Pyssel

My Home Assistant (HA) server setup  virtualized   with Linux KVM needed a solution handling Bluetooth since the used Mac Mini just had a PCI connected one. HA recommends to use a  Bluetooth proxy (BTP) quote  " since Linux kernel updates have previously broken Bluetooth functionality and Bluetooth driver support Linux generally falls behind other operating systems for newer adapters. A Bluetooth proxy is particularly interesting to users who virtualize their instance, where the USB pass-through may cause additional problems ". Since using HA  ESPHome  is the way to get a BTP !

Updated 2026-01-01 ! What is the purpose of a Home Assistant(HA)  according to Wikipedia ? Home Assistant is free and open-source software used for home automation. It serves as an integration platform and smart home hub, allowing users to control smart home devices. The software emphasizes local control and privacy and is designed to be independent of any specific Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem.  Even for me, as someone running Apple HomeKit and Homebridge, it is a fantastic piece of software that bridges almost everything and enables highly intelligent integrations.  Since it is widely used, there is a wealth of information available. However, I couldn't find a clear "bullet list" on how to get started. This post will primarily contain links to other sources rather than writing extensive explanations myself.

Updated 2026-01-19 ! Having some Linux servers up and running I checked out  monitoring tools like Nagios, Zabbix, Cockpit or Prometheus. For small setups, home labs, or lightweight environments, those solutions can feel like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. In this post, I’ll show you how to build a   lightweight monitoring agent   using nothing more than a Bash script, MQTT, and Node-RED. The script collects key metrics from your server — disk usage, memory consumption, CPU load, and available package upgrades — then publishes them to an MQTT broker. From there, Node-RED visualizes the data in a clean, real-time dashboard. The result? A simple but powerful monitoring system that works across multiple servers, scales with your needs, and gives you instant visibility into the health of your infrastructure. And the best part: you control every piece of it.

In previous posts , I’ve been testing and figuring out how to manage my old control system for our underfloor heating. Now, it was time for something more bold, and since I’m increasingly impressed with Home Assistant(HA) and its software capabilities, that’s exactly what I did. Industrial-style ESP32 boards are becoming increasingly popular for Home Assistant and automation projects, especially when they include Ethernet, isolated inputs and relay outputs on a single PCB. The Waveshare ESP32-S3-ETH-8DI-8RO (W8) is one such board: it’s compact, well-equipped and clearly designed for serious control applications, rather than just hobbyist breadboards. In this post, I’ll share my experience setting up this board using ESPHome , pointing out the main configuration points, common mistakes and practical lessons I’ve learned along the way.

I have made several posts regarding temperature ,  in some way, and now I'm back with a post using Home Assistant(HA) and controlling temperature. The primary purpose of this post is to address an upcoming issue with our floor heating system. However, it may also provide some assistance for other temperature control problems using HA "Generic Thermostat" As said before I'm more comfortable with Node-RED then YAML, in HA, so .....😎

Updated 2025-12-01 ! OpenPlotter(OP), a Boat Navigation application, is really a nice and simple installation of OpenPlotter (OP) OpenCPN (OC) SignalK (SK)  and other supporting applications for Your boat. An overall information about the OP package is found  here   and you can watch the OP v4 progress  here .

Updated 2025-11-01 ! I have written a post with the same subject before, also using NodeRed (NR), but this post is using the latest WeatherLink v2 API instead of the v1 API .  The v2 API supports more devices and now also including the old ones. If You want a more advanced weather site  this is  a very nice one coded in PHP also using the v2 API.

The short answer is that if you have a  Z-wave.me adapter and are using their Z-wave.me server you shall use the  Z-wave.me integration . On the other hand if you want to use the latest updated software, for your Z-wave.me product, or almost any other , use the Z-wave JS server together with the Z-wave integration . This post will show how to set up the integrations interfacing a standalone  Z-wave.me server  and a standalone  Z-wave JS server

Instead of buying  a new Z-Way adapter I thought it would be a nice project to reuse the almost 10 year old RaZberry 2(RZ) adapter together with a Raspberry Pi 2(RPi).  After some Googling I found  Z-Wave JS UI (ZUI) which is both the server part and an UI. The described installation could be used for almost "any" Z-way interface, impressing list ! , and for "any" Linux distribution.