Home Assistant Podcast

HK 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 home smarter.

  1. Home Assistant 2026.2: New Home Dashboard, Apps & our CES2026 wrap

    5D AGO

    Home Assistant 2026.2: New Home Dashboard, Apps & our CES2026 wrap

    We break down Home Assistant 2026.2: the Home Dashboard is now default, the new Command‑K command palette, a dedicated Matter dashboard, and add‑ons renamed to Apps. Plus: CES 2026 highlights, the Open Home Foundation device database and a Google Home outage. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA220 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 00:03:00 CES Highlights and Shoutouts 00:06:00 Device Database and Open Home 00:11:30 Cloud Outage and Local Control 00:13:50 Listener Feedback and Tips 00:21:20 2026.2 Release Overview 00:23:20 Home Dashboard Becomes Default 00:26:45 Command Palette and Shortcuts 00:29:40 Matter Dashboard and Apps Rename 00:32:40 Automations, Cards, and Buttons 00:37:10 Music Assistant, Media, Sponsor Break 00:41:10 New Integrations Roundup 00:46:25 Breaking Changes: Groups, Tuya 00:49:38 Closing Thoughts and Predictions 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 https://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 Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    52 min
  2. Inside the Works With Home Assistant program with Miranda Bishop

    JAN 27

    Inside the Works With Home Assistant program with Miranda Bishop

    Miranda from the Open Home Foundation takes us inside the Works With Home Assistant program: how devices are tested, why the badge matters, and how vendors—from startups to big brands—can get certified. We cover Zigbee vs Z‑Wave vs Matter, badge misuse, regional device coverage, and Miranda’s own fun automations. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA219 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 00:03:20 Miranda’s path to HA 00:08:00 CES stories and community 00:14:30 Moving program to Foundation 00:22:30 Fees, pushback, endorsement? 00:29:30 Guidance, safety, and testing 00:36:30 Zigbee, Z‑Wave, Matter realities 00:43:00 Big brands, IKEA, relationships 00:50:30 Cloud integrations, Genie 00:55:30 Miranda’s home and automations 01:03:30 Blinds, garden, robots 01:10:00 Regional coverage and filters 01:15:30 Badge misuse and enforcement 01:20:30 2026 goals and 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. 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 https://thesmartesthouse.com Products Discussed Home Assistant Connect ZWA2 (Z‑Wave radio): https://amzn.to/3MfPzsP 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 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

    1h 23m
  3. From SimpliSafe to Matter: We’re re-visiting Aaron

    JAN 20

    From SimpliSafe to Matter: We’re re-visiting Aaron

    Aaron returns to share how his Home Assistant setup evolved from endless tinkering to a rock‑solid system that runs his family life. We cover Z‑Wave provisioning, ESPHome vs off‑the‑shelf reliability, RATGDO for garage doors, HA Green/Yellow, voice‑first routines, and the rise of AI‑powered helpers. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA218 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, guest intro 00:02:30 - Aaron’s Home Assistant dev journey 00:06:30 - Life change and HA evolving 00:10:30 - HA Green/Yellow setup ease 00:14:30 - Proxmox vs appliance hubs 00:18:30 - Remote radios and antennas 00:22:30 - AppDaemon to UI automations 00:26:30 - AI helpers and sensors 00:30:30 - Dashboards vs default view 00:34:30 - Voice and automation-first 00:38:30 - Community ideas and sharing 00:42:30 - Maintain vs rebuild strategy 00:46:30 - Vacuum and dishwasher flows 00:50:30 - Guest mode with Shortcuts 00:54:30 - ESPHome vs plug-and-play 00:58:30 - Z-Wave provisioning 01:02:30 - Local-first hardware wins 01:06:30 - Matter, cameras, standards 01:10:00 - Open-source continuity, advice 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 https://thesmartesthouse.com Products Discussed Home Assistant Connect Z-Wave (ZWA2) antenna: https://amzn.to/48PrphT Ubiquiti Protect cameras: https://amzn.to/4asHXxt 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 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

