Hey folks —
I live in a home with a solar water heater, and I got tired of guessing whether the tank was hot enough for a shower or if I needed to switch on backup heating.

So I built a system that monitors my solar tank temperature + outdoor weather conditions, shows it on an e-paper display indoors, and runs fully on LoRa — no WiFi, no wiring to the roof, no cloud dependency unless you want it.

Here’s what it does:

• Measures tank temperature with a PT100 industrial sensor
• Tracks weather via SHT30
• Transmits data wirelessly (LoRa, range is solid even through walls)
• Indoor unit shows tank temp + weather on an always-on e-paper display
• Optional cloud dashboard via Grafana (for alerts and history)
• Battery life: Over a year per unit

I’m testing it now, and planning to launch it soon via Kickstarter. I’d love to hear what other smart home folks think — especially:

• Would you want this to integrate with something like Home Assistant?
• Should I prioritize the cloud dashboard or local-only features?

Images:

• Display showing hot water temp
• Sensor attached to tank
• Grafana dashboard

Appreciate any feedback or wishlist ideas — especially from other solar/home energy nerds here!

—

(If you're curious, I made a short video demo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqCx3jfl0tQ )
Early signup page for launch: https://omnisense.gr

Repo https://github.com/geo-tp/ESP32-Bus-Pirate

Wiki: https://github.com/geo-tp/ESP32-Bus-Pirate/wiki

Just bought a house that has the hood range mounted 6ft high because of a cutout in the wall. It's a stretch for either of us to reach the buttons on the hood range and we'd like to figure out some way to create a wall switch lower down the wall to control it. First: what's the simplest way to accomplish this? Second: are there any ways to make it a smart set up where we voice control it (i.e. 'Siri, turn on the hood range')? Picture showing the buttons of the range as well as the wiring diagram.

Appreciate some suggestions. I want to add a smart lock to my front door - what I have though is both a normal front door and then also a steel security door. The front door would be a normal deadlock and then the steel front door has a euro cylinder (I think that is what it is called?).

Is there an option that I can use that would replace both locks? Or am I just better off doing a normal smart lock to replace the deadlock and leaving the security door to be opened by a key? (So in practice just locking the steel security door as required, mainly leaving it open)? Appreciate the thoughts!

I live In an old appartement, and I was thinking of switching my light switches. The issue is that the light switch I bought had green (ground) wire but there's no ground on my old switch. Only thing I can see is that there's a copper wire in the back. What to do i do ?

My team and I created a home inventory app primarily for appliances. We want to do more home task automation stuff, but don't know how to implement it in a way that people would actually use it - and furthermore, if this is even a product people are looking for. Thinking preventative maintenance type tasks.

We built out all the cool features to get your shit in for insurance purposes, but realizing that doesn't keep people around...

My bedroom windows get hit with direct sunlight every morning and it has been waking me up way too early lately. I rent and my lease is super strict about not drilling into the walls or messing with the wallpaper so regular blinds are not really an option.

I am looking for a no drill setup that works with Google Assistant. I mostly use it on my phone to control my Bluetooth speaker and a small desk lamp I keep by the bed for late night reading which helps save my eyes after doomscrolling.

I found something on Amazon that seems like it could work for me but I would rather hear what you all recommend and if there are any other options I should check out

Hi I just installed a home decorators fan from Home Depot and wanted to have the fan and lights turn on to a specific fan speed and light color temp if my ring flood light detects activity after 6pm. I’ve been reading online that this seems more difficult to setup with the type of ceiling fan I have because of the DC motor, specs include:

6 light temperature options 6 speed dc motor Home is wired with a single pole switch that provides just power to the fan and lights on the fan, the remote control controls the settings.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-Ainslee-54-in-Indoor-Covered-Outdoor-Matte-Black-Ceiling-Fan-with-DC-Motor-Color-Changing-LED-and-Remote-Control-52439/329899110

I was able to set a similar task with string lights attached to a smart plug where the string lights turn on when motion is detected by the flood light. Can anyone provide guidance on what I would need to achieve this task with our new patio fan. Thanks

Hey all!

I'm losing my mind here. I have an evening routine that sets a few of my smart bulbs in each room to very low light. What I want to do is distribute smaller light sources on shelves, planters, etc. that turn on and cast a warm white glow as well.

When I say small, I'm talking very small: fairy lights like these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLRV4GS2

and little 2" glass orbs lit from the bottom like these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Y8GB3GY

I'd even love a very very miniature lamp (like ... 2-3" tall).

