Inspirations
How I taught my garage camera to remember bin day
The problem Bin day always sneaked up on me. Miss the pickup of any of the four bins and you're stuck with overflowing waste for another two weeks — bio,…
#Home Assistant
Inspirations
AI Is a Magic Box: How Two Smart-Home Builders Actually Use It
Lukas (hobbyblogging.de) and I have known each other for a while. Two builders, two smart homes, two evenings spent under similar AI rabbit holes. So when we sat down to…
Inspirations
Family Stress Score — one number from six honest signals
Some days are loud and short, everyone’s head is full – and you only realize at dinner that the house was running at 180 the whole afternoon. For exactly those…
Inspirations
AI-Powered Smart Home Architecture — How My Home Thinks for Itself
My smart home is powered by two AI pillars: an AI DevOps pipeline that builds and maintains everything — and an AI automation layer the whole family uses every day. In this post, I'll…
Inspirations
Smart Coffee Mug: Useful or Just a Gimmick?
Have you ever wondered if you actually need a smart coffee mug? Recently, I received one as a gift from my colleagues, and I dove into exploring its potential. ☕…
Interviews
Local First vs. Cloud in Smart Homes: Which Strategy Is Right for You?
🏠 Local First Strategy: Taking Control Into Your Own Hands When thinking about smart homes, a Local First strategy often comes up. The goal? To handle as much as possible…
Inspirations
Spring Awakening: Extending Smart Home to the Garden
As spring blooms, it's the perfect time to expand your smart home into the garden. Discover how integrating smart technology can enhance your outdoor space. 🌿 Smart Soil Sensors One…
Inspirations
2025 Recap: From AI Voice Bots to DIY Hardware – My Best Smart Home Upgrades
2025 was, without a doubt, one of the wildest years for my Smart Home journey so far. From teaching my house to make phone calls for me, to soldering custom…
Inspirations
Smart Home 2026: Why Your Current Setup is “Stupid” (And What’s Coming Next)
Let's be honest: Today's smart home is often more of a "remote control" than actual intelligence. We shout commands, push buttons, or get annoyed at motion sensors that leave us…
Tutorials
From Boring to Brilliant: The Smart IKEA FADO Upgrade with ESPHome
Why settle for a boring, static light when you can have a smart home masterpiece that reacts to your touch? Today, I’m taking a generic glass sphere lamp and giving…