    1h 12m
  4. Artem’s Energy‑Smart Automations Without the Chaos

    JAN 13

    Artem’s Energy‑Smart Automations Without the Chaos

    By day Artem works for JetBrains, developing coding IDEs for software professionals. But today we want to learn about his smart home, and how he is using Home Assistant to make it more energy efficient Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA217 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, sponsors, guest intro 00:02:30 - Developer life and new home 00:06:30 - Shutters and first automations 00:12:20 - Wi‑Fi presence and WAF/PAF 00:17:30 - Cabling regrets and PoE lessons 00:21:30 - Zigbee over Ethernet; IKEA fix 00:25:58 - Dynamic tariffs, solar and battery 00:33:20 - Smart appliance scheduling 00:41:00 - mmWave presence sensors 00:45:20 - Doorbell NFC and Nuki lock 00:50:10 - Wishlist, Hue and wiring 00:53:10 - Climate tuning and valve fix 00:58:40 - Versatile thermostat and 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. 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 https://thesmartesthouse.com Products Discussed Ubiquiti UniFi Protect G4 Pro Doorbell: https://amzn.to/4aT1IhF Aqara FP2 mmWave presence sensor: https://amzn.to/4s4M4WM 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 This podcast 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

    1h 2m
  5. Home Assistant 2026.1: SendSpin, new Home Dashboard improvements and presence using labels

    JAN 6

    Home Assistant 2026.1: SendSpin, new Home Dashboard improvements and presence using labels

    Rohan and Phil are here to break down the 2026.1 release. We’re talking Home Dashboard improvements, a new multi-room audio protocol from Music Assistant, and of course some Zigbee quirks thrown into the mix Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA216 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 - New Year, housekeeping, sponsors 00:03:00 - SendSpin: open sync audio arrives 00:10:00 - Cross‑ecosystem sync caveats 00:14:00 - Voice PE audio and DIY speakers 00:16:00 - Listener Q&A and AI log help 00:20:00 - 2026.1 mobile Home dashboard 00:24:00 - Purpose‑specific triggers expansion 00:27:00 - New integrations 00:31:00 - Labels/templates for presence 00:37:00 - Protocol hubs, Matter, graphs, devices 00:41:00 - Breaking changes, EcoWitt PSA, CES 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 https://thesmartesthouse.com Products Discussed Roborock Q7 robot vacuum: https://amzn.to/4bkyEjo EcoWitt weather station: https://amzn.to/4jBcX0M Sonos One: https://amzn.to/4pmsz9H 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 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

    43 min
  6. 187 Automations, 300 Devices: Josh’s Smart Home Assistant Journey

    12/16/2025

    187 Automations, 300 Devices: Josh’s Smart Home Assistant Journey

    Josh from Josh’s Smart Home joins Phil and Rohan to unpack a 300-device Home Assistant setup running on Home Assistant Green. We dive into the move from SmartThings, building a reliable Zigbee mesh, energy automations with Tesla Powerwall and a smart pool pump and theatre room presence. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA215 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 00:01:22 - Meet Josh 00:02:18 - Early smart home missteps 00:04:12 - SmartThings and Lutron 00:05:54 - WebCoRE ends, HA begins 00:09:29 - Home Assistant Green setup 00:09:34 - Zigbee mesh with Aqara 00:12:55 - Theater gear quirks 00:14:18 - Theater automation philosophy 00:22:02 - Time-of-use energy automations 00:23:00 - Powerwall + solar in HA 00:26:31 - ROI and arbitrage 00:28:28 - Tesla automations 00:32:42 - Dashboards and voice control 00:37:19 - Washer/dryer and doorbell alerts 00:40:37 - 187 automations, time saved 00:44:20 - Motion and humidity control 00:48:56 - Measuring automation impact 00:50:02 - Smart blinds convenience 00:50:19 - Yarbo mower and snowblower 00:58:43 - Security and utility uses 01:06:59 - Starting Josh’s Smart Home 01:10:27 - Automation content plans 01:12:45 - Top new-build tips 01:15:56 - Designing and building 01:21:26 - Where to find Josh 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 https://thesmartesthouse.com Products Discussed Reolink Video Doorbell: https://amzn.to/4a7LIId Apple TV 4K: https://amzn.to/4prsT7n Narwal robot vacuum and mop: https://amzn.to/3KgSaSK UV insect light traps: https://amzn.to/484CNEY Yarbo robotic core with mower/snow modules: https://amzn.to/3LOtOQV 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 This podcast 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

    1h 22m
  7. From Alexa to Assist: NetworkChuck’s Smart Home with Frigate, UniFi, and AI

