Home Assistant

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/pants117 on 2025-11-28 03:08:31+00:00.

I think the best part of setting up HA is messing with your kids. I have the laundry room on a motion sensor. The 4 y/o walks in and the lights turn on. She is just floored. So we were playing with her saying she has magical powers. Just to see her little mind turning with curiosity is amazing to see.

It all started with controlling my well pump with some leak detection. Now its turned into almost the whole house. Just simple stuff. Open the front door and the lights turn on. The garage lights are 3 wayed. But not at the top of the stair to the house. Put in a relay with a stand alone button. No more forgetting the lights on.

My brother wanted to control his fire place off his phone. Put in a dry contact relay and he hooked it to his Google home. Happy as pig in poo.

Just endless cool stuff to do. Thanks HA for making this all open for all to use.

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/thoegn on 2025-11-27 23:58:16+00:00.

Hey everyone! I’ve been wanting to get a co2 monitor for the longest time now and as it’s Black Friday week I thought now my chance. I’m currently leaning towards the one from Switchbot, as I already have a few thermometers from them and it’s fairly cheap. But I’ll be honest and tell you that I have very little idea of my options😅 So if you can recommend me another co2 monitor please do and also if you’re against switchbot's bc of xyz would also be very helpful. Thanks in advance!

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/wolf1043 on 2025-11-27 16:01:35+00:00.

In my office, we have a commercial Bunn two-pot coffee maker. The burners don't automatically turn off after a while like a home coffee maker. Staff keep leaving a dribble of coffee in a pot and leaving the burner on. It evaporates and starts to smoke, and then there's a high risk of the pot actually exploding from overheating.

I want some way of detecting either the low level of coffee in the pot combined with the burner being on, or detecting an overheating situation.

Any ideas?

I considered a camera, with an LLM interpreting the image.

Maybe a thermal imaging camera? I think those are big bucks...

Any other way to sense the temperature?

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/angrycatmeowmeow on 2025-11-27 19:12:20+00:00.

I put an Esphome smart plug on my fiber ONT because my idiot Asus router sometimes doesn't refresh the public IP, and then I can't use Instant Guard or Wireguard. So, I'm out, and I need to access my network for something I can't do through Nabu Casa, no problem, I'll reboot my ONT. Problem is I never created any automations in esphome or HA to automatically turn that plug back on, so when I turned it off I killed my internet and couldn't turn it back on, and it ain't gonna turn itself back on.

Anyway, not a big deal. Just a reminder to double check your stuff before you need to use it.

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/BackHerniation on 2025-11-27 17:49:30+00:00.

Hi all,

I went through a lot of Amazon Black Friday and Cyber Monday smart home deals, checking every major brand I could think of. I compiled everything into tables for comparison, including the original price, the Black Friday deal price, and the discount percentage.

You can check it out here:

Amazon BF/CM Smart Home Deals

Just like every year (and for those who aren't aware), the discounts appear bigger than they actually are. First, because brands like to calculate based on the original recommended price and not the usual price a device sells for. And second, because they slowly raise prices in the months leading up to the sale (prime day included) to make the discounts appear bigger.

From all that data I gathered, the real number floats around 15-20% across all brands. It's still a discount, just not as big as most make it out to be. Robot vacuums have the biggest price drops, perhaps cause it’s a competitive segment and a good chance for brands to clear stock. From the other smart home brands, I think ThirdReality and Sonoff have the most honest discounts. They aren’t huge, but they’re the least manipulated. Lutron Caseta and Eve have the worst (and fakest) discounts, with most products actually priced higher than last year’s sale.

The easiest way to check how real a discount is, is to use a price history tool like Keepa. It adds a price graph directly onto each Amazon product page, showing the true historical price rather than the inflated deal price. CamelCamelCamel is another useful alternative to Keepa, but from my tests it appears to have less data on smart home products compared to Keepa.

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/Asleep_Wash9442 on 2025-11-27 08:49:40+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/dicksfish on 2025-11-27 05:43:55+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/Kodufan on 2025-11-26 19:06:43+00:00.

