As promised, I’m open-sourcing my Home Assistant configuration files. I benefitted greatly from the samples Home Assistant links to at https://home-assistant.io/cookbook/, and hope that by sharing these, others can similarly benefit.
Category: Home Automation
Cataloging our smart-home devices
Last week, I provided an overview of how I’ve introduced automation and control to our apartment by combining various smart-home devices with a robust platform to manage those inputs. My earlier post described, in broad terms, the hardware and software I’ve leveraged, and some of the automations I’ve implemented. Today, in anticipation of releasing the software configurations that make this possible, I’ll inventory the devices used and explain their roles in the overall system.
Controlling SmartThings’ Smart Home Monitor from Home Assistant
Until recently, one of the few things I couldn’t control from Home Assistant was the “Smart Home Monitor” (SHM)–or alarm–feature of the Samsung SmartThings platform. With the exception of our locks, controlling this was the only other task that required the provider’s app.
Continue reading Controlling SmartThings’ Smart Home Monitor from Home Assistant
Getting started with home automation
Until a few months ago, I’d suppressed any interest in home automation by assuring myself that, by living in an apartment, I had few options. I also knew myself well enough to recognize that I’d probably become a bit obsessed. An unrelated trip to Best Buy, which landed me in the home automation section, changed things.
I’d gone to Best Buy to pick up something I’d ordered online, and while I waited, I meandered through the section of smart lights, thermostats, and so on. The Philips Hue options caught my attention, but only enough to start me subconsciously planning how they might suit the apartment.