Home Assistant Podcast
Technology
About
Join hosts Phil Hawthorne and Rohan Karamandi as they explore the newest Home Assistant releases and the latest Home Automation news. Featuring guests who use or contribute to Home Assistant, the podcast aims to inspire new ways to make your home smarter.
Episodes
- Home Assistant 2026.5 introduces RF and RS-232 Control
This episode of the Home Assistant Podcast explores version 2026.5, highlighting RF and RS-232 control capabilities. The hosts also recap State of the Open Home 2026 and discuss new dashboard strategies and purpose-specific triggers.
- How FireAvert wants to prevent house fires with a smart home twist
Nick and Larsen from FireAvert join the Home Assistant Podcast to discuss their system for preventing house fires and its integration with smart home systems such as Home Assistant.
- How Mike is making heating smarter with Home Assistant
Mike shares details of his Home Assistant setup, covering Node-RED flows, mmWave presence detection, actionable dashboards, and AI-assisted automations. He also explains how he uses Home Assistant for smarter heating.
- Braden’s Reliable, Low-Cost Home Automation System With Zero YAML Powered by Home Assistant
Braden joins Phil and Rohan to discuss his approach to home automation using Home Assistant. He shares insights on migrating to Zigbee2MQTT, controlling a Whirlpool ice maker with ESPHome, and developing a garage door opener. The episode a…
- Infrared is cool again with Home Assistant 2026.4
This episode of the Home Assistant Podcast covers the 2026.4 update, highlighting new infrared features, expanded triggers, and dashboard background colors. It also discusses Matter lock credential management and a critical HA OS/Superviso…
- Home Assistant On Wheels: We’re going Inside the SmartyVan
This episode features Mike from the YouTube channel SmartyVan, who shares his experience transforming a Mercedes Sprinter into an automated, off-grid smart RV. He details how Home Assistant and ESPHome power the SmartyVan, covering topics…
- Kaden‘s Cat-Tracking Smart Home with Home Assistant and Frigate
Kaden discusses his cat-centric smart home, which uses Home Assistant to integrate Reolink and Frigate for pet detection, PetLibro feeders, and a Litter-Robot 4. The setup also includes LLM-generated dashboards and various other home autom…
- Home Assistant AI Deep Dive: LLM Vision, Copilot, OpenClaw & More
This episode of the Home Assistant Podcast features Phil and Rohan discussing practical AI applications within Home Assistant. They cover topics such as LLM Vision for alerts, HACS add-ons like AI Agent and AI Suggester, and utilizing GitH…
- Home Assistant 2026.3: Vacuuming rooms, and the sky is dark again
This episode covers Home Assistant 2026.3, detailing features like vacuum room-to-area mapping for voice control and setting Home Assistant as the default Android assistant. It also discusses new integrations for various devices and servic…
- How Andrew Rebuilt His Solo Smart Home When a Roommate Moved In
Andrew discusses his journey of transitioning from Apple HomeKit to Home Assistant to create a multi-user smart home. He covers topics such as presence detection with ESP32s, Meross garage opener integration, and bathroom humidity fan auto…
- How Will Automates His Parents' Pool from 2,000 Miles Away and a Period UK Home
Will discusses his use of Home Assistant, ESPHome, and Zigbee to automate a period UK home and a remote Canary Islands vacation property. He shares details on DIY pool chemistry control, fridge monitoring, tactile dashboards, and AI-assist…
- Hiding Smart Tech in a 1950s Home: Mike’s Home Assistant Journey
Mike joins Phil and Rohan to discuss his approach to integrating smart home technology into a 1953 mid-century home, focusing on making tech look analog while still providing modern smart functionalities. He also covers various topics incl…
- Home Assistant 2026.2: New Home Dashboard, Apps & our CES2026 wrap
This episode discusses Home Assistant 2026.2 features, such as the new Home Dashboard, Command-K command palette, and Matter dashboard, along with renaming add-ons to Apps. It also covers CES 2026 highlights, the Open Home Foundation devic…
- Inside the Works With Home Assistant program with Miranda Bishop
Miranda Bishop from the Open Home Foundation discusses the Works With Home Assistant program, covering device testing, vendor certification, and the significance of the program's badge. The episode also explores Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Matter…
- From SimpliSafe to Matter: We’re re-visiting Aaron
Aaron returns to discuss the evolution of his Home Assistant setup from endless tinkering to a stable system. He covers Z-Wave provisioning, ESPHome vs off-the-shelf reliability, RATGDO for garage doors, HA Green/Yellow, voice-first routin…
- Artem’s Energy‑Smart Automations Without the Chaos
Artem shares insights into his smart home setup, focusing on how Home Assistant facilitates energy-smart automations. Topics include dynamic tariffs, solar and battery integration, and smart appliance scheduling for increased efficiency.
