Home Assistant
ActiveSmart home automation hub running on Unraid as a VM. Central control for all IoT devices, automations, and monitoring.
Features
YAML-Based Automations
Organized automation files split by category: presence, security, laundry, lawn care, modes, and keymaster (door locks).
Home Modes
Automatic switching between Home, Away, Sleep, and Vacation modes based on presence detection and time of day.
Wake-on-LAN Switches
Virtual switches to power on network devices including gaming PCs, workstations, and media servers.
UniFi Protect Integration
Full camera system integration with motion detection, recording access, and live feeds on dashboards.
Custom Dashboard
YAML-based Lovelace dashboard with 5 views: Home, Cameras, Media, Automations, and System monitoring.
Notification Groups
Family notification routing with separate groups for individual and household-wide alerts.
Case Study: Complete Smart Home Transformation
The Challenge
Transform a traditional home with manual lighting, no climate automation, and basic security into a fully automated smart home with presence detection, energy optimization, and seamless family control.
The Solution
- ✓ Deployed Home Assistant OS as a VM with automatic backups
- ✓ Integrated 40+ Zigbee devices (lights, sensors, switches) via Zigbee2MQTT
- ✓ Created 4 home modes: Home, Away, Sleep, and Vacation with automatic transitions
- ✓ Built custom Lovelace dashboards for wall-mounted tablets and mobile
- ✓ Configured presence detection using phone app + motion sensors
- ✓ Set up UniFi Protect integration for camera feeds and motion alerts
The Results
Tech Stack
| Home Assistant OS | Running as VM on Unraid |
| Zigbee2MQTT | Zigbee device management |
| Node-RED | Complex automation flows |
| ESPHome | Custom ESP32 device integration |
| MQTT | Device communication protocol |