Your Smart Home
Field Guide
Hands-on reviews, protocol comparisons, and real build logs for Zigbee, Z-Wave, Matter, Home Assistant, and beyond.
Featured Guide
Build a Privacy-First Smart Home: Local Control Build Log
Step-by-step build log for a fully local smart home using Home Assistant, Zigbee, and sensors — no cloud required. Complete parts list and setup guide for 2026.
Recent Guides
How to Build Room-Level Presence Detection with ESPresense
Track who is in which room using $5 ESP32 boards running ESPresense firmware. Step-by-step guide covering flashing, MQTT setup, calibration, and Home Assistant integration for room-level presence detection.
Smart Lock Shootout 2026: Nuki Ultra vs Schlage Encode Plus vs Aqara U400 vs Yale Assure Lock 2
We compared 6 top smart locks head-to-head: Nuki Ultra, Schlage Encode Plus, Aqara U400, Yale Assure Lock 2 Touch, August Wi-Fi, and Aqara U200. Pricing, features, real-world battery life, and which one you should buy in 2026.
How to Build an ESP32 Bluetooth Proxy Network for Home Assistant
Eliminate BLE dead zones by building a multi-proxy network with $3 ESP32 boards. Step-by-step ESPHome config, placement tips, and troubleshooting.