Saturday, September 18, 2021
Smart Plug vs. Switch vs. Relay?
Saturday, August 7, 2021
Sound Reactive RGB Floor Lamps
In this post, I'm going to cover creating your own DIY sound-reactive LED/RGB floor lamps that have all the features of commercial Govee version (and more) at less than 1/2 the cost.
Sunday, July 18, 2021
Parking Assistant with MQTT and Vehicle Presence Sensors
Saturday, July 3, 2021
Simple Motion-Activated LED Stair Lighting
There are many how-to articles and videos on creating LED stair lighting. But many of these require substantial modification of the existing staircase or adjoining walls. I wanted to create a similar effect using WLED, ESPHome and Home Assistant that didn't require modifying my existing stairs.
Saturday, June 12, 2021
You've got mail! A mailbox sensor for Home Assistant
Friday, May 7, 2021
Home Automation and the Family Acceptance Factor
Source: Quora |
What is Family Acceptance Factor and why is it important?
Thursday, April 15, 2021
WS2812b LED Matrix Clock, Scoreboard and More
Time & Temperature, Countdown timer, Scoreboard and Text Display |
Yet Another Clock!
Sunday, March 14, 2021
A Virtual Window for a Windowless Basement
Creating a Virtual Window
Saturday, February 13, 2021
3D Printed Clock, Scoreboard and more with Home Assistant Integration
Clock, Countdown Timer, Temperature and Scoreboard |
Yet another 7-segment LED Clock
You can find a multitude of variations on a 7-segment LED clock on YouTube and other web sites. In fact, this one is an enhancement and variation of the original design by YouTuber Leon van den Beukel, but adds features like local push button control, a host of additional default settings and optional Home Assistant (or other system) integration via MQTT. View a short highlight of the features on my YouTube video
Monday, January 25, 2021
Building your own LED light strip controller (for cheap!)
Sunday, January 3, 2021
Smart Home Devices: Build vs. Buy
Do you like to tinker? Do you like to learn new skills? Can you follow basic instructions or follow along with a video? Do you like to save substantial money? If you answered 'yes' to any of these, you may want to consider building your own smart home devices. This is actually easier than you think and doesn't require advanced tools, programming skills or a degree in electrical engineering. In fact, some devices can be build without soldering at all and without writing a single line of code.
Saturday, January 2, 2021
My Five Golden Rules for Adding New Smart Devices
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Selecting a Home Automation Platform
Upping the Game
So you've decided that you'd like to move from a mishmash of individual smart devices to a true integrated and automated smart home. The first step you must take is to decide on a platform or system that will serve as the "brains" of your automated home. This is not a trivial step. You will be spending substantial time (and possibly a decent chunk of change over time) getting your home to the desired state. The last thing you want is to find that you've painted yourself into a corner and can't do some of the things you'd really like to do. So, before beginning, you need to do some planning and research.
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Issues and Goals for my Smart Home
As I started to acquire more and more "smart" devices and bring them into the home, a number of problems, issues and concerns arose.