Keeping your plants healthy and well-watered can be a challenge, especially if you have a busy schedule. With Home Assistant, you can automate the process and ensure your plants get the care they need. In this post, I’ll walk you through setting up a plant watering monitoring system using a soil moisture sensor and some simple automations.
For this project, we’ll use the TS0601 soil moisture sensor to monitor the moisture levels in the soil. When the moisture level drops below a certain threshold, an automation will be triggered to alert you and signal with your smart lights.
Continue reading “Monitoring Plant Watering with Home Assistant”In the world of smart homes, automation is key to convenience and efficiency. One of the most satisfying automations in my home is the vacuuming process, controlled entirely by Home Assistant. This system keeps my home clean without requiring me to lift a finger (most of the time). Here’s how it works and how you can replicate it in your own smart home.
To manage the automation, I built a custom Home Assistant dashboard that acts as the control center for my vacuuming system. Here’s a snapshot of the dashboard layout:
Continue reading “Automating Vacuuming with Home Assistant: A Smarter Way to Clean Your Home”Imagine this: you come home, and everything just works. No fumbling for switches, no worrying about watering your plants, and no dragging out the old vacuum cleaner. In my smart home, this is the reality. Here are my top five favorite features that make life easier and more efficient.
Gone are the days of flipping light switches. My smart home uses MMWave sensors to detect movement in every room. If you walk in, the lights turn on; if you walk out, they turn off.
The light intensity adjusts based on proximity. Enter a room, and the lights shine brightly to welcome you. Linger nearby, and they’ll dim to a softer glow. Additionally, the white color temperature adjusts throughout the day, with a night mode ensuring no one is blinded by bright lights during late-night hours.
For those who prefer manual control, wall panels are still available. It’s the perfect blend of automation and accessibility.
Continue reading “From Lights to Plants: How My Smart Home Simplifies Life”In the world of smart homes 🏠, Zigbee networks are a popular choice for connecting a multitude of devices. However, as the number of devices increases, maintaining network reliability can become a challenge. In this article, we’ll explore how using Zigbee groups can reduce network traffic and improve reliability, based on my personal experience with a large Zigbee network.
With around 150 devices in my home, I started experiencing issues where some lamps wouldn’t turn on or off as expected. After some investigation 🔍, I discovered that the high traffic on the network was causing these reliability issues. This is a common problem in larger Zigbee networks, where the sheer volume of messages can overwhelm the network.
Continue reading “Improving Reliability in Larger Zigbee Networks Using Zigbee Groups”Imagine never having to wonder if there’s mail in your mailbox again. With a simple yet effective home automation setup, you can receive instant notifications on your dashboard whenever mail is delivered. Even better, the system automatically resets the alert when you empty the mailbox, ensuring you always stay updated without any manual intervention. Let’s dive into how you can achieve this seamless automation using Home Assistant and a couple of door sensors.
To create this automation, you’ll need two door sensors: one on the inlet of the mailbox and the other on the door you open to retrieve the mail. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the YAML code that makes this magic happen:
Continue reading “Monitor Your Mailbox with Home Assistant Automations”
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