Gear

Apollo MSR-2, TEMP-1, AIR-1

Day-job products and the sensor backbone at home: mmWave presence, temperature, and air quality in the key rooms.

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Aqara P1 motion sensors

Cheap Zigbee motion, one in every room without budget pain.

Xiaomi LYWSD03MMC thermometers

$5 BLE thermometers flashed with pvvx firmware; Home Assistant reads them natively, no hub.

Zooz ZSE44 temperature and humidity sensors

4 in service

Real room air for the AC automations, measured away from the cold blast: my room, the cat room, the guest room, and the network closet.

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Philips Hue bulbs

Premium Zigbee color. I only buy these where lighting is the room's whole point.

IKEA KAJPLATS bulbs

IKEA's TRADFRI replacement. Ships as Matter over Thread; mine run on Zigbee2MQTT instead. There's a blog post about the 12-power-cycle trick.

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Aqara Ceiling Light T1M

RGB+IC Zigbee ceiling light with gradient effects, on the same mesh as everything else.

Zooz Z-Wave switches

In service since 2021

ZEN76 and ZEN71 on the walls, the wired lighting layer. Running 5+ years with zero failures.

Inovelli Blue Series 2-1 switches

Zigbee wall switches that run as switch or dimmer; the LED bar doubles as automation feedback.

Zooz ZEN15 800LR power switch

The plug for compressor loads: dehumidifiers, fridges, sump pumps. Built for the startup inrush that kills regular smart plugs. 15A, energy monitoring, Z-Wave Long Range.

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Zooz ZEN20 800LR power strip

Five individually switched Z-Wave outlets plus two USB ports, with energy monitoring and Z-Wave Long Range. One strip instead of five plugs.

Zooz ZEN05 outdoor plug

Single outdoor outlet, IP65 weatherproof housing with an outlet cover. Puts landscape and holiday lighting on Z-Wave.

Zooz ZEN14 800LR double outdoor plug

Two independently switched outdoor outlets, IP65 rated, up to 15A total, Z-Wave Long Range. Holiday lights and patio gear.

Midea 12,000 BTU Duo portable ACs

3 in service since 2026

Three of them cooling the rooms my central air can't keep up with, driven by Home Assistant instead of a $24k AC replacement.

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Home Assistant

Runs the house: 62 automations on as of June 2026, all local.

ESPHome

Firmware on every custom sensor and switch that isn't off the shelf.

Ring keypad v2 + Alarmo

Real arm/disarm keypad on Home Assistant's Alarmo, fully local.

Unraid server

Self-hosts Plex, Bitwarden, AdGuard, and the rest of the container drawer.

Cozyla 32" wall tablet

Always-on Home Assistant dashboard in the living room.

Posterr

Turns the wall tablet's idle time into a Plex movie-poster wall.