Practical, real-world tested smart home guides. No fluff, just what works.
ESP8266 or ESP32 for Home Assistant in 2026? After the spec sheets, the community reports and the builds we document: where the €3 ESP8266 genuinely still wins, and where it quietly falls apart.
What is the best ESP32 development board for Home Assistant in 2026? We compared the ESP32-C6, ESP32-S3 and the classic ESP32 on Wi-Fi 6, flash, USB-C and ESPHome support — here is the board we reference in our builds and why.
Looking for the best Zigbee hub for Home Assistant in 2026? For Home Assistant you mostly don't need a 'hub' — you need a coordinator. Here's why the Sonoff ZBDongle-E is our pick, when the SMLIGHT SLZB-06 earns its price, and which branded hubs to skip.
The best humidity sensor for Home Assistant in 2026: what ±2% RH accuracy actually means (OIML classes), why cheap sensors drift, and why the SONOFF SNZB-02D is the unit we run and trust for bathroom fans, mould prevention and office comfort.
Zigbee2MQTT vs ZHA compared for Home Assistant in 2026 — device support, stability, Zigbee 3.0, network maps and MQTT decoupling, plus what the community runs and what we run on a 46-device network.
New to smart home? Here's how to set up Zigbee with Home Assistant in 2026, step by step — coordinator, first sensor, first smart plug, and the mistakes beginners make. Everything we wish we'd known on day one.
Best USB Zigbee dongle for Home Assistant in 2026 — we cut through the spec-sheet hype and compare what actually matters: chip, firmware, USB 3.0 interference, and why the Sonoff ZBDongle-E is the boring, reliable pick on our 46-device network.
Zigbee dead zones? We fixed the range problems on our own 46-device Home Assistant network with a smart plug that doubles as a Zigbee repeater — here's the exact playbook and why we skip dedicated extenders.
Zigbee coordinator over USB or Ethernet/PoE? We compare both connection types for Home Assistant in 2026 — latency, placement, interference, and what we actually run on a 46-device network.
Temperature and humidity sensors are the backbone of smart climate control. We tested 4 popular Zigbee sensors in multiple rooms — battery life, accuracy, reporting and Home Assistant integration compared.
We use the Aqara door/window sensor every day for our garage-door monitor. Here's why it's our top pick in 2026 — and when the Aqara vibration sensor makes more sense.
A ducted Mitsubishi AC without Wi-Fi? Skip the €200 MelCloud adapter: an ESP32 on the CN105 service port gives full, local control for under €10.
A smart plug is the best first smart home device you can buy. We tested 5 popular Zigbee plugs under €20 on our own network — here's which ones earned a permanent spot.
We run 46 Zigbee devices on the Sonoff ZBDongle-E. Here's which coordinator we'd buy in 2026 — and when the SMLIGHT SLZB-06, ZBDongle-P, Home Assistant ZBT-2 or TubeZB makes more sense.
How we moved five years and 400+ million rows of Home Assistant history from the InfluxDB 1.x add-on to a standalone InfluxDB 2.x VM — without losing a single point and without rewriting a single Grafana dashboard.
Initially considering advanced camera AI for garage door status, we discovered a more reliable and straightforward path using existing physical sensors. This build log details how we leveraged contact and vibration sensors to achieve perfect open, closed, and moving states for a sectional garage door, integrated seamlessly into Home Assistant.
ConnectedCasa explores the integration of Zigbee-enabled Christmas lights with Home Assistant, offering a detailed look into the setup, benefits, and practical considerations for achieving truly smart holiday lighting.
ConnectedCasa evaluates integrating Home Assistant with Zigbee for comprehensive, private, and flexible smart home lighting control. This review explores the technical merits and practical benefits of an open-source approach, moving beyond proprietary ecosystems to offer unparalleled customization and local control.
We tested both protocols side by side on our own network. Here's how Zigbee and Z-Wave compare for reliability, range, device choice and Home Assistant compatibility.
The full story of moving our entire 46-device Zigbee network from an old Z-Stack stick to a Sonoff ZBDongle-E — with zero re-pairing. The mistakes, the backups mix-up, and the exact steps that worked.