Home Automation
From energy monitoring to lights, locks and other connected devices. Experiments with Home Assistant, Zigbee, Matter, Thread and everything else that eventually finds its way into the house — intentionally or otherwise.
Two Blinds, AES and Six Relays Later...
How refusing to spend €99 on a gateway dragged me into 433 MHz, SDR, rolling codes and encryption... only to end up pressing buttons with relays.
Building Your Own Thread Border Router with ESP32s
Why build your own Thread Border Router when so many devices already include one? What started as a simple home automation need took me much further than expected: Thread, OpenThread, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C6, RCP, external antennas, network diagnostics... This is the story of a Border Router I built, modified and broke several times before finally arriving at a solution I can truly understand, observe and maintain.
Planes, Decibels and an ESP32
At first, I simply wanted to know how much noise the planes were making. Then came an ESP32, a €15 Chinese module, an API, MQTT, a BME280, some 3D printing and a few unexpected twists. In short, a project perfectly under control.
Smartening Up Your Light Switches with SONOFF Modules
Adding a SONOFF module behind a light switch sounds simple… until you encounter your first two-way circuit. Between permanent live, switched live, travellers, neutral, S1, S2 and models that don't all behave the same way, it's worth understanding the circuit before you start moving wires around. This article goes through the main configurations step by step, with the diagrams and pitfalls I wish I'd had when I started.
Zigbee Without (Too Much) Complication
When I started deploying my first Zigbee devices, I didn't really know much about how the network connecting them actually worked. And it worked. Over time, however, I discovered a whole series of small details I hadn't paid much attention to at first: the role of routers, the importance of coordinator placement, interference with Wi-Fi, channel selection, and the fact that not all Zigbee devices participate in the network in the same way. Nothing catastrophic. I didn't have to tear open any walls or throw everything away and start again. But knowing these things from the beginning can help you make a few smarter choices along the way. That's essentially the purpose of this article: to bring together the things I would have found useful to know before getting started, without giving the impression that you need to master Zigbee before connecting your first device. And if you've already started without knowing any of this? Don't panic. There's a good chance you'll be able to improve things later.
Are There Really That Many Planes Flying Over My House?
At first, I simply wanted to know whether my impression matched reality. A few searches later, an ADS-B station was tracking the planes flying over the house. And since they were there anyway, I might as well try to measure the noise they produce. One thing led to another: local tracking, a database and a homemade sound level meter.
Our Home Automation Project
The story of yet another project — one that would eventually help give birth to this very website. More than just technical documentation, it's the story of a process where one thing leads to another, every answer raises new questions, and boundaries have an annoying tendency to disappear.
Home Assistant? What Is This Thing?
I wanted to retrieve data from my electricity meter and a smart plug. A few clicks later, Home Assistant had discovered part of my house and I was starting to wonder what else I could integrate into it. Energy, solar panels, lighting, cars, Zigbee... what started as a simple test is slowly beginning to raise a lot of new questions.
A Smart Meter, a P1 Port and a Few Misadventures
What should have been a routine meter replacement turned into a first exploration of the P1 port, local access to energy data and the possibilities offered by a few connected devices. With, naturally, a couple of misadventures along the way — and a certain Home Assistant eventually making an appearance.