- Home Assistant 2026.1: SendSpin, new Home Dashboard improvements and presence using labels
Rohan and Phil discuss the Home Assistant 2026.1 release, including Home Dashboard improvements, the new SendSpin multi-room audio protocol from Music Assistant, and Zigbee quirks. They also cover new integrations and presence detection us…
- 187 Automations, 300 Devices: Josh’s Smart Home Assistant Journey
This episode features Josh from Josh’s Smart Home discussing his 300-device Home Assistant setup. Topics include the transition from SmartThings, building a Zigbee mesh, and energy automations utilizing Tesla Powerwall and a smart pool pum…
- From Alexa to Assist: NetworkChuck’s Smart Home with Frigate, UniFi, and AI
NetworkChuck joins the Home Assistant Podcast to discuss his smart home setup, including migrating from Alexa, building a Home Assistant voice assistant, wiring Frigate to Reolink cameras, and using UniFi and AI to debug Wi-Fi issues. He a…
- Home Assistant 2025.12: Labs, Smarter Automations, Real‑Time Energy and Frenck
This episode of the Home Assistant Podcast covers the Home Assistant 2025.12 release, including new features like Home Assistant Labs, improved automations, and real-time energy monitoring. It also discusses hardware developments such as Z…
- From Pi to Blue, we’re revisiting Courtenay Watson
Courtenay Watson returns to the Home Assistant Podcast to discuss her smart home journey over the past six years. She shares her experiences with hardware upgrades, energy monitoring, cloud outages, and the evolution of Home Assistant feat…
- Inside the Open Home: Darren Griffin
Darren Griffin, web developer for the Open Home Foundation and Home Assistant, discusses his role in maintaining their websites and his experiences with home automation. The episode covers various topics related to open home projects and s…
- Brewing With Home Assistant: From Modbus PIDs to ESPHome Fermentation Control with Greg Martin
Greg Martin joins Phil and Rohan to discuss his brewery control system built with ESPHome and Home Assistant. He explains Modbus PID retrofits, ESP32-based temperature control, Bluetooth gravity sensors, and on-site Home Assistant installs…
- Home Assistant 2025.11: Improved target picker and energy pie charts
This episode of the Home Assistant Podcast features Phil and Rohan discussing the Home Assistant 2025.11 update. They cover new features such as the revamped Automation UI with an improved target picker, naming options on dashboards, and n…
- Garage Doors, E‑Ink Dashboards, and Entity Chaos with the Evil Genius Dave Slusher
Dave Slusher joins Phil and Rohan to discuss smart home lessons including building a reliable mesh, using Z-Wave Long Range for a mailbox sensor, and replacing MyQ with RATGDO + ESPHome. They also cover using an e-ink terminal as a Home As…
- The Reluctant Home Assistant Guy: From Hue Chaos to Hour‑of‑Power Wins
Chris joins Phil and Rohan to discuss his smart home journey, covering his transition from Philips Hue to Home Assistant. They cover overcoming technical limitations, managing smart garage door controllers, and achieving energy savings thr…
- AirGradient: From Thai Wildfires to Open Source Hardware feat Achim Haug
Achim Haug joins the Home Assistant Podcast to discuss the origins of AirGradient, an open-source air quality hardware project that started during the 2019 Thai wildfires. The discussion covers the company's commitment to repairability, lo…
- Philips Hue's New Bridge and the Cat Automation Problem with Josh Burg
Psychologist Josh Burg joins the Home Assistant Podcast to discuss his transition from Google Home to a local Home Assistant setup. The conversation covers his use of Philips Hue zone capabilities, networking challenges, and lighting autom…
- Voice goes bilingual with Home Assistant 2025.10
Rohan and Phil discuss the Home Assistant 2025.10 release, featuring bilingual support for assistants and updates to various integrations. They also cover a new partnership involving Sonos and respond to listener questions.
- Beyond the Bulb: Gimmy Chu Talks Nanoleaf, Smart Homes & Community Integration
Phil and Rohan interview Gimmy Chu, CEO of Nanoleaf, about the company's smart lighting ecosystem, its origin story, and its commitment to open APIs. They also discuss the challenges and future of IoT development, including the implementat…
- Smart Home Automation for Accessibility with Thomas
Phil and Rohan interview Thomas about his accessible smart home built with Home Assistant. He shares his experience with various smart devices and cutting-edge automations, including a ChatGPT-powered smart mirror.