Hello! I just wanted to write this post to document some unexpectedly awesome behavior from HomeAssistant when paired with Apple HomeKit.

Firstly, you’ll need some kind of device to serve as a HomeKit hub. Modern Apple TVs and HomePod / HomePod minis are already capable of doing this! Once you set up the HomeKit bridge, allocate the devices to pass through, connect it to your Home app, you’ll notice that you can now control your smart home with the native Home app and all the goodies that Siri and automations/shortcuts afford you.

But here’s where things get good… These connections occur over Apple’s iCloud, not just your local network. This means that any device you can access while home is also a device you can access remotely! This means you can keep your HomeAssistant server safe and locked down behind your firewalls but still get all the usefulness that your Home app affords. This isn’t just limited to any Matter devices connected to your HomeKit hub but rather any and all devices exposed over the bridge. Cool!

This is most beneficial for very simple setups. It has to be something you can meaningfully expose over the HomeKit bridge.

I find it super useful that I can toggle my lights from afar, especially with location based automations (turn off the lights when nobody is home). It also just feels so cool that I can be in a different country and, via the internet to an Apple TV to the HomeAssistant server to an ESPHome powered ESP32, turn off Bluetooth lights all without exposing my HomeAssistant server to the internet directly. Technology is cool!

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/frenck_nl on 2025-11-26 17:40:34+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/DesmoNemo25 on 2025-11-26 17:30:47+00:00.

How many of you use annual subscription to nabu casa?

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/OccasionBeneficial95 on 2025-11-26 12:39:51+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/getridofwires on 2025-11-26 12:12:52+00:00.

After reading about the benefits of wired PoE vs WiFi security cameras here, last week we upgraded our cameras from the older Ring system I had put together to a PoE Reolink 4K system. We also had some Ethernet jacks installed since the installer was also able to do that.

It's a MUCH better system that has 24/7 NVR recording, integrates with HA, and no more Ring subscription. We are getting older and I feel this is a much safer system for us. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has posted information about doing this.

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/Particular-Finish-40 on 2025-11-26 10:52:08+00:00.

Hello,

I'm 72 years old and have been tinkering with HA for years. I've been in IT since 1972 or so and love faffing with tech.

A lot of things in our house are controlled via HA.

Given that there's often something to repair/restart/change batteries in, my wife is wondering aloud (aka "worried") how she would keep it going if/when I die (or am similarly unable to deal with such things).

Generally speaking, she likes the automations, the voice commands etc, but she's not technically minded. I'm also tech support for our children, so that's no solution either.

Has anyone been confronted with this problem and found a suitable solution other than to go back to pre[HA]-history?

ps. This train of thought was triggered by a dead battery in an outdoor light sensor that ....

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/True_Custard_7014 on 2025-11-26 08:24:22+00:00.

I recently adopted a 1-year-old Labrador named Max. This little guy is well-behaved in every other aspect, except for his "special affection" for our dark gray leather sofa in the living room—particularly the stitched edges of the armrests. Every time we left for work, he would treat it as his "chewing paradise."

Coming home from work, I would always find fresh scratches on the sofa's armrests, loose threads dangling from the seams, and occasionally small bits of chewed-up leather scattered on the carpet. I tried scolding him and even giving him a light tap on the rear, but he would just droop his ears and look pitiful—only to repeat the same mischief the next day once we were gone.

Out of options, I remembered seeing a post on the HA Forum about using smart devices to manage pets. So, I decided to give it a try and bought an Imou Camera. During installation, I adjusted the angle multiple times before finally mounting it on a shelf above the sofa, perfectly positioned to capture the entire armrest area clearly. Connecting it to HA was surprisingly smooth. Following the step-by-step Imou Life tutorial, I had it up and running in about ten minutes. In HA, I set up an automation: whenever the camera detected Max entering the predefined armrest zone and staying there for over 60 seconds, it would trigger a small smart sprayer linked to HA. This sprayer was a compact model I had bought earlier, plugged into an outlet near the sofa. I filled it with water and a tiny bit of diluted peppermint essential oil (the vet confirmed it’s harmless to dogs but unpleasant for them). The mist was gentle and narrowly targeted, covering just the armrest without wetting the leather.

