Starting my Smart-Home with a Broadlink RM-Pro was such a great first step because it gave me control of my IR devices at a fraction of the cost of the other devices out there, but it left me wanting more. My TV, and I think most out there, use a single On/Off function, as opposed … Continue reading Make A Dumb TV Smarter with a Chromecast, Roku, and Home Assistant
At this point, I'm all in with the Alexa ecosystem. Amazon announced Alexa notifications in September last year and I haven't used it much. The built in notifications for deliveries were not super useful. I would get an email, Android notification, AND an Alexa notification for each delivery; and I usually found the delivery before … Continue reading Easy Alexa Notifications from Home Assistant
**This post will cover setting the Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum up to work with Home Assistant. If you don't use Home Assistant and want to control your vacuum with only your Alexa device, go here.** I recently splurged and got myself a robot vacuum and I think it's been the best purchase I've made in … Continue reading The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum, Home Assistant, and Alexa
**This post will cover setting the Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum up to work with your Alexa enabled device, without connecting it to Home Assistant. If you want to control your vacuum with Home Assistant, go here.** I recently splurged and got myself a robot vacuum and I think it's been the best purchase I've made … Continue reading The Xiaomi Robot Vacuum and Alexa
In my search to add sensors to my budget Smart-Home set up, I wanted to find something that was affordable, easy to use, and had a good build quality. I thought about Z-Wave but the start up cost was off-putting. A Z-Wave stick and a couple of sensors would easily set me back $100. Plus, dropping … Continue reading Up Your Smart-Home Game, on the cheap, with the Xiaomi Aqara Gateway & Home Assistant
The information in this post is outdated. The Alexa skill editor shown here, is no longer used. Using Alexa to control my stuff is probably the closest thing to using magic as I'll ever get. You've got to get the "incantation" right or it won't work. Luckily, we can write our own by creating our … Continue reading Custom Alexa Skills & Launch Requests In Home Assistant
The last step to setting up a starter Smart-Home is voice control. I was given an Echo Dot last year for Christmas. It was the item that stirred my interest in Smart-Home technology. It is also very easy to connect to Home Assistant. If your budget won't cover an Echo Dot, there are other … Continue reading Voice Control With Alexa
Smart-Home Hobby 