Home Assistant Podcast

Mostly Automated Media

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 smart home even smarter.

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  1. Oct 13 • Subscriber Early Access

    A Baby Who Wouldn’t Sleep Started Maayan’s Home Assistant Journey

    A temperature sensor, a smart plug and a baby who wouldn’t sleep started Mayan’s Home Assistant journey. Phil and Rohan explore how that first nursery automation grew into Zigbee heating controls, local white noise, custom lighting and a whole-house dashboard.

    A Baby Who Wouldn’t Sleep Started Maayan’s Home Assistant Journey

  2. 14h ago

    Mapping all the changes in Home Assistant 2026.10

    Phil and Rohan unpack Home Assistant 2026.10, from redesigned maps and easier trigger-based automations to AI setup, Matter devices and Z-Wave network maps. They also discuss reports about LG TV privacy and Shelly’s planned acquisition. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA253 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/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 Introduction 00:02:00 Community Day plans 00:04:39 Home Assistant Link replaces Cloud 00:07:29 LG TV privacy concerns 00:16:38 Shelly’s planned acquisition 00:24:01 Critical iPhone notifications 00:26:16 Notification tips and Zooz sponsor 00:28:16 Redesigned and customizable maps 00:30:42 Easier automation trigger conditions 00:34:47 Dashboard visibility and AI tools 00:37:32 Z-Wave maps and YAML improvements 00:40:16 Generators and energy monitoring 00:44:00 Modbus, profiles and timers 00:47:56 Glass-break sensors and security dashboards 00:52:00 Matter updates and Thread plans 00:55:36 Templates, Hue and Z-Wave 00:58:00 UniFi Protect and integration updates 01:01:00 iCloud lists and local vehicle control 01:03:20 New infrared and energy integrations 01:07:18 Solar, messaging and plant integrations 01:10:27 Removed integrations and upgrade advice 01:11:24 Green Button energy data This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Link by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Sign up for your free trial in your Home Assistant system: https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/cloud/ or visit https://nabucasa.com 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 https://thesmartesthouse.com Apollo Automation Apollo Automation are the makers of open source smart home sensors built for the Home Assistant ecosystem. They're an official Open Home Foundation commercial partner and their devices are built with local control, privacy, and reliability in mind, giving you full control and flexibility right out of the box. Want Phil to help with your smart home? You’ve heard him troubleshoot Home Assistant on the podcast. Now you can book him to troubleshoot yours. From broken automations and confusing YAML to dashboards, devices, and complete smart home setups: https://smarthomecto.com Products Discussed Shelly smart relays/switches: https://amzn.to/4tfoHdE Home Assistant ZBT2 (Zigbee radio): https://amzn.to/4pLxykT Products we Recommend Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Mapping all the changes in Home Assistant 2026.10

  3. 4d ago

    Home Assistant was Trey’s answer for a local first smart home

    Phil and Rohan are joined by Trey from Tallahassee, Florida, to explore his local-first Home Assistant setup. From an X10 beginning and a MyQ API shutdown to Zigbee migrations, Trey has seen a lot! Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA252 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/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 Introduction 00:02:00 From X10 to Home Assistant 00:06:00 Zigbee migration and device choices 00:10:00 Smart lighting and cat alerts 00:14:00 Automation philosophy and voice control 00:18:00 Voice assistant TV pausing 00:20:00 Zigbee, Thread and Z-Wave 00:24:00 Batteries and dual Zigbee networks 00:28:00 UniFi networking 00:30:00 Garage and freeze automations 00:34:00 IKEA blinds and local AI 00:38:00 Local LLM voice pipeline 00:42:00 Backups and outdoor camera plans 00:46:00 Indoor cameras and privacy modes 00:50:00 Frigate, recognition and smart locks 00:54:00 Ring keypad and closing This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Link by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Sign up for your free trial in your Home Assistant system: https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/cloud/ or visit https://nabucasa.com 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 https://thesmartesthouse.com Apollo Automation Apollo Automation are the makers of open source smart home sensors built for the Home Assistant ecosystem. They're an official Open Home Foundation commercial partner and their devices are built with local control, privacy, and reliability in mind, giving you full control and flexibility right out of the box. Want Phil to help with your smart home? You’ve heard him troubleshoot Home Assistant on the podcast. Now you can book him to troubleshoot yours. From broken automations and confusing YAML to dashboards, devices, and complete smart home setups: https://smarthomecto.com Products we Recommend Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This video contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Home Assistant was Trey’s answer for a local first smart home

