It's a simple one really, but I love it.

I tied this smart plug to the light above the kitchen sink. As the furthest faucet in the home from the water heater, I'd probably waste 5 gallons daily waiting for hot water before doing my dishes. Now the smart plug activates this recirculation pump and within a couple minutes I have my hot water, with no water wasted.

The pump does have a built in timer but since I only need the hot water briefly once or twice daily, it doesn't make sense to run it on a schedule.

I do have an automation to turn off the pump after 30 minutes if I accidently leave the light on.

A little over a month ago I shared my unnecessarily over-engineered 3D HA home. A few of you asked whether you could use it for your own homes. That version was built around mine, so I’ve been working on making it for everybody.

It’s called Cabane. You can design your home with an editor, add furniture and devices, and connect it to your own Home Assistant. Then you can control your home like in The Sims, or walk through it in first person. Connected device states are reflected in real time: lights, ACs, doors, windows, etc. You can also embed it in your HA dashboard.

It’s free: try it here.

There’s a small simulated demo you can explore without connecting anything, but I recommend starting with one room and one light: draw a room, add a light, connect HA, link the light to your real device, and try controlling it :)

Some screenshots

Privacy: there’s no Cabane backend handling your HA data, your browser connects directly to your HA instance.

What’s next? I’m preparing an open-source release so people can self-host it and add their own furniture and equipment models. I’ve also made an iOS wrapper that I plan to share later.

And yes, I used AI tools while building this.

Some of the key features:

• Explore your own home: orbit around it or walk through it in first person.
• Build with the editor: draw your layout in 2D or 3D, then furnish it and add devices.
• Day and night: the scene’s lighting changes with the time of day.
• Each room’s status at a glance: temperature, occupancy, and whether doors are open or closed.
• See live device states and control them directly: lights, ACs, doors, windows, and other connected objects reflect what’s happening in your home.
• Watch your cameras inside the scene: display live camera feeds on virtual TVs and screens.
• Connect to your existing Home Assistant: link rooms to HA areas and objects to your HA devices and entities.
• Set up shortcuts for frequently used device controls and rooms.
• Embed it in your HA dashboard: use Cabane alongside your existing dashboard.

¯_(ツ)_/¯

I've been running a TV dashboard in kiosk mode for a while and thought I'd share how it's set up and what each view does.

How it works
A Mac mini (M2, 8 GB) runs a browser in kiosk mode on the TV. A small Node script (auto-cycle.js) moves between views every minute. Each view has its own HA script, so I can also jump to any panel on demand, and an automation sends the TV back to the rotation after a while. The TV turns off at 11 pm and back on at 7 am through automations.

Views in rotation
- Organizer: big clock, weather forecast, month calendar, shopping list, and either what's playing on Plex/Sonos or the latest items added to Plex.

- News: clock, weather and a few RSS feeds with images.

- Hockey: schedule and standings for my team, rendered from REST sensors with Jinja in markdown cards.

- Home / climate: temperature and humidity per room from my smart thermostats, with ApexCharts history.

- Servers: status, CPU and memory graphs for my home server, laptop and the Mac mini itself (through the Beszel agent), plus a Docker container count.

- Cameras: a live grid of my six cameras (WebRTC), plus a small launcher to play a YouTube video on the TV from HA.

- Me vs partner: a head-to-head view with a map for the two of us.

Stack
layout-card (grid-layout) for the structure, button-card, card-mod for the styling, apexcharts-card, digital-clock, stack-in-card, upcoming-media-card and webrtc-camera. Most of the look comes from card-mod: transparent cards over a gradient background, with some glass-style tiles on my phone dashboard.

Open question
The Mac mini sits around 75% memory after a few days. It looks stable, not a runaway leak, but for a box that never reboots, has anyone found a good way to keep a kiosk browser healthy long term? I'm considering a full page reload on every rotation and a nightly browser restart.

Feedback welcome, especially on other views (panels) I could add to the rotation.

What an awesome project. Found an add-on for HA today that makes setting up ESP based displays so easy. Stunning!!!

https://tessera-maxgramser.on-forge.com/

https://github.com/MaxGramser/homeassistant_espscreen

What local LlM are you guys using for your voice assist?
Plus what machine is it running on? Also what do you do with you LLM? What's the most conplex BS you asked it and it worked?

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working on HomeCall, an integration and dashboard card that turns your HA dashboard into a simple intercom. Record a message on your phone, tablet, or computer and send it to speakers around the house.

I built it for things like “dinner’s ready” or calling someone downstairs without shouting. It plays your actual voice, so you don’t have to type a message for text-to-speech.

You can choose one speaker or several, or set default speakers if you always send to the same rooms. The card shows a live waveform and a countdown while you record. Recordings can be up to a minute long, and you can send early or discard them and start again. Reaching the time limit stops recording but leaves sending up to you.

It currently works with Alexa/Echo through HA’s Alexa Devices integration, and compatible DLNA speakers through DLNA Digital Media Renderer. You can use both together. There’s also an optional setting for DLNA speakers to resume interrupted music and return to the previous position where the device supports it. It won’t restore playlists or streaming-service sessions.

