Home Automation
Reviews and guides for smart home devices, hubs, and automation setups.
Best Water Leak Sensors for Home Assistant in 2026
A $15 sensor can save you $15,000 in water damage. Five Zigbee water leak sensors that integrate cleanly with Home Assistant — tested under sinks, behind toilets, and next to washing machines.
Apr 7, 2026
IKEA + Matter in 2026: Budget Smart Home That Actually Works
IKEA's massive 2026 Matter push — 21 new devices, a dramatically cheaper entry point, and proper Thread border routing — changes the math for budget smart home setups. Here's what you need to know.
Mar 20, 2026
Best Robot Vacuums for Home Assistant in 2026 (With Area Cleaning)
Home Assistant 2026.3 added native area cleaning for robot vacuums. Here's which robots actually support it, which ones integrate best with HA, and how to get your Roborock or Ecovacs cleaning your rooms on command.
Mar 13, 2026
Home Assistant 2026.3: What Actually Matters
Area-based vacuum cleaning, Continue on Error in the automation editor, Energy dashboard badges, and wake word on Android. Here's what's worth your attention in the March 2026 release.
Mar 9, 2026
Matter Smart Plugs for Home Assistant: Are They Finally Ready in 2026?
Matter promised a unified smart home. Smart plugs were supposed to be the easy win. Two years in, here's the real state of Matter plug support in Home Assistant — and whether to switch from Zigbee.
Mar 6, 2026
The Best Smart Plugs with Energy Monitoring for Home Assistant (2026)
Track what's eating your electricity bill and automate around it. These are the best energy-monitoring smart plugs that actually work with Home Assistant in 2026.
Mar 3, 2026
Home Assistant 2026.3: What's New and What You Should Actually Care About
The March 2026 Home Assistant release is a big one — Android phones as voice satellites, a revamped home dashboard, and more. Here's what actually matters.
Mar 3, 2026
Fix Dropped Zigbee Cover Commands with This Zigbee2MQTT Extension
A custom Zigbee2MQTT external extension that automatically retries cover commands when shades and blinds don't respond. Works with any Zigbee cover device.
Feb 27, 2026
Stop Bleeding Watts: How to Build a Private Home Energy Monitor with Zigbee & ESPHome
A practical guide to building a private home energy monitoring system with Home Assistant, Zigbee smart plugs, and ESPHome-flashed CT clamps. Track every watt without cloud dependencies.
Feb 26, 2026
Best Smart Home Hub in 2026
The best smart home hubs in 2026, from Home Assistant for power users to SmartThings for simplicity. Real picks, real opinions.
Feb 22, 2026
Best Zigbee Devices for Home Assistant (2026)
The best Zigbee sensors, plugs, bulbs, and switches for Home Assistant. Tested picks that pair reliably with Zigbee2MQTT and ZHA.
Feb 22, 2026
Lutron Caseta Review: Still the Best Smart Lighting in 2026?
Lutron Caseta review after years of daily use. Why it's still the most reliable smart lighting system you can buy in 2026.
Feb 22, 2026