About AutomateMyHome
I'm Nate — a husband, dad, IT professional, and unapologetic smart home nerd. I run a full homelab with Home Assistant at its core, managing everything from automated lighting and climate control to custom ESPHome sensors, voice assistants, and network security.
What I Actually Run
- Home Assistant on a dedicated VM — the brain of the house
- ESPHome devices everywhere — motion sensors, bed occupancy sensors, environment monitors, Bluetooth proxies
- Custom voice assistants in multiple rooms with wake word detection
- OPNsense firewall with proper VLAN segmentation for IoT
- 3D printing custom enclosures and parts on a Bambu Lab P1S
- AI server running local LLMs and speech processing
Why This Site Exists
Most smart home content online is either too basic ("how to set up a smart plug") or too abstract ("the future of ambient computing"). I wanted a place that covers the messy middle — real automations, real hardware choices, real debugging sessions.
Everything I write about here runs in my house. If I recommend a product, I own it. If I share an automation, it's running right now. No sponsored posts pretending to be reviews. No theoretical setups I haven't tested.
Gear I Trust
When I link to products on Amazon, those are affiliate links — I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I also sell digital products like ESPHome configs and Home Assistant blueprints that I've built and tested myself.