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Updated 2026-02-24 ! After testing Home Assistant (HA) for a while, I’ve realised it could improve my home automation, despite that I'm using Apple HomeKit. When I tested HA with Node-RED and some other "Add-ons", on a Raspberry Pi 3 (RPi), I found that its resources wasn’t enough. The following setup could be any computer but I recently bought an Apple Mac Mini M4, replacing my 2018 (M18) model, so the M18 was really a great candidate for my HA setup. The preferred method running HA is through the  HA Operating System (HAOS), which makes your "life" easier. 😉

My Home Assistant (HA) server setup is  virtualized   with Linux KVM  and I 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 ". So using  ESPHome  I will set up a BTP in this post !

Updated 2026-01-03 ! In a former post I did some hacking/checking how our underfloor heating control system handled the valves, via actuators, regulating the heat.  Now it was time to do some tests with Node-RED(NR), with a PID controller ,  and a Shelly 1 (S1) connected via WiFi and driving the actuator. I really nice solution with Home Assistant and a relay board is found 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.

Updated 2025-10-16 ! In search of the optimal solution on how to interface our IVT Heat pump,   first try here , I stumbled over   a nice integration   for Home Assistant(HA). A first quick setup is shown at the right. The first obstacle was that it was HA which I knew about but never used.  So it was "back too school" and doing  a blog post  about a HA Core install.

Updated 2025-10-15 for Trixie ! The purpose of a watchdog timer(WD) is very well described here but a more practical answer is; If your Raspberry Pi(RPi) "freezes", or hangs, it will automagically reboot within a very short time. This is made with a combination of hardware and software which is all ready available, on the RPi, and just have to be enabled. After some hours Googling and testing these are my findings !

Updated 2025-10-02 ! I like the Raspberry Pi(RPi), with Raspberry Pi OS Lite (no Desktop is included), headless operation, and then adding the software You need. Until now I haven't had a use case where I needed a Desktop but now was time.  Why don't use the Raspberry Pi OS with Desktop ?? In that package there is a lot of software I don't need and I really want to optimize the RPi. I think that the less software You install the happier RPi will be... 😉

Updated 2025-09-08 ! A fantastic way to distribute data between devices is using MQTT . In this post I will do a quick and simple setup with Node-Red(NR) and the Mosquitto(MQ) broker on a Linux machine. Very short, the Broker , installed on a server, handles incoming Publishing and Subscriptions from clients. Every published  Message is "linked" to a Topic.  All Subscribers use a  Topic to "link" to the right Message . How to install Node-Red(NR)  is found here  and the MQ manual here .

  I really like the products on AliExpress and Alibaba, but in most cases the documentation is very simple and to short. So when I bought a combined tracker and a burglar alarm, to our boat, I really tried to get the best. One important thing was that, if possible, getting a lifetime app support. The purchase went well and 14 days later it arrived in Sweden.

We’ve been using Mobile Broadband for several years and have always been keen to measure the speed from our Internet Service Provider (ISP). I’ve posted several variants , mostly Node-RED(NR) flows and programs that often use Python. I’m now slowly converting to Home Assistant(HA), and was glad there was an integration,   Speedtest , to do the job.  But I couldn’t get it to work since HA didn’t like that the test took more than 10 seconds,  Then I tried a Speedtest NR node, but it didn’t install because it needed Python dependencies...... (NR was installed as a HA "Add-on")

Updated 2025-06-02 ! This will soon be a deprecated installation method !! Another post with Linux KVM and HA easy start . The best way to start with Home Assistant (HA), and Raspberry Pi(RPi), is off course to use the ”Raspberry Pi imager” and in the menu select " Other specific-purpose OS => Home Assistant and home automation => Home Assistant ". This will install the HA operating system. It works very well and here are the install instructions .  On the other hand if you want to add HA to a RPi which you already have up and running, without Docker, you need to install something which is called " Home Assistant Core ". Please check the " Remarks " below before you start. New version for Python 3.13 ! Below info is not updated but just change from 3.12 to 3.13 

Updated 2025-03-23 ! Sometimes it's really nice to reach your applications, secure and quick, at home when you are somewhere else.  There are several applications but this post will be describe a really quick setup with remote.it  on a Raspberry Pi(RPi) or another Linux platform. Of course there also is a Windows version. But these days I prefer a  VPN solution  ! The most used services are; http, ssh, vnc, rdp, SAMBA(smb/cifs) ..... and  or non-commercial use, with up to 5 devices, it's free ! I'm using it to access Home Assistant , display  NodeRed dashboard , access servers with "ssh" and file sharing with SAMBA there all applications are running on RPi:s at home.

Updated 2025-01-25 ! Installing a Z-Wave controller on Raspberry Pi is much easier than You think. The only add on You need is the Razberry Z-wave Shield and free software from the same site.

Updated 2025-01-10 ! Dimming not dimmable LED, IKEA Bäve, produced before 2019-11 and a new idea for later products ! In former post I used a  Fibaro Z-Wave RGBW controller  but in this post I will use an IKEA original or an external dimmer ?!

Updated 2025-01-08 OK PHP 8.2 ! This post is an update from a former post which handles on how to set up a weather WEB-site with data from Davis Weather Link(WL) but here adapted to the latest WL API v2. Any product that reports weather data to WL can be used as a source for this weather template. T his is made  without  additional software such as Cumulus, Weather display or the Meteobridge product.

Updated 2025-01-04 DMI is the Danish Meteorological Institute and the   Open Data API provides free and open access to DMI’s data.They are covering a pretty big area not just Denmark . I'm maintaining the weather station for Domstens yacht club and have become really interested in weather "issues". The actual use case for me is that I have to change the mooring, of our boat, if the water level exceeds 60 cm from normal.   For several years I have been searching for a free forecast API so I can get an early warning when the water level rises. Node-Red is used.

Updated 2024-12-13 ! When starting up a new project with Raspberry Pi I like to start up fresh and with a minimal OS.  Therefore i always use Raspberry Pi OS(ROS) Lite and then adding what I need .  Doing it right You don't have to use an external display, keybord and mouse, just a " ssh "  client. Flash to a SSD ? Check this post .

  Updated 2024-12-01 ! In my underfloor heating project, using Node-RED, I have to have one sensing thermometer per room/zone, seems to be 8 in total, so therefore it would be nice with a wireless battery sourced device with good resolution and frequent updates. During the test phase I used a Z-way device but the resolution was pretty bad. Another device mentioned is  the  Ruuvi tag  but since it's a bluetooth device the transmitting range could be better. After some googling I went for 433 MHz devices.