Problem is, I can't find anything that works. I can find zero options that can be tied into my automation scheme directly (fair enough), but I also can't find anything that will work with a smart plug setup.

For example, the fairy lights above come with a remote that lets you dim them, and on their lowest level, they're perfect ... but when you turn off the power at the smart plug and turn back on, they don't remember and come back on blazingly bright.

The glass orbs all are on technicolor bright as day cycles until you use their little remotes, and don't remember their settings when cycled at the outlet.

And I can't for the life of me actually find anyone selling a tiny lamp that I could just shove a low-lumen LED into.

Anyone have any secret hidden fairy lights and/or bulb based products that are warm white, low light, and just function on/off at the outlet?

And there were boxes and boxes of it! Looks like they were trying to clean out inventory to make way for whatever they’re putting out next.

Disclosure: I’m the founder of a new startup working on local energy optimisation for homes (Australia). I’ve built a small hardware hub that, with minor tweaks, can run Home Assistant OS and provide multi-protocol connectivity (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth/BLE, Zigbee, Z-Wave) out of the box.

Why I’m posting: before I take this further, I’d love feedback from this community on whether this is useful and how to shape it.

What it is (early concept):

• Compact Linux-based hub capable of running Home Assistant OS.
• Built-in radios for BLE, Zigbee, Z-Wave (plus Wi-Fi/Ethernet).
• Goal price for a basic model: ~US$150
• Considering a higher-end version with better mics/speaker for local voice (on-device speech + small LLM); pricing TBD depending on what you’d actually want but would be aroudn 5-8x more than basic model

Questions for you:

1. Which radios are must-have for you (BLE, Zigbee, Z-Wave)? Any interest in others?
2. For a “pro” model, what voice features (hotword accuracy, mic array quality, offline STT/TTS) would justify the premium?
3. Anything this would need to beat your current dongle/bridge setup?

Next steps: If there’s solid interest, I may explore a public pre-order/crowdfunding path.

Thanks in advance <3

I want to get a radiator fan to force the heat from the radiator in my cellar further out into the room. There are quite a few radiator fans available, and most seem to have good reviews: I've looked at the SpeedComfort ones, and a good few other brands too, and they all look pretty much the same.

However, I was hoping to find one which I could track using an app on my phone. I'd like to be able to see how long it runs for each day, what times it comes on and off, that sort of thing. And I've not been able to find any radiator fans which allow me to do this.

Does anyone here know of any brands or models which do this? (I'm in the UK, if that's significant.)

I've used the MyQ app for a few years now and never had a problem. I have a rule setup in the app to close my garage door at midnight if it was left open. Nice feature if you accidentally leave it open, or so I thought. When I went to bed last night, I checked to make sure the garage was closed and it was. At midnight, my phone received an alert, "At 00:00 on Aug 24, the schedule: close at midnight, was triggered." However, it didn't close the garage, it opened it. I double checked my security camera footage and that's exactly what happened. Anyone ever seen this? I feel like this is a huge issue.

My wife and her friends always scream "That's a banger!" whenever a song they really like comes on. For her birthday I was hoping to make her a "Banger" alarm so that when it's pushed it blinks the lights and says that's a banger in our rec room. Wonder what would be the best way to create this? If it makes any difference, we use mainly Alexa devices in our house and already have certain smart bulbs connected to routines

Not sure if this is the correct sub so if there is somewhere more appropriate please let me know!

We bought a house with a Russound ca-4 controller and four keypads with ceiling speakers in four different zones in the house. All worked great until the controller quit.

I was able to find a used one online. I plugged it in and it has powered on. Three out of four zones turned green but I cannot get any of the keypads throughout the house to power on. There’s no sound being passed through and no way to change the source or power zones from the controller.

Does anyone have any experience with these units and wall panels? Do I need to repair these to the new controller somehow? Any troubleshooting suggestions are appreciated. I don’t want to have to pull out these panels or replace the whole system.

I have five overhead led "bay lights" that are each 200w and use a 0-10v line for dimming. (Oddly, also four 12w recessed LEDs on the same circuit...).

