Home Automation Setup (2025)

It has been a few years since I did a home automation update (see 2022 update) and a lot has changed. I moved (twice), got some new devices, have both Google Home and Alexa agents, and started work on a new side home automation side-project (called Okos Polip).

Devices and Locations

Below is the current configuration (as of April 2025). I am not going to go over the full extent of my security system (since security) but otherwise I am pretty open with my setup. Note, I have not included my personal robots as they (still) don’t contribute to the smart home system.

Agents – The house is now a two agent house with both Amazon Alexa and Google Home. There are several devices sprinkled around so I always have control options.

Lighting – I am still renting and that means I still cannot modify the electrical. So Third Reality switches, various smart plugs, and various smart bulbs are the solution. For exiting lights like the overhead light in the kitchen, garage light, and hallway light I am using Third Reality Rev3 configured single-way. For the stair light I am using two Third Reality Rev3 switches configured two-way. From Amazon’s / Google’s perspective this is a single switch.

The apartment has built-in fan-lights. I have no intention of controlling these at the moment. They do have switches for these to cut power but I generally don’t want that so I have covered them with the plastic, magnetic switch covers.

Other lights that I have added use smart bulbs (mostly from Kasa) or controlled via smart plug (also mostly from Kasa).

I still have the LED strip under my desk but otherwise most everything else is set to a slightly warm candle light white.

Cleaning – Previously I used a Glade plugin air freshener with a Kasa plug. However, in the current place I just plugged them in directly at a low diffusion setting. Given that is a much bigger apartment the smell isn’t overwhelming.

I still have my Roomba i7+ stationed upstairs. Its a bit of a hassle to lug it down each week for a ground floor sweep but since I pay for cleaners to come to the apartment every few weeks it doesn’t get too dirty.

I managed to get half-way done with my hacked air filter project, where I converted the manual air filter control ESP8266 (see blog post here). It does require logging into a MongoDB database to control though.

Entertainment – All TVs are now hooked up to Wi-Fi though only the living room TV is controllable via Google Home. There are no additional media control boxes.

Environment Control – I splurged on a Google Nest Thermostat with two sensor pods for the apartment. Hooking it up was surprisingly straightforward. To augment the whole house AC, there are two window units (one with Wi-Fi and another without but ready to be hacked).

Security – I am using Amazon’s Blink security cameras to monitor everything external and internal. Its always watching…

Patio – This is a new domain to explore (since my first apartment the patio was barely usable). I have the normal patio light using a smart bulb. I also have a set of string lights hooked up to an outdoor plug. Lastly, I have a Traeger Grill / Smoker attached to the second port of the outdoor plug.

Plants – I have started to build an automation system for my plants. Specifically, I hacked a grow light with an ESP8266 and connected it to my project Okos Polip (blog post in the future). I have also started prototyping an ESP8266 data logger with soil moisture and light level sensing (again connected to Okos Polip). There is still plenty of work to be done here.

Routines

Routines tend to fall into two categories: (1) time-based automatic routines and (2) user-driven requests. Below I diagramed the general workflow for a day in my smart-house.

Alexa Routines

My usage of Alexa routines is still pretty limited. The morning routines are mostly reminders and volume control. I have a couple user activated routines. From last update, I removed the air freshening routine.

Volume Resets – Every morning all Echo devices automatically reset their volume to level three. I found this to be a good default. Some days, I might adjust it to be louder but I would rather the volume always be at a predictable level.

Good Morning – In the morning I can initiate a “good morning” routine that turns on my bedroom standing light and nightstand light.

Roomba Vacuum – Less a custom routine and more default behavior for integrating Alexa with Roomba, this behavior lets me voice trigger a cleaning routine. As I don’t have a scheduled time for Roomba to clean, this comes in handy (plus I like watching Roomba work).

This works for both upstairs and downstairs by specifying what map to use, for example “Alexa, tell Roomba to vacuum the downstairs”. iRobot has done some good work to make the tasking more natural and allow for real-time adjustment such as skipping a room.

Good Night – This routine is the best after I have comfortably swaddled myself in blankets with the light on. Then regardless of the state of the apartment, I can kindly ask Alexa to turn everything off. Bonus is she tells me to have a good night.

Reminders – I have a few reminders each week.

• Meal plan / prep every Sunday
• Refresh the Keurig water tank
  • (this usually has to be done anyway since I drink a lot of coffee).

Google Home Routines

At this time, I have no routines set up for Google. I would love to try this out but don’t have the time.

Future Plans

I don’t anticipate moving in the near future, which should let me refresh some of these routines and controls. There is some carryover from my previous home automation state update in 2022.

Smartifying Devices – I have started the work to hack an Air Filter with an ESP8266 and hack a grow light with an ESP8266 (both connected to Okos Polip). Additional work is needed to finish Okos Polip and integrate with Alexa / Google Home.

There are several additional devices that are primed to be hacked:

• Window / Room AC
  • This one is pretty sketch to hack but would be a major payoff it it coordinated with other systems in the home
• Other Air Filters
  • Some payoff, well understood process at this point
• Another Grow Light
  • Some payoff and rewarding as a separate gardening hobby
• Fan Tracker
  • Some way of determining if the fan / light is on. Not controllable but does help feed state into the system.
• Human Grow Light (Seasonal Affective Disorder Light)
  • Parked at the couch, this thing is annoying to turn off manually at the end of the night. High payoff of automating. It has a remote which is a plus.

Seasonal Affective Disorder light that I call my human grow light. Hacking the remote link for control and having a low-res camera with a simple detection model may be enough?

Data Collection – Separately, I want to start collecting more data in my apartment. Mostly for my indoor plants. That is moisture level of soil, pH of soil, and light level. My vision is to use ESP8266s to collect readings from multiple plants. Eventually all of this data will be reported back to Okos Polip. Hopefully, I find time to create an application that aggregates this data and can make decisions like:

• when to water
• when to turn on grow light
• when to repot / replace soil (when pH out of whack)
• and routine activities like making sure my Japanese maple has a dormant period

Robots – In the near future I plan to bring my Jetson Nano robot, YAM, back to a functioning state. At that time, I plan on integrating some Alexa functionality into it (via Okos Polip). I think it would be pretty fun to get an initial mapping routine up and running. After that I will have to think about what behaviors to build in.

Control – Lastly, there are a few high level control problems. Since some of my lights have switches (Third Reality), I am still in the habit of manually turning on/off lights. However, other lights are only controlled remotely via voice commands. At some point, I will need to either purchase or construct a few control buttons for these other lights. (Side note, I tried the Third Reality Button and Door Sensor; they did not work very well).

There are also these annoying double switches around the house that don’t have an easy control strategy. I would love to tackle the design problem if I find time. This would require a servo system and you guessed it, connection to Okos Polip.

Final Thoughts

My home automation progress has been limited due to the various apartment moves and focusing on other projects / work. This update serves to capture the current state of my system and hopefully inspire me to finish up some of these loose ends.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned and keep building.