Automation7

I let a 40-line Python script reshuffle my whole home-automation config — but only because a second script proved it didn't lose a single automation along the way.

Making KNX motion sensors drive lights that feel like the room is paying attention — the real trick is one extra group address, not a cleverer trigger.

A reproducible Home Assistant automation: a KNX window contact switches that room's thermostat to building_protection (frost guard) when it opens and back to comfort when it closes — with a 5-second debounce that stops the false triggers most tutorials ignore.

How I run Shelly Plus 1PM/2PM behind my wall switches in Home Assistant — fully local switching plus per-channel energy metering, no cloud, physical switch kept.

A reusable Home Assistant pattern: one input_datetime helper per motion sensor that records the exact time of the last movement — the data foundation for presence heuristics and a tidy "last seen" dashboard, no expensive mmWave sensors needed.

A complete Home Assistant motion-light recipe with a choose: block that dims by time of day, a sensible off-delay, and the one tweak that actually stops the light flickering on and off.

A bare humidity number doesn't tell you when a cellar will condense. I added a cheap Tapo T310 to my H100 hub and turned it into a dew-point mold early-warning.