:32 Automation and Use Cases

00:25:46 Applications in Professional Spaces

00:27:25 Introduction to Network Failover with Devices

00:28:48 Exploring Shelly's Core Features and Automation

00:32:14 Real-Life Home Automation Experiences

00:33:35 Advanced Energy Management Strategies

00:39:03 Innovative Use Cases for Shelly Products

00:40:50 Getting into Smart Home Technology

00:42:36 New Irrigation Solutions and ShelleyX

00:50:50 Business and Education Initiatives

00:54:25 Classroom Training on Shelly Products

00:55:50 Introduction to North American Wiring

00:56:38 Training and Meetups

00:58:52 Product Wishlist

01:05:47 Irrigation and Automation

01:07:14 Community Feedback

Support the Podcast

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

Support Rohan and Phil on Patreon

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.

So 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