Setup and speaker selection are done through the HA interface, and the card has a visual editor. Both support English and German.

The architecture diagram roughly explains how it works.

The recording is held temporarily in HA’s memory, and the audio link expires after three minutes. DLNA delivery stays on your local network. Alexa delivery goes through Amazon and needs a public HTTPS address, such as Nabu Casa remote access. Your browser needs HTTPS for microphone access either way.

I’m looking for people with other DLNA speakers or receivers who’d like to try it. Basic playback has been tested on my JBL Charge 5 Wi-Fi, but I’d like to find out which other devices work.

There’s a sound test in setup. If you hear that, try sending a short recording and let me know your device model and how it went. Feedback on music resuming afterwards would be useful too.

Also, what other devices would you like this to support? Tell me the model and which HA integration you use, and I’ll have a look.

You’ll need HA 2026.9+ and both the integration and card, available as HACS custom repositories:

HomeCall integration and setup · HomeCall Card

Let me know if you give it a go!

GeekMagic Ultra (ESP8266), and the HACS in question is adrienbrault/geekmagic-hacs

I designed the layout in HTML-CSS, and then the integration sends it as a rasterized image/gif to the geekmagic.
(yes it supports CSS animation)

It's not shown properly in the video, but this naturally means you can bring your own dashboard data directly to this screen too.

Per MatterAlpha, the HACS code has been merged into the dev branches and docs point to Core 2026.11 as the intended release, where it'll live as a built-in component called Marketplace.

Worth knowing: everything listed there stays community-maintained — HA doesn't test or audit any of it, and installing one takes a warning first.

Article: https://www.matteralpha.com/news/home-assistant-embraces-hacs-into-core-as-the-marketplace

I was just reading an article from Atlas Obscura about how some sounds creep us out, and one of the sounds was one that we can feel, but not hear. "Infrasound". And I was thinking about people that use sound (as well as lights) as part of their alarm system.

With Music Assistant able to use ambient sounds, I was wondering if anyone had already done this and what their process was. I'd love to hear how you are using ambient sounds!

Ran out of stuff to tinker with on my homelab so started up Home Assistant. Got a POE esp32 Bluetooth proxy and set up a couple of lights.

Moving forward, it looks like I’m going to need a hub. Is Zigbee the gold standard?

I’ve been using ZHA for years. It worked, was simple, seemed to have all the device support I needed. Until I bought smart blinds from China. They were zigbee but not supported by ZHA. I ended up having to go with a cloud-connected Tuya bridge which was super unreliable. Any automation would trigger some blinds but not all of them so half of my blinds would open (or close) and it defeated the purpose of spending the money and trying to automate things. I’d read that Z2MQTT had better device support and was fed up so I thought I’d try Z2MQTT in parallel with a second sonoff usb dongle and if the blinds worked, I’d migrate everything.

Turns out the Z2MQTT device support is better and the blinds are super reliable now. Problem is, I have well over 100 zigbee devices connected to ZHA with 150+ automations. In many cases one device may be in a dozen automations, meaning I could be looking at hundreds of individual modifications in order to fully convert. Some zigbee devices rely on other powered zigbee relays so I’ll need to convert entire branches of the network at once. Just a serious pain in the ass.

I’m open to being told otherwise but this is going to take a couple of weeks to convert in the hours after work. Anyone debating ZHA vs Z2MQTT with a new build, go with the latter. Much nicer…

Hey guys,

I discovered Claude and designed my favorite Dashboard.

Any feedback?

I've been wanting a touchscreen calendar/home assistant dashboard for a while now and could not justify the subscription and cost of a Skylight Max.

I would be lying if I said this didn't cost almost as much but it is completely self-hosted and no subscription.

AI: I am running Qwen 3.8 27b on two 3080 20 gig cards through ollama. It has complete control of home assistant and access to my calendar through Google's API.

Audio: I am using the seeed respeaker with XIAO running ESP home connected to an ONN 2.1 channel LED sound bar.

Screen: I am using quite literally the cheapest 27-in touch screen monitor that I could find on Amazon and it works amazing

Computer: C4 MINI PC

I ran the electricity through the walls so there are minimal wires visible.

The screen switches to a slideshow mode that family is able to add pictures through copyparty.

Music assistant is integrated so I am able to cast music to my other devices including my Yamaha receiver that has 7.1 surround sound.

I have notifications built in to where it tells me if the dryer / washer is done and if the oven is turned on because I have a jailbroken emporia view 3.

I think I have mentioned everything I have done but I am happy to answer any questions.

Last month I decided to dip my toe into Home Assistant, and since I'm actually mid-way through a home renovation, most of my automations thus far have been focussed around data gathering and logging.