I'm in search of a wall unit that can handle the dimming and the load of these big lights. The dimmer should be "smart" (controllable) and my very strong preference is for zwave. Matter is off the table, and I have no zigbee currently in my ecosystem, but I could be swayed to add it if need be. An open protocol wifi/bluetooth would be acceptable as well. There should be no hidden "intermediary" type controllers (ie: shelly) that confound the installation and interface/ui/ux. I'm trying to live by the hard rule that when the controller in my ecosystem is down, the house still works like a normal house. So switches must always switch, etc. I also have a preference towards the "decora" style switches; but that's an easy wish list item to sacrifice.

So, I've been trolling through older answers have found these options:

• Control4 C4-TV120277-SW -- This control4 dimmer is the closest I've found. Primarily, it's the only option which can handle the full 15A load. Downsides, not generally available (I've only found it on ebay), SUPER expensive ($150-$200 for a switch), and on Zigbee. I also have a strong suspicion that, while it says "Zigbee", it's likely some proprietary, quirky variant that won't work with HomeAssistant.
• Zooz Zen54 -- I have one of these and it works great for an individual unit, but it's only rated for 4 amps. Also, it isn't a wall switch, and can only pair to an on/off/momentary wall switch. If deployed per-light, would then require intermediary controller (without some complicated re-wiring).
• Leviton D2710-1BW -- Can only handle 8A (960w) so falls short of what I need. Not currently claimed to be supported in HA.
• TL-BT2-010 -- 1000w load, so not quite. Who knows what level of interface it can handle -- but likely none as it looks like a custom bluetooth protocol. Requires app with registration: boo.
• KAUF RGB Wall Switch -- Only 10a to start and not a 0-10v dimmer, but the idea of an ESPHome based switch is appealing. Going a custom build route has some merit, but I doubt I could get it to all fit in a wall switch nicely.
• Jasco Variants -- apparently Jasco made some 0-10v dimmer switches for a while, but I can't find any real docs about them or even find them for sale now. Certification was 5 years ago, so I suspect the product line is dead.

Barring all of that, I have barely even found an inwall, dead simple, on-off smart switch that can handle this load. The rest of my house is on Lutron Caseta, which I love, but the Claro can only handle 5A. Most the rest I've found are in the same ballpack. The only smart switch I've found that can handle the full 15A of the circuit has been a Zooz Zen30 with its dry contact relay which I'm currently using. It's just...not ideal; more than just lacking dimming control, the relay button on the switch is kind tiny and not fun to use.

Hey r/homeautomation community!

I’m in the market for a home assistant primarily to check medicine descriptions and set reminders for my medicines so I don’t miss a dose. I'm an Indian, I speak fluent English with a neutral accent, but sometimes my speech reverts to an Indian English accent. I need a device that understands me reliably in either accent. I also want it to be able to place emergency calls without having to “fake” an accent in a crisis.

I want to cut down screen time, so a hands free voice first experience is essential. I’m also wary of how much personal health info gets stored in the cloud.

The popular options I’ve looked at so far are

1) Apple HomePod mini (Siri): I’m not an Apple user yet, but I’m curious about the ecosystem.

2) Amazon Echo (Alexa): Widely supported, has many “skills”.

3) Google Nest Hub (Gemini): I’ve tried Gemini and noticed my accent sometimes flips back to Indian English and Gemini struggles to understand Indian accent.

Are there any other assistants you’d recommend (maybe a lesser known one that handles Indian accents well)? What’s been your experience with reliability for med reminders and emergency calls? Any privacy tips when it comes to home assistants?

Thanks for the help!

I'm new to home automation and am looking for advice.

I recently bought a small second home, and am looking to, if not necessarily automate it, at least remotely monitor it.

It came with Schlage locks (which appear to require z-wave to connect to) a nest thermostat (which appear close to its EOL) a couple of Ring cameras, and a couple of outlet controllers (I cant remember the brand). There is also an adt security system.

While I have things set up on nest and google home, I'd really rather have them controlled by my own server, am an experienced Linux admin, and it looks like for the z-wave, I need some kind of hub/controller anyway.

I do plan on replacing all outlets and switches in the house, for unrelated reasons, but obviously, that could factor into this project as well.

But im rather new to home automation, so can you all reccomend a crash course, website, medium article, etc that can help me get my bearing and understand my options?

thanks

Can I flash it with ratdgo?

I've found a nice way to hide my radar speed camera on the street so I can start testing it. From the front, it just looks like every other slow down sign. In the back, is where the party is at.

