Automations

It's a couple of months now since I took the plunge into the rabbit-hole that is Home Assistant. I have a lot of automations set up - some useful, some just for the fun of it. It has been more interesting than I thought it would be and tying together the Amazon Alexa side and the Home Assistant side has been easier than I thought it would be.

Some highlights:

  • Alexa to Home Assistant (and vice versa) fairly well linked now
  • Physical switches now in most, if not all, rooms. This makes the system much easier for naiive users and visitors
  • SolarPV system now has more spohisticated operation based on kWh pricing
  • ZigBee/WiFi now split about 60/40. With light bulbs as active repeaters, the ZigBee mesh is reasonably solid
  • Automatic rebooting of the Solar Assistant Raspberry Pi when it crashes
  • Extra fans, temperature controlled, on the SolarPV inverter
  • Optional (switch-controlled) Washing machine and Dishwasher "Finished" announcements based on operating current

Some things that I'd like to play with when I get time:

  • Millimeter-wave presence detectors
  • More SolarPV optimizations

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