- Tsvi Mostovicz on creating the Jewish Calendar component
Tsvi Mostovicz joins the Home Assistant Podcast to discuss the development of the Jewish calendar component. The conversation covers his experience building integrations, applying home automation to religious practices, and managing smart…
- A new Z-wave radio launches, and a new home screen on the horizon with Home Assistant 2025.9
Rohan and Phil discuss the launch of the Home Assistant Connect ZWA2 and the experimental home screen in Home Assistant 2025.9. They also cover various updates, including LLM Vision, smart home integrations, and recent changes to the platf…
- Doug Roberson from Shelly USA
Doug Roberson, COO of Shelly USA, discusses the company's focus on local control, its range of smart home products, and their applications. The episode also explores Shelly's community engagement, energy management strategies, and new init…
- An empty-nester sparky’s Home Automation journey
This episode features Scott, an electrician and IT professional, discussing his home automation projects. Topics include power monitoring, LoRa technology, Z-Wave vs. Zigbee, AI integration, and automating his collection of pinball machine…
- TJ Huddleston from HomeTech.fm
Phil and Rohan interview Jürgen, co-founder of Nuki, about the smart lock provider's integration with Home Assistant. The episode also explores topics including home automation tools, smart home security, technology trends, and device inte…
- Home Assistant AI is here with Home Assistant 2025.8
This episode covers the release of Home Assistant 2025.8, including new AI features for naming and tagging automations, LLM vision, and voice processing improvements. The hosts also discuss recent updates regarding Belkin Wemo, FutureHome,…
- Jürgen Pansy, co-founder of Nuki
Jürgen Pansy, co-founder of Nuki, discusses the company's vision, product development, and their new integration into the Works with Home Assistant program. The episode covers topics including smart lock design, security, market entry into…
- Paul thinks Home Assistant is "Better Than Fixing Cars"
Engineer Paul Riley discusses his experiences with smart home automation, including projects like a demisting mirror and boat automation. The episode covers his interest in ESPHome, local AI, and encouraging interest in electronics.
- Home Assistant, 3D Printing & Tuya Escapes — With Mark Watt Tech
Mark Watt from Mark Watt Tech joins the Home Assistant Podcast to discuss smart home automation, AI, the Home Assistant project, and using 3D printing as a business. The conversation covers home automation trends, content creation, and tec…
- Home Assistant 2025.7 has a question for you
Rohan and Phil discuss the release of Home Assistant 2025.7, highlighting the new capability for Voice PE to ask questions. The episode also covers various new features, integration updates, UI improvements, and breaking changes.
- Justin and Trevor from Apollo Automation
Justin and Trevor of Apollo Automation join the Home Assistant Podcast to discuss the development of their company, including the transition from a hobby project to a manufacturer of home automation hardware. They cover community-driven de…
- Andrej’s smart home journey and designing PokyPow
In this episode, Rohan and Phil interview Andrej about his experience using Home Assistant, including unique automations like a cat doorbell and a relationship point system. They also discuss his development of PokyPow, an ESP-based device…
- Trying to convince Pete the DIY Smart Home Guy to embrace Home Assistant
Pete Borchers, host of the DIY Smart Home Guy YouTube channel, joins hosts Rohan and Phil to discuss his experiences with various automation platforms, including Home Assistant, Hubitat, and Homey Pro. The conversation covers smart home pr…
- 2025.6 delayed, IKEA and Sonos respectfully breakup
In this episode, Rohan and Phil discuss the upcoming Home Assistant 2025.6 release, the end of the IKEA and Sonos collaboration, and various self-hosted app updates. The hosts also provide a recap of the Open Home Foundation summit and Com…
- The evolution of Zooz with Agnes Lorenz
In this episode of the Home Assistant Podcast, Agnes Lorenz joins the hosts to discuss the evolution of Zooz, the challenges of smart home manufacturing, Z-Wave standards, and the company's product strategy. The conversation also covers su…
- How Alfredo, Developer Relations at Google uses and teaches Home Assistant
Alfredo from Google Developer Relations discusses his experience with home automation and how his values align with the Home Assistant philosophy. Coverage includes his approach to privacy, system design, hardware, and teaching others abou…
- Talking with Jimmy Hawkins from Automated House
In this episode, Jimmy Hawkins from Automated House discusses his journey in digital creation, his transition from TikTok to YouTube, and his experiences with smart home technology. The conversation also covers Home Assistant, ESPHome devi…
- Paulus joins us to break down 2025.5 and the State of the Open Home
Paulus joins the podcast to discuss the Open Home Foundation transition, leadership changes, community survey insights, and updates in the 2024.5 release, including new dashboard features and integration improvements.
- From music theatre to Home Assistant installers with Connor and Tez
In this episode of the Home Assistant Podcast, Connor and Tez discuss their business installing Home Assistant for clients, covering topics like project challenges, client onboarding, hardware recommendations, and automation strategies. Th…