Alex Tripp

New Addition to the Blog: 3D Design and Printing Projects - AlexTripp.Tech Over the past year, I’ve shared a lot about smart home automation, Home Assistant, and the various ways I’ve optimized my tech setup. But behind the scenes, one of my favorite tools for making my home...

I’m bringing 3D printing back—but this time, it’s part of my smart home blog.

I’ll be posting STL designs I’ve made to solve real problems around my house (and maybe yours too). No physical sales, just clean digital downloads.

alextripp.tech/new-addition...

ULTRALOQ Makes First Apple Home Key-Compatible Smart Lock

ULTRALOQ just launched the first Apple Home Key-compatible smart lock.
Cool idea, especially if you can share temporary NFC keys to guests. But for me? Geofencing or temporary codes already solve that.

Hopefully it becomes a standard going forward!
#smarthome

www.morningstar.com/news/pr-news...

Cybersecurity in IoT: Mandatory from August 2025 From 1 August 2025, all new radio-connected devices entering the EU market must comply with strict cybersecurity standards. What does this mean, and how can manufacturers prepare? We explored the topi...

Starting today, all new IoT devices in the EU need to meet strict cybersecurity standards.
Big win for security, but will it slow innovation? Or make smart home devices pricier? Does this make your smart home safer or more secure?
#smarthome #iot #homeassistant evertiq.com/news/2025-06...

Crippling Google Home issues spark potential class action response After numerous reports of Google Home issues, a US law firm has announced that it is investigating a possible class action.

Google’s smart home mess might end in a lawsuit.
Glitches, broken routines, and unresponsive devices. Users are fed up. I try my best to stick to all local where possible. What about you? #smarthome #google #homeassistant www.androidauthority.com/google-home-...

THIRDREALITY Launches the World's First Matter-Enabled Smart Mechanical Keyboard MK1 -- Turn your keyboard into a smart home control center. /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Debuted at CES 2025, the MK1 drew strong interest from attendees for its novel concept: offering desktop users a seamless way to control...

ThirdReality’s MK1, a smart mech keyboard.

As a Home Assistant fan, I love the matter protocol support. But in practice… most of my automations are voice-driven or fully automated.

Could this be the start of smarter workspaces, or just a niche toy? #matter #smarthome

www.prweb.com/releases/thi...

Ikea goes all in on Matter smart homes Over 20 new devices are on the way.

Something I missed earlier this month is that ikea is going all in on matter. Anyone looking to pick up a bunch of ikea gear? #smarthome #ikea #homeassistant #matter

www.theverge.com/smart-home/7...

Zooz Z-Wave Long Range 240V XS Relay ZEN57 800LR 100-240 Volt Control PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS   BETA RELEASE:   You may need to update the firmware for this device, selected functionality or advanced features may not be available on your hub at the time ...

Smart home life: always chasing smaller hardware 😅
TheSmartestHouse has the Zooz ZEN57 800LR, their tiniest relay yet. Seems that it’s beta right now and my only concern is I don’t see an ETL cert like the Zen51. Anyone grab one yet? Specs here: www.thesmartesthouse.com/products/zoo...

ChatGPT Wrote the Code for My Motion-Activated Smart Home Dashboard - AlexTripp.Tech Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through those links at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products and servic...

Finally put this little post out. Was fun learning how to prompt ChatGPT effectively to write a script that would have taken a lot longer just researching it. #ai #homeassistant #smarthome

alextripp.tech/chatgpt-wrot...

Recently “vibe coded” a script to use a PIR sensor on my Raspberry Pi 5 that runs the touch screen monitor we’ll use for our Home Assistant dashboard. It also sends motion events via MQTT Writing a blog post now, and hope to launch it this week! #ai #vibecode #homeassistant #smarthome

Been a while since I posted but I just got these! #homeassistant #shelly

Your outie is a weird homelab guy. Your outie uses openSUSE. Please, don't interrupt. Your outie won't shut up about openSUSE.

Been a bit lazy with my home assistant setup lately since work has been busy. What’s everyone been working on? #homeassistant #smarthome

I don’t need you to be telling me my high school memories can now have a beer with me. 🫠

I need to try these yet. I also tend towards no yaml but sometimes I see an example and it’s like “ohhh just copy paste this bad boy and edit for my sensor” and that’s how I end up with a ton of yaml lol

I’ve gotta find some time to do the water meter right up but I approached it using the ai on the edge that I think is linked in the official home assistant documentation!

Using Software Defined Radio to Send Gas Meter Data to Home Assistant - AlexTripp.Tech Introduction Tracking utility usage in Home Assistant provides valuable insights into consumption patterns and helps optimize energy use. While smart electricity meters often have integrations, gas me...

Recently setup an SDR dongle to capture gas meter consumption and send it to my #homeassistant instance:

alextripp.tech/index.php/20...

Dogs escaped this morning due to a contractor not closing our back gate. Anyone got a good door sensor for outdoor use or am I left trying to waterproof an existing product? #homeassistant #smarthome #homeautomation

And I can’t believe I found it!

It is! Working perfectly now. Sensitive enough it doesn’t turn off when I’m sitting at my desk but not too sensitive it’s always on

Does anyone know of a smart light switch that is a true toggle? I’ve done the “toggle” switches that always stay in the middle and I’ve added sonoff/shelly relays to normal toggles. But I’d much prefer a true toggle all in one. #homeautomation #smarthome #homeassistant

I need this for my office

I was getting super mad at this new mmWave sensor I got until I realized I had to set the “small” detection sensitivity all the way down. Read some people thought it can pick up small vibrations causing it to stay triggered #homeassistant #smarthome #homeautomation

Well that’s dumb. I used some of their zwave dimmers for years with zero issues

Got some good data coming in from my water meter using esp32 and “ai on the edge” #ai #aiontheedge #homeassistant #homeautomation #smarthome

Essential Home Assistant Setup Tips for Beginners - AlexTripp.Tech Master your smart home with these essential home assistant setup tips for beginners. Secure, organize, and optimize! Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn...

Popped a few starter tips for Home Assistant on the blog. Check it out here: alextripp.tech/index.php/20...
#homeassistant #smarthome #homeautomation #zigbee

Speaking of dream network setup, I got a few new toys to replaced the gear I bought almost 7 years ago for our first new house! #unifi #networ #smarthome #homeautomation #homeassistant

woody from toy story is standing in a bedroom holding a whip and saying i don 't want to play with you anymore ALT: woody from toy story is standing in a bedroom holding a whip and saying i don 't want to play with you anymore

3.5 years, small business started around it, made enough money to have a tiny bit of fun. Then one day:

My brain always spending money I don’t have 🤣

Once I found that my meter was broadcasting and then found rtlamr2mqtt it all went quick. Was able to base usage cost (doesn’t include taxes or fees) and plug that in to track cost. It’s cold here so yesterday was expensive 👀

Also, I couldn’t pick up my water meter but I did read some only report once a day or every 4-12 hours. More research needed. Electric meter I didn’t worry about because I’ll soon have solar which integrates with HA. Not fully local but it will do for my needs