I've got an msi desktop gaming PC, an LG CX OLED TV, and a Yamaha RX-A2A receiver and they never played well together. The kids always had a hard time getting them all on at once and set to the right inputs and launching steam.

So I created a Home Assistant automation that does all that, bought a Zwave button that sits on the coffee table, and now they just turn it all on with one button like it's a video game console.

For my bedtime routine I have it fire when I start charging my phone. There’s an iOS shortcut that fires an HA event when I plug or unplug my phone, and if we’re all home and it’s after bedtime it turns everything off and sets the alarm

Huh, that's a pretty great idea/workflow! I'm still figuring out HA's scripting. I find the JSON based DSL to be pretty awkward so far, so I haven't experimented with it much.

I felt that way too and didn’t like the point and click interface of nodered. Instead, I’m using appdaemon which lets me write all automations using actual code (python) along with the VSCode plugin for HASSOS (not my editor of choice but it’s the only available one)

That's awesome thanks, I didn't know about this:

> Out of the box, AppDaemon has support for the following automation products:

> Home Assistant home automation software. > MQTT event broker.

Thank you for this wonderful idea

I wanted sleep tracking without a fitness band or watch, so I got a sleep mat from Withings. It works as intended and is also great for bedtime triggers.

What is the modern/idiomatic platform to do IoT? Specifically the rudimentary stuff like light bulbs, electrical outlets, etc. Is zigbee the way to go?

I’d say so. It’s interoperable so you’re not vendor locked and is very well supported by HA.

I think you may have changed my disposition on smart home automation. A lot of these integrations seem really useful. Thank you for this comment.

For the bedtime workflow, why NFC tapping and not a button? I use the latter and seems more practical, so wondering why you chose NFC.

Never got around to getting a physical button, but I got a few dozen NFC tags from amazon a while back. They are quite unobtrusive so it's no bother to just quickly tap the phone.

Nice. Though about adding blinds? I got some from IKEA about a year a go and have been super happy with them. Have them set to open 45min after sunrise, and close 30min before. Love em.

Do IKEA blinds come with motors built in? How did you hook 'em up?

With the Ikea blinds, the motor is built into the tube the shade rolls around (for roller shades) or in the top of the blind (for the cellular blinds). There is a rechargeable battery pack that slots in at the top and a remote to control the shades. Nothing to hard wire. Search "Ikea TREDANSEN motorized blind" and you'll find the product page.

The only issue with the Ikea shades is that they can't be cut - so they'll only work for you if your window is the size of shades they carry. None of the Ikea sizes worked for me, I ended up taking the measurements and just ordering custom cut shades from a company called Select Blinds. A little more expensive than Ikea, but the quality does seem a bit better.

Gotcha. I was asking because we just got a new set of blinds that are decidedly not motorized. I think I've seen some third party motors you can add though.