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Home Assistant Podcast

Home Assistant Podcast

By: HK Media
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About this listen

Join hosts Phil Hawthorne and Rohan Karamandi as they explore the newest Home Assistant releases and the latest Home Automation news. Featuring guests who use or contribute to Home Assistant, the podcast aims to inspire new ways to make your home smarter.

© 2025 Home Assistant Podcast Politics & Government
Episodes
  • 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
    Show More Show Less
    57 mins
  • 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
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 24 mins
  • The Reluctant Home Assistant Guy: From Hue Chaos to Hour‑of‑Power Wins

    The Reluctant Home Assistant Guy: From Hue Chaos to Hour‑of‑Power Wins
    Oct 23 2025

    Chris joins Phil and Rohan to share a brutally honest smart home journey: starting with Philips Hue, hitting limits with multiple bridges, battling MyQ and RatGDO, and landing real energy savings with Home Assistant.


    Watch this episode on YouTube

    https://hasspodcast.io/ha207


    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 Welcome

    01:03 Meet Chris: the ‘reluctant Home Assistant guy’ (NZ/Canada background)

    03:00 Hue as the gateway: GU10s, COVID mood lights, buying a house

    04:39 Discovering Home Assistant; cost shocks and smart switch vs smart bulb decisions

    06:30 Legal wiring quirks in NZ and scoring bulk Hue downlights

    08:00 Hue motion/presence, bridge device limits, and Pro Bridge API exposure

    09:50 Upgrade cadence, iOS/MacOS betas, and why Shelly bodies didn’t fit

    12:00 Daily frustrations: a random red light, Roomba fails, Alexa vs Siri

    14:36 Garage/gate saga: MyQ, RatGDO struggles, Grandstream Wi‑Fi, Meross HomeKit fix

    20:00 Adaptive Lighting: Hue app vs HA integration; mixed CCT bulbs going ‘red’

    26:00 Three points of failure; behavior change, the cleaners’ switch, and one non‑motion room

    31:40 Protocol choices: Wi‑Fi vs Zigbee vs Z‑Wave; Matter/Thread pain in practice

    36:40 Energy saving wins: free ‘hour of power’, Bosch Home Connect, Hue Tap + TTS

    47:06 Simple scenes that matter: spa lighting that won’t trigger floods

    51:00 Biggest surprises, time sink, and the idea of HA consultants

    53:40 Advice for newcomers: hobby vs lifestyle; draw the line

    56:00 Dashboards: new layouts, family tabs, activity timelines, and to‑dos



    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
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 7 mins
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