Guest Interviews

An empty-nester sparky’s Home Automation journey

Published 7 hours ago
Recorded June 22, 2025
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Join us as we talk with Scott, a licensed Electrician with a deep IT background who's been bouncing between code and conduit for years. Discover how this empty-nester crafts ingenious automations, from power monitoring with custom solutions to integrating nine pinball machines
Chapters
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:53 Guest Introduction: Scott the Sparky
00:01:08 Scott’s Home Automation Journey
00:04:25 Challenges with DIY and PLCs
00:07:35 Home Automation Concerns and Sustainability
00:22:35 Scott’s Water Management and Fire Protection Plans
00:29:48 Introduction to LoRa and Challenges
00:30:42 Powering Devices & Solar Solutions
00:31:26 Communication Projects: MeshTastic
00:31:41 Bushfire Resilience and Backup Solutions
00:32:16 Exploring LoRa Applications
00:32:41 Solar Solutions for ESP32
00:35:15 Z-Wave and Zigbee Discussion
00:37:16 Advantages of Z-Wave Over ZigBee
00:45:43 Power Monitoring Solutions
00:46:43 Smart Home Automation with Shelly
00:48:14 Challenges with Exporting Solar
00:53:30 Animal Automation & Security
00:57:44 Introduction to AI in Home Automation
00:58:07 Automating Fox Detection
00:59:37 The Role of Cameras and Reolink Integration
01:01:09 Exploring Advanced Automation Scenarios
01:07:32 AI in Home Automation: Prospects and Concerns
01:11:35 Challenges and Opportunities in AI and Automation
01:15:17 Simplifying Home Automation for Life
01:18:47 Community and Innovation in Home Automation
01:20:17 Fun with Pinball Machines and Automation

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Hosted By

Phil Hawthorne

Phil is a Melbourne based web developer who lives and breathes technology. When he's not at his day job, he’s in his home office attempting to simplify his life through complicated tech.

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Rohan Karamandi

Rohan from Toronto, Canada works in the Technology sector as an architect designing network and datacenter solutions for his customers. His passion for technology stems from there and extends to IoT and home automation

Website Smart Home Products Buy a Coffee


Special Appearances By

Scott Lamshed

40 years as an electrician alongside 30 years of working in IT. Got my start back in the bad old days of X10 and HomeSeer and now have a growing Home Assistant habit. Empty nesters with just us two humans, two cats, two chooks and some Goldfish to automate for :-) Have a specific interest in leveraging HA tech for disaster preparedness and recovery but still early days on that journey.

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Spotlight

 

Special episodes focused on various aspects of Home Assistant and Home Automation.