Gear List

Why I Use It

This is the dedicated bedroom camera screen with Fully Kiosk recovery, bedtime dimming, and a focused dashboard instead of a general-purpose tablet home screen.

Pros

• Affordable always-on display
• Works well with Fully Kiosk watchdog and reload settings
• Good fit for a focused Home Assistant dashboard

Cons

• Needs reliable wall power
• Older tablet hardware can struggle with heavy dashboards

Why I Use It

It gives hardware we already own another job under the living-room TV. The gallery holds 45 personal photos with ten Keep favorites, shuffles through them, and keeps my agent Joanna's current avatar separate. Large icons and short messages make household notices readable from the couch. The kiosk dashboard has a round preview, photo controls and quiet health monitoring.

Pros

• Reuses the original circular screen, ring and center button
• Shares Home Assistant messages and house states with the other kiosks
• Runs from USB wall power and Wi-Fi after setup

Why I Use It

Home Assistant starts the room queue while we are away, tracks sweep and mop phases, and sends the robot home when the family returns.

Pros

• Reliable cleaning
• App + HA controls
• Quiet enough for night runs

Cons

• Consumables to replace
• Mapping can drift after moves

Why I Use It

Lets HA skip watering when the forecast or sensors say we are covered.

Pros

• Strong weather intelligence
• Easy zone mapping
• HA service hooks

Cons

• Cloud account required
• Outdoor enclosure may be needed

Why I Use It

Protects the house from leaks and gives HA a direct shutoff control path.

Pros

• Accurate flow detection
• API hooks for HA automations
• Automatic shutoff

Cons

• Professional install recommended
• Needs Wi-Fi near the main

Why I Use It

The garage package combines MQTT cover control with arrival routines, entry lighting and reminders when a door is left open.

Pros

• Simple install
• HA-friendly API
• Good alerting on obstructions

Cons

• Needs reliable Wi-Fi in the garage
• Opener compatibility and MQTT firmware need checking

Why I Use It

Keeps the house up during outages and lets HA prioritize critical loads.

Pros

• Seamless backup
• Granular energy data
• HA-friendly API

Cons

• Install lead time
• Utility approvals vary

Why I Use It

Acts as a quick visual notifier and hands-free controller near the entry.

Pros

• Good doorbell display
• Multi-room voice assistant
• Works as intercom

Cons

• Camera privacy to manage
• Another device on the counter

Why I Use It

Ties front-door events to cameras and lighting while keeping the existing deadbolt.

Pros

• Retrofit install
• Reliable presence unlocks
• Works with existing keys

Cons

• Batteries need tracking
• Bridge adds another point of failure

Why I Use It

The Blink package feeds motion and snapshot events into the notification flow without requiring a fully custom camera stack.

Pros

• Easy camera deployment
• Battery-powered placement flexibility
• Useful motion snapshot alerts

Cons

• Cloud dependency
• Snapshot and motion timing can lag compared with local cameras

Why I Use It

These outlets are a practical fit for accent lights where inexpensive RF switching is enough and full smart-plug telemetry is not required.

Pros

• Low-cost switched outlet control
• Good for accent lights
• Works with simple RF transmitter/receiver setups

Cons

• One-way RF control means no native state feedback
• 433MHz setups need careful receiver/transmitter placement

Why I Use It

Cheap RGB control that plays well with HA scripts and holiday presets.

Pros

• Budget friendly
• Works with HA scenes
• Flexible LED support

Cons

• OTA firmware can vary
• Needs careful power planning

Why I Use It

The package keeps these lights available for voice-control routines and whole-home interior-off behavior.

Pros

• Useful for room lighting scenes
• Works with voice-control routines
• Good fit for grouped light shutoff automations

Cons

• Cloud/app behavior can affect reliability
• Best kept behind simple, well-scoped automations

Why I Use It

The climate package ties thermostat state into comfort targets, runtime-based filter reminders, humidity handling, and condenser-line maintenance.

Pros

• Clean thermostat hardware
• Useful climate telemetry in Home Assistant
• Good automation surface for reminders and seasonal routines

Cons

• Cloud account dependency
• Some advanced behavior depends on the integration state

Why I Use It

An NFC sticker on each HVAC unit records which filter was changed. The climate package updates that unit's date and runtime counters after a tap.

Pros

• Cheap and flexible
• No batteries or wiring
• Great for experiments and location-specific shortcuts

Cons

• Phone behavior and permissions matter
• Less seamless than a dedicated physical button

Why I Use It

DIY contact nodes let the alarm package reuse wired opening sensors and keep their events in Home Assistant.

Pros

• Low cost
• Fully local
• Easy to reprogram

Cons

• Needs USB power
• Enclosure required for tidy installs

Why I Use It

Makes TV presence a reliable trigger for lights and notifications.

Pros

• Cheap presence signal
• Easy HA integration
• Low power

Cons

• Wi-Fi reliant
• Needs CEC in some setups

Why I Use It

This entry preserves the earlier hardware reference. Check current Home Assistant host and radio support before copying it.

Pros

• Stable USB Z-Wave radio
• Cheap dedicated host
• Easily replaceable

Cons

• Pi stock can vary
• USB range depends on placement

Why I Use It

Useful as a dedicated, glanceable Alexa-controlled light for door, lock, and house-status notifications if the Homebridge bridge exposes reliable controls.

Pros

• Glanceable color status
• Alexa routine friendly
• Good fit for non-verbal alerts

Cons

• Bridge path needs validation
• Likely cloud/auth dependency