    12/09/2025

    From Alexa to Assist: NetworkChuck’s Smart Home with Frigate, UniFi, and AI

    YouTuber NetworkChuck joins Phil and Rohan to break down his real-world Home Assistant setup: migrating off Alexa, building a Home Assistant voice assistant (with a Terry Crews voice clone!), wiring Frigate to Reolink cameras, and using UniFi + AI to debug Wi‑Fi chaos. We also compare Node‑RED vs n8n, talk Plex vs Jellyfin and NAS headaches, inventory with Grocy, mmWave presence, ESP32 room presence, and how local AI stacks up against GPT/Claude for home automations. Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA214 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 00:02:30 - Network Chuck’s background 00:06:30 - Discovering Home Assistant 00:10:30 - Toilet paper saga automation 00:14:30 - From Alexa to Home Assistant Voice 00:20:30 - Frigate cameras and Reolink lessons 00:27:30 - Face and plate recognition ideas 00:32:00 - Local AI models vs cloud 00:39:00 - Family adoption and analog rebounds 00:43:30 - Presence, phones, mmWave, ESP32 00:48:30 - Halloween thunderstorm and Plex fun 00:52:30 - Node-RED vs n8n in automations 00:58:00 - Plex vs Jellyfin and NAS woes 01:05:30 - Grocy, inventory, and shopping hacks 01:12:00 - Air quality, energy, and next steps 01:18:00 - Enterprise talk and 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. 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 https://thesmartesthouse.com Products Discussed NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs (dual GPU local AI rig): https://amzn.to/4a5Lf9w Smart locks: Nuki Smart Lock: https://amzn.to/47VH6nj Smart locks: Level Lock: https://amzn.to/3XtPdBz Smart locks: August Smart Lock: https://amzn.to/4id1ovK 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 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

    1h 25m
  8. Home Assistant 2025.12: Labs, Smarter Automations, Real‑Time Energy and Frenck

    12/02/2025

    Home Assistant 2025.12: Labs, Smarter Automations, Real‑Time Energy and Frenck

    We’re closing out the final Home Assistant release for 2025 with Frenck and a massive Home Assistant 2025.12. Home Assistant Labs, purpose‑specific triggers and conditions, a smarter automation UI, real‑time power flows in Energy, Android Auto/Widgets improvements, tons of new integrations, and more. Plus hardware talk: ZBT2, Zigbee 4, and Matter.js joining the Open Home Foundation. Watch this episode on YouTube https://homeassistant.fm/HA213 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 00:03:30 Frenck’s streaming cadence and creator burnout 00:06:45 Moving houses: keep or strip the smart home? 00:10:46 EV charger dilemma & e‑waste perspective 00:12:50 2025 recap: guests, sponsors, community 00:15:50 Home Assistant ZBT-2 launch, Zigbee 4 headlines, migrations 00:19:10 Open Home Foundation structure & focus areas 00:22:59 Matter.js joins OHF and why it matters 00:24:59 Arduino policy changes & the ESPHome angle 00:25:34 2025.12 overview and Labs introduction 00:26:44 Home Assistant Labs: opt‑in previews, backups, feedback 00:31:55 Purpose‑specific triggers & conditions explained 00:40:50 New automation UI: target‑first and context‑aware 01:03:17 Home dashboard upgrades & the new For You sidebar 01:13:21 Energy dashboard: live power flows and water devices 01:19:40 Android: Add to Widgets & Android Auto favorites 01:23:13 ESPHome entity IDs standardized for new devices 01:24:17 Pet tech: Tuya litter boxes and assorted updates 01:25:10 OpenAI model update, SQL templates, UI card tweaks 01:27:49 New integrations roundup (Hue BLE, Victron BLE, more) 01:32:18 Template helper deprecation, repairs, migration path 01:35:38 Integration removals: Domino’s & Hive alarm changes 01:36:54 32‑bit/supervised deprecation & migration guidance 01:40:25 CES plans, upcoming episodes 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 https://thesmartesthouse.com Products Discussed Home Assistant ZBT2 (Zigbee radio): https://amzn.to/4pLxykT Lutron Caseta light switches: https://amzn.to/48rNmSN 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 This podcast 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

    1h 43m
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4.9
out of 5
69 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 home smarter.

Information

  • Channel
    HK Media
  • Creator
    HK Media
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    233
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Home Assistant Podcast
  • Show Website
    Home Assistant Podcast

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