  4. Sep 22

    Roland “Accidentally” Installed Home Assistant, Then Automated Everything

    Roland joins Phil and Rohan to share how a simple attempt to measure an old fridge's energy use led to a deeply data-driven Home Assistant smart home. Energy monitoring, solar forecasting, home batteries, EV charging, ESPHome, weather data and templates are all used to make his home smarter. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA251 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/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 Welcome 00:02:01 An accidental Home Assistant install 00:06:04 Scaling devices and automations 00:08:04 Solar forecasts and battery control 00:16:46 ESPHome windows and storm protection 00:21:03 Home Assistant at the university 00:26:16 Starting with energy data 00:29:08 Cooling buckets and digital grass 00:34:52 Turning data into automations 00:37:19 Summer-winter heating and cooling 00:43:52 Measuring a new home 00:47:21 Whole-home energy and smart PC 00:52:16 Pool monitoring and house insights 00:59:07 Future projects and stable automation 01:04:26 Updates, reliability and farewell This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors 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 https://thesmartesthouse.com Apollo Automation Apollo Automation are the makers of open source smart home sensors built for the Home Assistant ecosystem. They're an official Open Home Foundation commercial partner and their devices are built with local control, privacy, and reliability in mind, giving you full control and flexibility right out of the box. 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. Sign up for your free trial in your Home Assistant system: https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/cloud/ or visit https://nabucasa.com Want Phil to help with your smart home? You’ve heard him troubleshoot Home Assistant on the podcast. Now you can book him to troubleshoot yours. From broken automations and confusing YAML to dashboards, devices, and complete smart home setups: https://smarthomecto.com Products Discussed Navimow robotic lawn mower: https://amzn.to/4d7phni Apollo Automation ESPHome Starter Kit: https://esphome.io/starter-kit/ Apollo Automation Cast 1: https://apolloautomation.com/products/cast-1-audio-casting-device Shelly smart relays/switches: https://amzn.to/4tfoHdE Shelly One relay: https://amzn.to/4wUFxj6 Products we Recommend Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

  5. Sep 15

    Adrian’s High Availability Home Assistant

    How do you make Home Assistant resilient when an update fails or your primary server goes offline? Phil and Rohan talk with Adrian from Western Australia about his dual Home Assistant setup, webhook heartbeat failover, Git-based YAML configuration, and a 12V battery-backed home network. Adrian has shared some notes on his setup here:  https://docs.na.id.au/  Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA250 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/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 00:02:00 Adrian's Home Assistant origin 00:05:00 12V battery-backed infrastructure 00:08:00 Presence and smart-light logic 00:13:00 Wi-Fi scale and interference 00:16:00 Matter, LIFX and 433MHz 00:21:00 Alarm integrations and appliances 00:29:00 Home Assistant high availability 00:34:00 Zigbee, MQTT and Matter 00:39:00 Git, YAML and device naming 00:44:00 DHCP reservations and static IPs 00:47:00 EV charging and roller shutters 00:51:00 Upgrades and family installations 00:55:00 Local AI and language learning 00:59:00 Wrap-up 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. Sign up for your free trial in your Home Assistant system: https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/cloud/ or visit https://nabucasa.com 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 https://thesmartesthouse.com Apollo Automation Apollo Automation are the makers of open source smart home sensors built for the Home Assistant ecosystem. They're an official Open Home Foundation commercial partner and their devices are built with local control, privacy, and reliability in mind, giving you full control and flexibility right out of the box. Clean My Mac Get Tidy Today! Get 7 days free and use our code ASSISTANT for 20% off Want Phil to help with your smart home? You’ve heard him troubleshoot Home Assistant on the podcast. Now you can book him to troubleshoot yours. From broken automations and confusing YAML to dashboards, devices, and complete smart home setups: https://smarthomecto.com Products we Recommend Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

