Network & Home Automation Apps

January 19, 2025
Network & Home Automation Apps
In all, I have quite a few components keeping my home automation system running. Some are apps I use every day, some are for managing different parts of the infrastructure and a few are for entertainment. Nearly everything here runs in docker on my NAS or one of two dedicated…

A love letter to Docker Compose

January 5, 2025
A love letter to Docker Compose
Today I moved my Home Assistant setup from the NAS it's been on for 3+ years, to my frigate server. With Frigate processing 15 cameras for objects, both the CPU and GPU rarely rose over 10%. I had noticed some response issues with Home Assistant and had eliminated all of…

Python Nerdery: Data Scraping for Home Assistant

November 2, 2024
Python Nerdery: Data Scraping for Home Assistant
One thing I want to monitor in Home Assistant isn't supported in any traditional way. I want to know how much propane our generator has, and I only have a local provider website to work with. Enter Python to load a browser, log me in, grab the data and send…

Kasa Smart Devices and Home Assistant

August 10, 2024
Kasa Smart Devices and Home Assistant
When I moved into the new house, I decided I wanted to leave Philips Hue behind. The lights were too expensive and I wanted to incorporate more kinds of devices like switches into the system. At the same time, I wanted to reduce the number of Home Assistant integrations as…

Home Automation Server – Tower 1

August 2, 2024
Home Automation Server – Tower 1
With the Frigate server complete, Tower 1 is officially out of space. Top to Bottom Home Assistant & Frigate Docker Server Home Assistant Frigate Netdata Dozzle UPS Power Supply Cisco 24-Port Switch with PoE and 10GB SFP Go bag HD for critical files Punchdown Patch Panel Keystone Patch Panel Synology…

Home Assistant – How Did I Get Here?

May 30, 2024
Home Assistant
I am absolutely horrible at turning off lights. That's how it began. The color changing aspect of Hue bulbs was cool, but adding motion sensors was when I saw the power of automation. I expanded Hue and added Amazon's Alexa for voice control. Then I tried Samsung's SmartThings to integrate…

Earthquake Data

May 6, 2024
Earthquake Data
I get asked about Rainier and volcanos a lot. I decided to integrate some seismic data into Home Assistant today for information and future notifications.

Shelly Garage Door Hack

January 9, 2024
Shelly Garage Door Hack
Turns out my garage doors are dumb. They make smart ones, but I don't really want to give up privacy on my locks. Enter 2nd buttons triggered via Shelly over WIFI. When I looked into my garage openers, it was clear going smart with their tech wasn't an option. I…