#smart-home
85 episodes
#5918: Splitting One Camera's Audio for a Baby Monitor
One IP camera, two jobs: an open audio line for the nursery and Frigate's cry detection. Here's how go2rtc and Icecast fit together.
#5834: Dead Man's Switches: Alerts vs. Final Notices
Same mechanism, opposite goals: hardware that fires in two seconds when you fall, and services that wait sixty days to confirm you're gone.
#5725: Why Your Smart Light's Lowest Setting Is a Lie
Dimming range is the spec nobody prints on the box — and it's the one that decides how a light actually feels to live with.
#5637: Lux Sensors for Home Assistant: The Feedback Loop Nobody Warns You About
Lux sensors sound simple until the lights you turn on trip the sensor that turned them on. Here's the full chain, from Aqara T1 to Matter's missing...
#5457: Pigeon Alerts on a Repurposed i5: Frigate Without the TPU
Daniel wants a pigeon notification, not a custom model. Frigate already ships with bird detection — the real work is masks, zones, and filters.
#5282: Wi-Fi IoT Without the Cloud Lock-In
Wi-Fi IoT ships locked to vendor clouds by default. Here's what it takes to break out — and where Wi-Fi is actually the right tool.
#5235: Wiring Smart Patio Lights Through Home Assistant
Picking a Zigbee RGB controller is the easy part — sizing the power supply and keeping mains water out is where patio lighting projects live or die.
#5078: When Shopping Lists Outgrow the Grocery Store
Why grocery list apps fail when you need drywall anchors, and what actually works for multi-store household shopping.
#5033: The Greatest Dumbest Home Assistant Automations
Doorbell goal horns, toilet dashboards, and a lamp that dims on guests. The ten most gloriously unnecessary smart home automations, ranked.
#5031: Circadian Lighting: Sunset vs. Your Body Clock
Is your smart home's "red light before bed" actually synced to your biology? We dig into chronobiology, latitude, and lighting design.
#4763: Red Light, Real Science: Sleep Hacks That Actually Work
ADHD circadian disruption, red light products, and smart home integration — a practical deep dive.
#4468: What a Log Scale Actually Does to Your Sensor Data
Log scales don't smooth data — they change the ruler you're measuring with. Here's when to use them and when they'll break.
#4425: DNS Blocking That Doesn't Break Everything
How to block ads and trackers at the network level without breaking your spouse's banking app or your kid's game.
#4362: Batteries vs. Wired: Smart Home Security for Renters
Coin cell batteries die silently. Here’s how to wire Zigbee sensors to mains power in a rental apartment.
#4273: UPS vs Generator: Where's the Line Now?
Lithium batteries are making home UPSs bigger and cheaper. But when does a generator still win?
#4230: Modbus to Smart Home: The Real Bridge Guide
Three gateways tested, three hurdles revealed. What actually works when bridging OT gear to Home Assistant.
#4225: Pigeon Eviction 101: Netting, Cameras & Israeli Law
A Jerusalem balcony pigeon problem meets wildlife law, toddler safety, and Reolink surveillance.
#4062: How to Keep a Baby's Room Comfortable With a Dumb AC
Smart sensors + dumb AC + PID control = better than a Nest for keeping your infant comfortable at night.
#3999: The VLAN Blind Spot: Why Your IoT Devices Still Talk to Each Other
VLANs isolate IoT from your main network, but devices inside can still attack each other. Client isolation is the missing piece.
#3918: NFC Tags vs. the "We're Out" Button
One tap to restock milk. Why is that so hard to find on Android?
#3823: How Cities Can Enforce Construction Noise with Real-Time Data
Can cities actually enforce noise limits with real-time sound data? We explore the tech, the gaps, and who's doing it right.
#3792: Cloud Brain, Local Fingers: Decoupled Home Assistant
Can Home Assistant run in the cloud while Zigbee stays local? We explore the decoupled control plane architecture.
#3539: Mapping a Room with Just Your Phone
Can your phone turn a video walkthrough into a measured 3D model? We break down the tools and the real-world limits.
#3245: Why Integrated LED Fixtures Are Beating Smart Bulbs
Smart bulbs cram radios into metal cages. Integrated fixtures solve that—and Matter makes it seamless.