The first trigger happened last Wednesday at noon. I was at work when my phone buzzed with a notification. Opening the video , I saw Max enthusiastically gnawing at the sofa—until the sprayer let out a soft "psst." He jerked his head up, froze for two seconds (probably startled by the unfamiliar scent and faint mist), then immediately leaped off the sofa and retreated to his bed, staring warily at the sofa. It was both hilarious and satisfying. Over the next few days, HA triggered the sprayer four or five more times. Each video showed Max scampering away in surprise. Now, he’s developed a conditioned reflex—he avoids the armrests entirely, even if he occasionally sniffs them, he quickly backs off. No new scratches have appeared since.

But a new issue has emerged: with no sofa to chew, Max now spends his downtime lying on the floor, looking utterly bored. I’d love some recommendations for durable dog toys—any reliable suggestions?

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/zoidddddy on 2025-11-25 22:16:25+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/fluffie-pixel on 2025-11-25 15:39:36+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/maxi1134 on 2025-11-25 22:52:41+00:00.

It started with a dream; It ended with 95 feet of wire.

I always wanted a bed presence system; I ended up using a Everything Presence Lite, but still wanted more data points for my crazy automations.

This culminated in me and my buddy soldering and attaching 16 load cells to the bedframe itself, covering them with steel plates to distribute the weight and then putting the springbox and the matress on top.

Here, our legion of load cells!

The plan was simple, 4 zones of 4 load cells

Some steel in order to spread the weight over the load cells.

the 'box spring' on top of the steel to even further spread the weight. As each is only rated for 50kg.

Tons and tons of cables

All nicely tucked away!

https://preview.redd.it/vndum7w6gh3g1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6dd3065d1619f13ced8a9be6937eb46ca20bd21a

And bam! Ni vu, Ni connu! (Except for when you spot the white usb cable coming out of the bedframe 🫣)

Now for those wondering, here is the code used on my github. (As to not clog this post with 295 lines)

One thing I would redo better, for those wondering. Would be to put the load cells at the very end of the steel bars, instead of 2 inches inward. As now there is flex outside the 'sensing' zone.

P.S: I almost forgot the HA entity!

Yes, the playing thing is what you think; No, we don't need to discuss it furthermore. 👀

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/mardybum81 on 2025-11-25 21:49:49+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/DeeznuttZZttunzeeD on 2025-11-25 09:34:46+00:00.

https://preview.redd.it/83nj9qwdnd3g1.png?width=1660&format=png&auto=webp&s=e5682ccb3eb2504bacb729a81d2120d9b2a3d6eb

Hey everyone,

I finally get to share something I’ve been quietly building for a while. It’s called Button Builder, and it lets you design custom-button-card buttons through a clean visual interface instead of wrestling with YAML.

You control everything: colors, icons, tap/hold actions, animations, conditional states, shadows, borders, gradients, you name it. When you're done, Button Builder spits out the YAML so you can paste it straight into your dashboard. No guesswork, no fighting indentation at 2 a.m.

It also has an AI mode where you can type something like, “Make a glowing red garage button that turns green when closed,” and it will try to create the YAML for you. Sometimes it’s perfect, sometimes it’s a chaos gremlin, but it’s fun either way.

A few honest notes:

• It’s early. Things will break.

• I’ve never coded before in my life. I built this entire thing by working with AI tools.

• It’s available through HACS by adding it as a custom repo.

• GitHub repo: https://github.com/aspenrt78/button-builder/

• Supporting it costs me both time and real money (AI tokens add up fast), so if you enjoy the project and want to help keep it going, my Buy Me a Coffee is open. No pressure.

Right now I need testers and community feedback. If you know dashboards, I’d love your ideas. If you’re new to Home Assistant, I’d love to see what you create. Bug reports, tips, tricks, suggestions, and contributions are all appreciated.

If you want to try something new, make cleaner dashboards, or just enjoy pressing shiny buttons, give Button Builder a shot and let me know what you think.

Happy automating!

