We’re having amazing weather in the Netherlands 🇳🇱 right now! Even though it’s technically spring, it feels like summer, with temperatures hitting 25 degrees Celsius already in early May 😎. This is super rare for us Dutchies, so we’re really making the most out of it by spending lots of time in our garden! However, I have noticed that my solar panels on the roof are looking...
This blog is for those people whose daily job is IT-related (DevOps, developers, system administrators, etc) and who are using Home Assistant at home. If you fit that description, you just might suffer from what I call: The enterprise smart home syndrome.
I don’t write a lot on my blog (unfortunately actually, I would really wish I was better at this); however, yesterday I had to do some maintenance on the server running this website… This made me realize; that I added Google Tag Manager & Google Analytics to this darn thing and haven’t looked at it, since… I don’t think I ever looked at it all 😬 And the above...
👋 Well hello, April! Yes, it is April already. Doesn’t time fly? Here in the Netherlands, this month already provided us with some nice sunny days, with exceptional warm temperatures for the time of year… Summer is coming! (yeah I know, it is barely spring 🌱). Nevertheless, I feel the need for a summer side project to tinker with, and I have been writing down quite a bunch of ideas. I...
I’ve built quite a few add-ons for Hass.io, the Docker management system for Home Assistant; and because of that, I get a lot of requests for building all different kinds of add-ons, like WireGuard. Undoubtedly, the most requested add-ons are related to providing a VPN solution, that will allow one to securely connect to their home to control their home automation systems (or any other...
This article is going to show you how to convert your (existing) wired doorbell (also works for battery-powered chimes) into a smart, WiFi-enabled, doorbell. The essential components needed sets you back about $2, yes, that is correct, just two bucks. No soldering is required and you don’t have to be an electronics expert. The result of this DIY Smart Doorbell project on my test bench...
I’ve calibrated twelve wall plugs! So you got a power plug or any other device that can measure power, current or the voltage flowing through it. Nice! So did I, and I flashed them with ESPHome since well, that is my firmware of choice for ESP based devices. The problem, however, is that measurements using these DIY methods are rarely accurate. Fortunately, there’s a solution: You can...
The day after. Yesterday, I was doing my weekly add-on development stream on Twitch but was interrupted. A real-life Paulus Schoutsen (Founder of Home Assistant) showing up on my doorstep by surprise. Holy mother of home automations! 😲
So a year has passed since I posted my initial “First post on my new website!“… this is my second post… Yeah, I should feel ashamed… and actually, I am a little 🤭 So what happened? Well, multiple things blocked me a bit: I didn’t really enjoy using Hugo, which powered my initial site. While I do enjoy a static website, it isn’t really something you just...
Here we go! This post marks the official launch of my website! 🚀
On March 24th of 2018, I have sent out a tweet on my Twitter account writing about my current plans for my personal home automation project. It included an image showing all kinds of IoT devices I’m planning to use in my project. It didn’t take long for Andy Cowan to reply to it…
A Human. Being. Him/He. Dad. Open Sourcerer. Home Assistant developer. Passionate. Dedicated. Life motto: Make a positive difference every single day❤️ Be the change.