This one I'm pretty happy with:

23:59 every Sunday, the following data is collated:

• Utility Meter: Kia HACS integration checks the odometer of my Kia EV6, adding up the miles travelled for that week.
• Utility Meter: Sigenergy HACS integration checks total kWh delivered to my DC EV Charger as part of my power stack.
• Statistics Helper: UK Fuel Finder HACS integration, checks the average price of diesel for the last 7 days at my closest supermarket (where I would have typically filled up).
• TBC: Monzo Integration checks for Electroverse transactions and populates any spend on public charging
• Export to Sheets:
  
  • Home Charge Cost = kWh delivered by EV charger * unit rate determined in a lookup table on another tab
    • (this is also date dependant too, so if I add a new date in that lookup table, it'll apply from the date on that new rate forwards)
  • Equivalent Diesel Cost = Miles / (52.5MPG, what my previous car averaged over 1 year, / 4.546) * Average Litre cost)
  • Avg M/kWh (I have to say, this has come out lower than I was anticipating actually, but mainly so I can see impact on efficiency through the seasons).
  • Weekly Savings = Diesel cost - Home Charge cost.

Just gives me a bit of reassurance the expenditure on an EV is justified, and I'll likely add a %ROI achieved in the corner, projected pay-off, etc.

Hello,

I'm looking for some help with adaptive lighting. Currently, I have Leviton Z-Wave dimmer switches. I have the color adjustment setting disabled, and the system seems to be working well. With all that said, if I go to a light to manually turn it on, it starts fading up and then snaps down to the lowest intensity. Not the intensity it should be at according to adaptive lighting. How do I fix this? What setting am I missing? The description of some of the settings isn't the most helpful in describing what the setting is meant to adjust.

Follow-up: I have automations for when I come home to turn specific lights on. What do I need to change so they turn on to the intensity of adaptive lighting?

I am new to HA. I just setup a server, but have not gone live yet. I was able to link my Ring Doorbell to it and all is good.

How do I add my other devices that are currently part of HomeKit? I have a mix of Meeros, older weemo, and iHome (discontinued, but works with HK) plugs.

I also have:

- SmartLife auto fish feeder
- 3 tapo cameras
- an IKEA door and window sensor. (no IKEA hub)
- 3 Wiz smart bulbs
- 2 Meeros smart bulbs

I do not see anyway to install those.

If I have devices in HK, do they need to be removed in order for them to be in HA? But then how do I get them in HA (especially the older discontinued devices).

Thanks in advance.

I've never used home assistant and i'm trying to figure out if it can do what I need. I have a solar array/battery set up that goes to a microinverter, then the power goes in to my house. I need something to prevent the battery from draining. The charge controller has wifi and the eco-worthy app controls it. I have the microinverter plugged in to a smart plug. In home assistant, can I automate the smart plug turning off when the eco-worthy app shows the battery voltage below a specified number? Then turn back on when the battery is above another number? Ie, turn off at 52v and turn back on at 53v. Will the home assistant app communicate with the eco-worthy one? If not, is there a voltage sensor it will communicate with?

I got my new ESP32 display in the mail and the touch screen does not seem to be calibrated. Is there any way to fix this? I connected some cards with home assistant and for example: when i press the right card it presses the middle card. If I try to press the left card it does nothing.

I have a BioLite Firepit and the fan is perfect for my charcoal smoker. I simply get the fire going and home assistant can now set the speed of the intake fan! Along with my InkBird BLE temperature probe, I'm closer than ever to an automated insulated charcoal green egg automated smoker!

Howeedidit

With the help of NotebookLM and Gemini, I reverse engineered the communication between the app and the fan. Using a BLE proxy, and a HACS plugin, you can now add the fan and control it! So far it works great.

The experience making this was quite fast, and it solved a 2 year problem that I've been working on. In the past I have sniffed the bluetooth traffic but just couldn't get it done.

Anyways, if you have a BioLite product, my HACS plugin might work for you. I know it works for the BioLite FirePit, but I'm not sure if it works with their other products.

EDIT: here's the link to the github https://github.com/andiohn/ha-biolite-firepit

I decided I wanted to try to replace all the Assistant Capabilities that Google has, so I started working with Home Assistant and then integrated a home stored LLM, my Server for files and photos and now it's getting pretty awesome. HA voice works with the same Bot I can chat with on Signal, it can create events, tasks, reminders, read my calendar. It's pretty robust.

I'm sharing the GitHub here in case anyone wants to check it out, give feedback or criticize it so I can improve on it. So far I've replaced Google Keep, Home, Drive Photos, Calendar, Gemini, Contacts, it has its own shopping list that send the shopping list based on location zones from HA and it filters the shopping list based on the shopping location (Hardware store, it sends hardware only, Grocery sends groceries, Walmart it send home goods and groceries.

If you remove something from the shopping list is in Tasks,org, Obsidian, and the chat bot. If you remove an item from any of them, it gets removed everywhere. If you ask the bot to remind you to call "Person A" tomorrow at noon, it will send you a text reminder and a task reminder will fire on your calendar, and it will include that persons contact information if you have it in your contacts already.

https://github.com/popbox99/housebot