this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2026
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homeassistant

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Home Assistant is open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first.
Powered by a worldwide community of tinkerers and DIY enthusiasts.

Home Assistant can be self-installed on ProxMox, Raspberry Pi, or even purchased pre-installed: Home Assistant: Installation

Discussion of Home-Assistant adjacent topics is absolutely fine, within reason.
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[–] VeganBtw@piefed.social 53 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

I click a button when taking my pill so I don't take it twice by mistake, it also alerts me if I've forgotten my dose. Not really ridiculous, but I wanted to feel included lol

[–] Bluegrass_Addict@lemmy.ca 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

frog I can't even remember to get my meds renewed let alone take them half the time. 30 days of pills last me upwards of 3 months before I get a new bottle. no wonder I'm so messed up

[–] Ludicrous0251@piefed.zip 10 points 2 weeks ago

MedTimer (FOSS) and a 7-day pill organizer changed my life.

As I've gotten older, I've had to upgrade to one with AM/PM distinctions to balance the uppers and downers.

Also, you have ADHD. Talk to somebody about it.

That's genuinely useful.

[–] fleem@piefed.zeromedia.vip 4 points 2 weeks ago

this isn't bad!!!1one

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[–] EarMaster@lemmy.world 37 points 2 weeks ago (8 children)

My dishwasher automatically selects it's Eco program when powered on. The Eco program uses more water and more energy than the Auto program while also taking almost twice as long. So I have an automation that triggers when my dishwasher is powered on and then selects the Auto program for me - because pressing a button to change the program after loading the dishwasher would be too much to ask.

Thanks for that. Now I need a new dishwasher.

[–] pfr@piefed.social 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

If it uses more water and more energy, what exactly is "eco" about it?

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[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 30 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Thought of another one...

I bought some TP-Link wifi bulbs that were flaky from the start. After some investigation I discovered that these particular bulbs felt it important to phone home to China every few seconds and became very, very unhappy if the lines were down. After a short tantrum they would reset their wifi connection before regaining consciousness. What that meant in my 3 bulb fixture was that when my “lights off” scene was triggered and my firewall was blocking their corporate masters, one or more of the bulbs was often in a stupor and would remain on indefinitely.

Did I just go spend $25 on some new, decent bulbs that actually worked? Nope - no way some stinking TP-Link bulbs were going to win! Instead I spent hours creating multiple redundant automations that checked for each possible failure state, kept polling the bulbs until their tantrum ended and they regained consciousness, and then turned off whatever bulbs were left on.

Every time I turned off the lights I was able to declare victory. After I felt they had learned their lesson I bought some Zigbee bulbs that actually work.

[–] laranis@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 weeks ago

You're my spirit animal.

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[–] ryantown@lemmy.world 21 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

I replaced my fridge light with an RGB zwave light and door sensor. This concept has been solved for decades and my solution is worse. But it also turns green...

[–] dan@upvote.au 5 points 2 weeks ago

I got a new fridge last year and the whole back of it (behind the shelves) is lit evenly, I guess with LEDs. Far nicer than a bulb.

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[–] TheOldRepublic@lemmy.world 20 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

I've got a led strip on my toilet door. It turns red when someone is inside (mesured by the wasp in a box principle.

[–] Ludicrous0251@piefed.zip 35 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm unfamiliar with the wasp in a box principle. Is that the one where you keep a box of live wasps in the bathroom and determine if someone is in there based on how recently you've heard a scream?

[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Suggestion for enhancement: Have the LEDs start out yellow and after a couple of minutes turn them red because entry has likely become hazardous.

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[–] Strit@lemmy.linuxuserspace.show 10 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Where do you guys find power outlets for all these weird placements of LED strips? :D Outlets in my house is not in great places for something like this.

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[–] Maiq@piefed.social 17 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)
[–] d_k_bo@feddit.org 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] nathan@piefed.alphapuggle.dev 6 points 2 weeks ago

This is engrained in my muscle memory and throws me off anytime I use a system without it set

[–] JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
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[–] PlutoniumAcid@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

alias l="ls -al"
alias cd.. ="cd .."
alias cd. ="cd .."

I'm a monster.

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[–] czardestructo@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

What a wonderfully ridiculous waste of time and effort. I hope your daughter realizes how lucky she is.

[–] SwingingTheLamp@piefed.zip 15 points 2 weeks ago

Easily the most ridiculous is the one I made on a motion trigger from the camera pointed out my window to take a snapshot, pass it to ollama/qwen3, and have it compose a haiku about the scene to be read aloud by Pocket TTS.

[–] Ludicrous0251@piefed.zip 14 points 2 weeks ago (13 children)

44 automations + 27 scripts and counting, not sure any of them are totally over the top but theres at least 2 dedicated buttons in my house for when the dog needs to take a shit in the middle of the night to turn on specific lights for a short time for him.

Unfortunately I haven't taught him to use them on his own.

[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Mine is turning on a fan when an exercise video is played. Pressing a button is way too difficult.

