#smart-home
65 episodes
#3918: NFC Tags vs. the "We're Out" Button
One tap to restock milk. Why is that so hard to find on Android?
#3823: How Cities Can Enforce Construction Noise with Real-Time Data
Can cities actually enforce noise limits with real-time sound data? We explore the tech, the gaps, and who's doing it right.
#3792: Cloud Brain, Local Fingers: Decoupled Home Assistant
Can Home Assistant run in the cloud while Zigbee stays local? We explore the decoupled control plane architecture.
#3539: Mapping a Room with Just Your Phone
Can your phone turn a video walkthrough into a measured 3D model? We break down the tools and the real-world limits.
#3245: Why Integrated LED Fixtures Are Beating Smart Bulbs
Smart bulbs cram radios into metal cages. Integrated fixtures solve that—and Matter makes it seamless.
#3221: Why Can't Your Partner Reach You? The Family Pager Problem
Smartphones have no reliable urgent notification channel for families. Here's why — and what might fix it.
#3173: Moving Secrets from Film Scouts & Museum Pros
Steal moving systems from film location scouts and museum registrars — professions that move entire worlds, not just boxes.
#3168: 30 BLE Tags for $60: DIY ADHD Object Tracking
Stop losing your stuff. Build a self-hosted BLE tracker system for 30 items at 1/8 the cost of commercial trackers.
#3058: How to Get 15 Hours of Light From Your UPS
Turn your UPS into an emergency light source with the right LED bulb, NUT, and Home Assistant automation.
#2821: The Trench Coat Is on Fire: Making Smart Home Parts Interrupt Each Other
Three engineering problems in a trench coat. Make Zigbee sirens, Snapcast speakers, and push-to-talk audio actually work together.
#2815: Free Cloudflare WAF: Is It Enough for Self-Hosting?
Skip Cloudflare Access and lock down Home Assistant with just the free WAF rules. Here's how.
#2762: Thread vs Zigbee: Multi-Floor Smart Home Networking
Can you mix Thread border routers from different brands across floors? Yes—here's how it actually works.
#2759: Why Your Smart Home Can't Mimic a Hotel
Can Zigbee and Matter handle a two-story house with outdoor devices? We break down mesh hops, latency, and real-world limits.
#2646: When Your Door Won't Open: The Failure-Mode Philosophy of Smart Locks
Z-Wave vs Zigbee vs Wi-Fi for smart locks. What's reliable enough to trust with your front door?
#2626: The Trust Problem in Bedroom Automation
Smart glass vs smart curtains for circadian health — what works in a rental bedroom without owning the walls?
#2608: Can You Wire Your House Like a Hotel?
Can you wire your house like a hotel? Here's what KNX costs, how it works, and how to connect it to Home Assistant.
#2600: Circadian Lighting Gradients in Home Assistant
How to build a smooth, override-friendly circadian lighting system using Adaptive Lighting in Home Assistant.
#2597: Voice Control for Renters: $25 Per Room, No Wall Damage
Distributed voice control on a budget with wake words, centralized processing, and zero wall damage — perfect for rentals.
#2573: What's Actually Inside a Hotel Smart Room System
Hotels don't use Alexa or smart bulbs. Here's the industrial-grade tech running behind those sleek wall panels.
#2566: Why Your RGBW Bulbs Get Dim in Color Mode
Cheap bulbs aren't the whole story — physics limits how bright color LEDs can get. Here's what to buy instead.
#2365: Building a Custom Home Alarm Panel with ESP32
Discover how to build a tactile, local-control alarm panel for Home Assistant using ESP32, Omron buttons, and Zigbee sensors.
#2326: Voice Control Simplified: Home Assistant’s Local Stack
Discover how to build a reliable, vendor-agnostic voice control system for Home Assistant without relying on Amazon or Google.
#2274: Weekend Projects Gone Wild: Evaluating AI Startup Pitches
From fridge tax agents to guilt-scheduled cron jobs, we evaluate ten AI-driven startup ideas that could exist—but probably shouldn’t.
#2232: One Remote, Three Streams: Building a Sane Media Setup
A renter juggling six remotes and brittle integrations finds a simpler path: fewer devices, cleaner software, and accepting that Netflix won't play...