Rohan and Phil chat with Andrej, a passionate Home Assistant user with some truly creative automations—from a relationship point system to a cat doorbell! He’s also developing PokyPow, an ESP-based device that lets you control your PC with Home Assistant.

Watch the full episode on YouTube

https://hasspodcast.io/ha190

Chapters

00:00:35 Guest Introduction: Andrej

00:00:47 Andrej's Journey with Home Assistant

00:01:34 Introducing PokyPow

00:02:27 Building and Challenges of PokyPow

00:03:18 Prototype to Production

00:04:30 Launching on Crowd Supply

00:21:30 Smart Home Experiences

00:26:10 Voice Control and Automations

00:31:22 Home Assistant Automation

00:36:20 CO2 Monitoring and Air Quality

00:43:20 Automation with Scale

00:47:40 Home Automation Future Plans

Support the Podcast

Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

Support Rohan and Phil on Patreon

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.

So for the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to 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

Pete Borchers is one-third of the Technical Difficulties Podcast, host of the DIY Smart Home Guy YouTube channel, and he doesn’t think Home Assistant is the bees-knees. Rohan and Phil try to see Pete’s point-of-view and to point him towards to right path

Watch the full episode on YouTube

https://hasspodcast.io/ha189

Chapters

00:01:02 Guest Introduction: Pete

00:02:10 Discussion on Smart Home Devices

00:04:12 Content Creation and YouTube Journey

00:07:25 Smart Locks Discussion

00:16:19 Home Assistant Experience

00:24:59 Video Concepts Introduction

00:26:01 Automation with Node-RED

00:27:08 Comparing Hubitat, Homey Pro, and Home Assistant

00:27:48 Homey Pro Preferences

00:28:33 Community in Home Automation

00:29:38 Z-Wave and Wi-Fi Devices

00:33:12 Proprietary Systems and Acquisitions

00:34:27 LG's Investment and Integration

00:38:45 Matter Protocol and Interoperability

00:39:15 Future of Streaming Services

00:42:44 AI in Home Automation

00:45:33 Smart Home Stories

00:49:44 Project Introduction

00:49:46 Water Valve Project

00:50:08 Automated Door Opener

00:50:40 Pico Remote and Automation

00:51:34 Govi Lights and Sync

00:52:18 Motion and Vibration Sensors

00:54:35 Smart Homes and AI

00:56:21 Technical Difficulties

00:57:30 Conclusion

Support the Podcast

Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

Support Rohan and Phil on Patreon

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.

So for the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to 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

While the Home Assistant core team are off to Dublin for the Open Home Foundation summit, Rohan and Phil are breaking down the 2025.6 release that will ship a week later. Meanwhile we discuss some self-hosted apps we love, and the IKEA and Sonos breakup.

Watch the full episode on YouTube

https://hasspodcast.io/ha188

Chapters

00:00:04 Introduction

00:01:00 Open Home Summit 2025

00:01:56 Community Day Recap

00:03:07 Mailbag

00:05:07 Podcast Feedback

00:06:15 Sonos and IKEA Collaboration Ends

00:10:11 Home Assistant Installation Updates

00:14:18 Bluetooth and ZigBee Updates

00:17:44 Ikea Desk and Automation Discussion

00:22:25 Home Assistant 2025.6 Updates

00:23:53 Customization and Sidebar Features

00:25:59 Sonos Multizone Playback

00:26:29 ESPHome

00:28:49 Improved Shelly Devices

00:29:13 Smart Things & Integration Updates

00:32:42 Amazon Device Integration

00:36:23 Image App Integration

00:45:21 Breaking Changes Changes

00:46:38 2025.6 Release Recap

Support the Podcast

Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

Support Rohan and Phil on Patreon

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.

So for the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to 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