[–] undefined@lemmy.hogru.ch 4 points 2 weeks ago

I used to do this for lighting and fans whenever my VR headset turned on.

[–] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (13 children)

My house's fridge has a horribly designed freezer that is just a huge drawer with a smaller drawer inside. It wastes a huge amount of freezer space.

It also doesn't close all the way periodically. If you're not paying attention, it freezes up the coil, and melts all your freezer food.

I mounted a door sensor switch to the side and it sends my phone an email if the door been open for more than five minutes.

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[–] bluGill@fedia.io 11 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

I'm working on a button to push when we feed the cats per my wife's request. It doesn't do anything when push because she can't figure out why she wants the button

[–] CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 weeks ago

I've thought about doing this too. You would have the button trigger some identifier like a phone notification, screen, or even a light and then reset itself after so many hours or at scheduled times to know if they've been fed.

We have to give our cat a pill in the morning and evening so it would help us know if the other (or someone else like a relative babysitting) had already given it to him in addition to the feeding schedule.

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[–] TedZanzibar@feddit.uk 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Laziest eh? Probably the one that deletes completed items from my shopping list when I leave the supermarket, because I got sick of doing it manually.

Most ridiculous would be the NFC tag I have on the lid of my cold brew coffee jug. I make a batch so rarely that I can never remember how much coffee to add, so scanning the tag makes my Google Home say; "You want 80g of coffee per litre, or 6 scoops."

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[–] undefined@lemmy.hogru.ch 10 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Not too crazy but I have automations based on whether external doors are open: if it’s hot and it’s cooler outside and someone opens the door then the fan near it gets turned out. Similarly if the heater is on but someone leaves a door open longer than one minute (conservative) the heaters will shut off. And all the air fresheners shut off if the doors are ever open.

[–] laranis@lemmy.zip 9 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

Not sure this belongs, but my most proud automation is an automatic water bowl for my dogs. It automatically drains, rinses, and fills 16 times per day so they always have fresh water. They deserve a better life than my lazy ass can give them.

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[–] Cyber@feddit.uk 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

We have a ZzZ script which slowly turns off the TV and lights.

It works from one end of the house through the kitchen, then lounge, then up the stairs, the idea is it follows me to bed turning off things as I'm walking...

A separate script tells me that it's time for bed (as I find finishing the day difficult).

[–] greatwhitebuffalo41@slrpnk.net 6 points 2 weeks ago

Not as fancy but an hour before my bed time my small stained glass lamp turns on as a reminder I have an hour left. 5 minutes before bed my phone goes into night mode. At bed time all the lights in my room shut off. It's been way more effective than my ADHD ass having no idea what time it is and staying up super late.

[–] nirodhaavidya@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I have an announcement play every 30 minutes to yell at me in a harsh voice "Drink Water God Damn It!" I forget to hydrate a lot. I've tried many other reminders, but none of them worked well. Turns out I just need someone to yell at me.

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[–] Cerothen@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

My kitchen has 4 different lights in it, and often a random one will be on.

One light is on a 3 way switch with a switch at either entrance, if I hit that switch (then realize I turned on an extra light, instead of turning off one of the other lights) and turn it back off within 2.5 seconds then it will turn off and other of the the lights in the kitchen that happen to be on.

Every time I accidentally trigger this automation it makes me smile because it's silly

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[–] lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 weeks ago

Turn the lights on and off in the basement. The kids kept playing with the lights and arguing over it, so I automated the whole floor and blocked the switches off.

Arguments immediately stopped.

"Good night" turns off all the lights in the house. I guess it's silly/lazy because at midnight all the lights turn off anyway.

[–] SaneMartigan@aussie.zone 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Does meal prep count because I don't really like cooking?

[–] GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk 5 points 2 weeks ago

I have alerts that push out when the fridge door is open.
And another that flashes all the lights in the house when the doorbell rings.

[–] greatwhitebuffalo41@slrpnk.net 4 points 2 weeks ago

I have 4 lights in my room that I use for different things. Ceiling light, light above my bed, lights hanging from the high part of the vaulted ceiling (these are yellow glass really pretty but kinda dim great for before bed) and a small stained glass lamp.

I have an automation to turn on the small stained glass lamp at 7 because that's when I should be getting ready to get in bed, wind down, read a book, something like that. At 825 my phone goes into sleep mode, night light and night mode activated. At 830 all the lights in my room turn off and my fan turns on.

At 330am my alarm goes off and the stained glass lamp turns on and the fan turns off. It's dim enough to not be blinding but bright enough I won't just turn my alarm off. At 340 the yellow lights come on to make sure my ass gets up. As I'm walking out of my room, I can double tap the light switch down and it will turn off all 4 lights and the fan if any of the above are on.

I also have a button hanging by a command strip on my night stand that can control everything for when I'm too lazy to open the app on my phone 😂

[–] MirrorGiraffe@piefed.social 4 points 2 weeks ago

I get notified whenever a band on or adjacent to the ipecac label is about to play in stockholm.

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