From Pi to Blue, we’re revisiting Courtenay Watson
Home Assistant Podcast
Moving from YAML to UI automations
Courtenay explains largely abandoning YAML for automations and using the UI and occasional YAML snippets.
We’re revisiting Courtenay, who was last spoke to on Episode 45 six years ago. She’s here to share six years of Home Assistant progress: moving from Raspberry Pi to Home Assistant Blue, mastering the Energy Dashboard with MQTT, surviving cloud outages on Tuya, and restoring from backups in minutes.
https://homeassistant.fm/ha212
Support the Podcast
Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.
https://homeassistant.fm/patreon
Share your story
We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story.
Chapters
00:00:00 Welcome
00:01:04 2019 setup recap
00:03:31 Hardware: Blue and N2+
00:06:00 Real‑time energy tracking
00:12:00 Breaker chaos, disaggregation
00:16:30 Dashboards and thermostat
00:22:00 Tuya cloud lighting
00:27:30 Offline behavior, habits
00:29:30 Less YAML, more UI
00:33:30 Backups and restore
00:38:30 Z‑Wave LR range talk
00:41:30 LoRa and Meshtastic
00:42:00 Hubs, Matter/Thread woes
00:48:00 Voice assistants: then vs now
00:51:00 Everyday control patterns
00:55:00 Advice for new users
00:59:30 Recorder and data
01:03:07 Six‑year roadmap and robots
01:06:14 Wrap‑up and contact info
This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors
Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa
Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML.
If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers.
For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com
Products Discussed
Raspberry Pi 2 Model B: https://amzn.to/43Dppq4
Ecobee Thermostat: https://amzn.to/3XtOTCR
Shelly energy monitoring clamps: https://amzn.to/488TjDX
Sense Home Energy Monitor: https://amzn.to/4re7oss
Home Assistant Connect ZWA2 (Z‑Wave radio): https://amzn.to/3MfPzsP
Meshtastic LoRa nodes: https://amzn.to/4ihcSyy
Hosts
Phil Hawthorne
Twitter: @philhawthorne
Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com
Rohan Karamandi
Twitter: @rohank9
This video contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
The AI-powered Podcast Player