Edit:

Quick note about the AI features. Button Builder uses Google’s Gemini API, and you’ll need to generate your own free API key to use the “Magic Builder” button.

I originally tried bundling a key, but Google automatically flags shared keys as “leaked” and disables them. Because of that, everyone needs to set up their own key on their own Google account. It only takes a minute, and it keeps the AI tools working smoothly for you.

If you don’t have a key yet, clicking the Magic Builder button will take you straight to Google AI Studio, where you can create one for free.

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/ElementZoom on 2025-11-25 10:01:21+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/the_current_solution on 2025-11-25 00:26:05+00:00.

Recently I purchased the level bolt deadlock that works through matter over thread.

Now one of the features Level advertises about their lock is its ability to add a key to apple wallet.

In my quest to avoid any kind of 3rd party integration whatsoever, I found an even more convenient way to automate the lock on an apple device: Shortcuts.

This makes it so easy to unlock my lock, as I can add the shortcut to my home screen (as seen in the screenshot below). Not only that, but shortcuts are also something you can add to your apple watch, so you can recreate the entire functionality of the apple home key without ever leaving the bounds of homeassistant.

Steps to DIY

• create a script in homeassistant that literally just toggles the lock (and notifies you of its new state)
• create an apple shortcut (only works on apple 26.1+ though)
• add the shortcut as a widget to your lock screen
• add the shortcut button to your apple watch face

And not only does this work well for me, but it also genuinely works well for my wife (she even said it was great without me asking 🥹), and we all know that trying to sell your wife on some automation you made is an uphill battle.

https://preview.redd.it/qcz8ujavra3g1.jpg?width=1206&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b097f82abb3e4cc32efd2c511574b59682a6ab07

https://preview.redd.it/pfsmt9sxra3g1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=72c2f925b3bce70e5e8fb9b22f74b35e677ad720

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/chimilinga on 2025-11-24 23:34:18+00:00.

Curious if anyone has been able to leverage their HA ecosystem and ahtomations to help lower home insurance or utility costs (if thats even possible)? Automatic water shut off, power consumption efficiency?

Anyone successfully done this?

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/TheMrWessam on 2025-11-24 20:26:38+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/TheRealBigLou on 2025-11-24 17:43:21+00:00.

A couple weeks ago I had posted asking Reddit what their recommendations for a POE zigbee controller was. I got a few mixed suggestions and waited out the official HA announcement. Unfortunately, that was not a POE solution. The reason I wanted POE was that I needed to get my controller away from my x86 machine. Where it was located, it was impossible to get the controller more than a foot or two away, and every single USB port was USB 3.0--which causes interferance with Zigbee radios. It was causing major issues with reception and reliability and the best solution for me was to simply separate the controller as far as possible--which is why I looked into POE solutions. I could just put it in an optimal location anywhere on my network!

But, after some extra research, I decided to take a shot at a different solution--one that still relied on Ethernet. I figured, if I can simply keep my USB controller but move it to another area of my house, it would be the best of both worlds. I first tried a simple USB over Ethernet adapter that I already had. It kind of worked, but it would randomly go offline. I figured it was simply not allowing enough power to reach the controller. Instead, I decided to use a powered USB over Ethernet adapter. While much more expensive, it was still quite a bit cheaper than a good POE controller, and I could keep my existing setup without having to migrate anything! Fortunately, it seems like it did the trick and I've been going strong for a week with zero disconnects or drops! It's DRAMATICALLY improved my zigbee network.

So, for those in a similar situation, I would recommend giving this a go. Here's the one I'm using: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HHFZY5H

Yeah, it's $50. Yeah, it's twice as expensive as the Sonoff USB coordinator I had. Yeah, together, they're the same price as a good POE coordinator. This is definitely not something I would recommend for those initially investing in a zigbee network. This is ONLY for those who've already invested in a USB coordinator and for whatever reason need to move it far away using Ethernet. I just haven't seen this recommended before, so I thought I'd give others the option.

Also, another positive is that the adapter is USB 2.0, so you don't have to worry about interference on the coordinator end.

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The original was posted on /r/homeassistant by /u/kelvin1302 on 2025-11-24 19:18:48+00:00.