I cut a small hole in the sign for the camera and attached it all (radar, camera, wifi, and solar panel) to the back. Of course the solar panel looks way out of place. Without it no one would ever see the radar unit, so I think I will power it with a long cable instead. Right now I'm using a second sign to hide it from the rear.

Performance wise, it's working far better than I expected. The radar has a range of about 130ft-180ft (about 40-55 meters).

Attached are 2 photos it took automatically. One is of a white SUV driving from left to right which is about 180ft away.

The second is a white sedan driving towards the camera, this car registered 14 MPH when the photo was taken.

I still need to figure out the best speed and timing for the photos to get the car much closer to the camera. A video would be nice but I think images will be easier to manage.

Of course this thing is nowhere near ready and still needs quite a bit more work. I'll open source everything in a few weeks once I fix some glaring problems. I'm also combining all the dev boards into one board, so it'll be about 3 times smaller than what you see in the photos.

Renting a town home and want to know if this can be switched to a smart thermostat. I’d put the old one back in when we finally move. But I need the capability to set a schedule. My electric bill has been so high because I forget to adjust during the day. Thanks!

Hi there, I live in New England and grow a fair bit of potatoes to store and eat. I have a root cellar built into a part of the basement that sucks in cold air over the winter to help extend the storage of potatoes and other root crops I’ve grown that year.

Currently the setup is two inkbird temp controllers. One has a thermometer that runs to the outside and takes a constant reading, when the temp drops enough it sends power to the second temp controller that monitors the root cellar temp. If it needs additional cooling beyond the set temp, the second controller will engage a 4 inch fan that pulls in cold outside air until the root cellar hits the set temperature.

This works well enough except for the fact that I have to fiddle with it a fair amount in the spring and fall adjusting the outside temp trigger point to keep up with the falling root cellar temp so that I’m not pulling in 45 F air when the root cellar has dropped to 41 etc. In other words when it’s October and the root cellar is 60 degrees I might set the trigger temp to 55, then the root cellar cools and I adjust it downward as the weeks roll on and I’m able to cool it down further. The temp controller that monitors the actual room and runs the fan to bring in cold air is set to 36 degrees, if it gets colder than that inside it will shut the whole system down.

The question is instead of fiddling with it as temps drop in the fall and rise in the spring, is there an automation program I can run that will try to keep the storage room at 36 but won’t engage the cooling fan when the outside temp is higher than the storage room. The problem is I want to be pulling in 45 degree air when the room is 50 but not when it’s 40. Ie; the root cellars holding at 39 in January but we have a sudden warm spell, and the outside air is warmer than the cellar. Yes it still hasn’t hit the target temp of 36 but running the fan would be counter productive to cooling the room.

Thanks for any and all advice!

It's a companion robot. Just learned about it yesterday from Tiktok. It functions as a weather forecaster, a timer, a photo capturer, and even a blackjack dealer, thanks to its built-in utility and optional integration with Amazon Alexa. With such an integration, the robot has Alexa’s home connecting power on top of an endless skill arsenal constantly in development. Similar to the Alexa voice command, you can trigger Vector to add shopping items, set reminders, control smart devices like lights and speakers, and so much more.

It also delivers responses when asked questions. Saying “Hey Vector,” followed by “I have a question,” lets Vector think of an answer as he is knowledgeable on various topics. Users can ask him about unit conversion, word meanings, equations, nutrition, sports, and even pop culture. And with cloud connectivity, Vector continuously charges itself with new features and functions. It also has touch sensors and an accelerometer that give it a sense of feeling. It knows when it's being touched or moved. So you can pet him, and he will relax. However, avoid shaking him too much.

While Vector needs an app for setup, all subsequent interactions are done via eye contact and talking. Users can access Vector’s feelings as the app visualizes their mood and stimulation. The Anki Vector application also shows robot and human selfies captured by Vector. Those interested can buy an Anki Vector robot from online marketplaces. But for cheaper or wholesale prices, Alibaba is your one-stop shop.

However, be aware that the original company, Anki, is out of business, so you may need to set up a "Wire Pod" to continue using the robot's features.

I have one room in our new house with a baseboard heater, which requires a high voltage thermostat. I’d like to either install a mysa, or a Nest with one of those step-down transformers they sell on Amazon for $70. The thing is, both the mysa and the adapter have inputs for three wires, and the existing thermostat has four wires. There are instructions on the mysa webpage for how to deal with four wires if two come up from the bottom and two come down from the top, but all four of these come down from the top.

Does anyone know how to do it? I’ve attached photos.