  6. Sep 8

    Rob went from 15 Apps to One Smart Home With Home Assistant

    Rob joins Phil and Rohan from New Zealand to share how he replaced 15 smart-home apps with Home Assistant. Discover his AI-assisted workflow using VS Code, Claude Code, Codex, Git, YAML documentation, solar optimisation, camera-powered number plate recognition, and a resilient smart-home network. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA249 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/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 00:02:00 Escaping the app overload 00:07:00 First automations and Wi-Fi devices 00:10:00 Batteries, presence sensors and vacuums 00:17:00 UniFi network and Home Assistant upgrade 00:20:00 Solar, Modbus and energy optimisation 00:23:00 AI coding workflow with VS Code 00:33:00 OpenCode, MCP and custom workflows 00:37:00 AI documentation and automation intent 00:42:00 Fail-safe smart home design 00:45:00 AI camera gate recognition 00:50:00 Security, modes and alarm integration 00:54:00 Backup power and future projects 01:01:00 Advice for a new setup 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. Sign up for your free trial in your Home Assistant system: https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/cloud/ or visit https://nabucasa.com 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 https://thesmartesthouse.com Apollo Automation Apollo Automation are the makers of open source smart home sensors built for the Home Assistant ecosystem. They're an official Open Home Foundation commercial partner and their devices are built with local control, privacy, and reliability in mind, giving you full control and flexibility right out of the box. Want Phil to help with your smart home? You’ve heard him troubleshoot Home Assistant on the podcast. Now you can book him to troubleshoot yours. From broken automations and confusing YAML to dashboards, devices, and complete smart home setups: https://smarthomecto.com Products Discussed AirGradient air-quality sensor: https://www.airgradient.com/ Home Assistant Connect ZWA2 (Z‑Wave radio): https://amzn.to/3MfPzsP Aqara FP300 presence sensor: https://amzn.to/3LpkZ02 Products we Recommend Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Rob went from 15 Apps to One Smart Home With Home Assistant

  7. Sep 1

    Home Assistant 2026.9 improves Modbus integrations, and a better activity history

    Home Assistant 2026.9 is here. Maps suffer an unexpected turn of events and easier Modbus integrations arrive. Activity history gets some love. Nabu Casa subscribers can start testing a new and improved speech to text provider via Labs. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA248 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/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 00:01:46 Home Assistant map outage 00:05:57 Community Day, Apollo and iOS 00:10:19 Mailbag: locks, pools and moving 00:18:13 AI assistants versus closed ecosystems 00:23:43 Proxmox upgrade compatibility warning 00:29:04 Home Assistant Cloud and Modbus 00:35:04 Dashboard updates 00:38:12 History, accessibility and Matter maps 00:43:39 New integrations and release wrap-up 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. Sign up for your free trial in your Home Assistant system: https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/cloud/ or visit https://nabucasa.com 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 https://thesmartesthouse.com Apollo Automation Apollo Automation are the makers of open source smart home sensors built for the Home Assistant ecosystem. They're an official Open Home Foundation commercial partner and their devices are built with local control, privacy, and reliability in mind, giving you full control and flexibility right out of the box. Want Phil to help with your smart home? You’ve heard him troubleshoot Home Assistant on the podcast. Now you can book him to troubleshoot yours. From broken automations and confusing YAML to dashboards, devices, and complete smart home setups: https://smarthomecto.com Products Discussed Apollo Automation ESPHome Starter Kit: https://esphome.io/starter-kit/ Apollo Automation Cast 1: https://apolloautomation.com/products/cast-1-audio-casting-device Home Assistant Connect ZWA2 (Z‑Wave radio): https://amzn.to/3MfPzsP Products we Recommend Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Home Assistant 2026.9 improves Modbus integrations, and a better activity history

  8. Aug 18

    Living With Home Assistant: The Other Side of the Smart Home

    Sofia lives in a Home Assistant smart home, but she didn’t install it. We’re breaking down what its like on the other side of the fence and how open communication and involvement make for a happier smart home. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA247 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. https://homeassistant.fm/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 Introduction 00:02:00 Home Assistant origins 00:04:00 Philips Hue beginnings 00:06:30 Building automations together 00:09:00 Sensors and safety alerts 00:12:00 Magic mirror project 00:15:00 Apple Home scenes 00:18:00 Home Assistant usability 00:21:00 Privacy and stability 00:24:30 Voice control and wrap-up This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Apollo Automation Apollo Automation are the makers of open source smart home sensors built for the Home Assistant ecosystem. They're an official Open Home Foundation commercial partner and their devices are built with local control, privacy, and reliability in mind, giving you full control and flexibility right out of the box. 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. Sign up for your free trial in your Home Assistant system: https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/cloud/ or visit https://nabucasa.com 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 https://thesmartesthouse.com Want Phil to help with your smart home? You’ve heard him troubleshoot Home Assistant on the podcast. Now you can book him to troubleshoot yours. From broken automations and confusing YAML to dashboards, devices, and complete smart home setups: https://smarthomecto.com Products we Recommend Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee This episode contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on this link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Living With Home Assistant: The Other Side of the Smart Home
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4.8
out of 5
75 Ratings

About

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 smart home even smarter.

Information

  • Creator
    Mostly Automated Media
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    271
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Mostly Automated Media Pty Ltd
  • Show Website
    Home Assistant Podcast
  • Provider
    Mostly Automated Media

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