Making an automated heated bed for the cat with Christian Kilvington
Aug 15, 2023
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Christian Kilvington joins Rohan and Phil to discuss his smart home journey. They explore transitioning from Sonoff to Xiaomi devices, setting up a dashboard and troubleshooting streaming issues. They also talk about automated cat feeders, receiving and differentiating notifications through Home Assistant, and implementing package detection for home deliveries.
Building DIY smart devices with ESP modules and automated buttons.
Using Home Assistant knowledge in a job search for career advancement.
Automating cat feeding and creating custom automations for the perfect cup of coffee.
Deep dives
Building Your Own Smart Coffee Machine
Christian shares his experience of building a DIY smart coffee machine using ESP modules, relays, and automated buttons. He discusses his different iterations and the challenges he faced along the way.
Using Home Assistant to Enhance Job Opportunities
Christian talks about how his experience and knowledge of Home Assistant helped him in his job search. He shares how discussing Home Assistant in an interview led to a different job offer with increased responsibilities and better career prospects.
Controlling Home Assistant with Voice Assistants
Christian mentions his use of Google Home as a voice assistant to control Home Assistant. While he initially found them unreliable, he is considering experimenting with other voice assistant options like the Home Assistant Voice Integration as an alternative.
Automating Cat Feeding and Monitoring
Christian talks about automating his cat's feeding by integrating a cat feeder with ESP modules and relays. He also mentions using pressure sensors in his cat's bed to ensure it is only heated when the cat is present. These automated setups are controlled through Home Assistant.
Capturing Precise Coffee Brewing
Christian shares how he created a custom automation for his coffee machine to ensure the perfect cup of coffee every time. He discusses automating the timing and temperature of the coffee brewing process to match his preferences and other scheduling needs.
This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsor 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.
Special thanks to todays guest
Christian Kilvington