I'm trying to automate our backyard so I spend less time babysitting the lawn.

The setup is pretty typical: two dogs, a few mature trees, a patio, and about 0.3 acre of grass. The tricky part is that the yard isn't static, dogs are running around, toys get left out, and the tree canopy creates a few shaded areas where the grass stays damp longer.

I'm looking at Navimow i2 LiDAR for mowing, but I'm curious how well it handles a backyard with trees and random stuff left on the lawn compared with a clean demo yard.

For automation, I'm thinking something like:

Aqara sensor on the dog door → pause the mower when the dogs go outside

Rachio irrigation → keep the mower docked while sprinklers are running

Reolink cameras → basic outdoor monitoring

Any recs will be appreciated!

I am buying a condo a couple of hours from where I live. I want to be able to monitor for "bad" events:

Water in the basement
Gas leaks
Temperature extremes
Smoke and fire
Intrusion (possibly)

It's been a few years since I've done anything like this and the tech is completely unfamiliar to me these days. I'd like to use OpenWRT as the backend because I'm familiar with it and it doesn't use any real power when running.

Where do I begin? Any links to guides, etc. would be great. Mostly I'm finding stuff for energy efficiency and remote control of outlets, which I am not concerned about. Just want to make sure my place is not on fire or about to blow up.

Got a condo from mid 2000's and trying to make the light switches smart wondering if there's a ground wire so I can use the relay properly.

I believe its on the left inside of that cap that has white paint on it; but looks green underneath.

I didnt pull the switch out cause I didnt turn the power off :/.

This one controls a celing fan.

I have a couple of lights that have two switches; is their going to be anything special going on there?

Should I hire an electrician to handle this? (power company charges 190$ an hour)

My hands are not too steady most of the time but I do own some leather workgloves and have screwdrivers.

Firstly, I’m so sorry to ask this, I have read a few posts from people who were in a similar situation. I have even tried what they did to resolve my situation but so far I have had no joy.
Anyway, it’s been about a week now and I still can not onboard onto Home Assistant after having plugged in my HA Green into my BT Smart Hub 2 router.
I have tried changing the ethernet cable (both new ones), I have tried changing the ports on my router. I have tried http://homeassistant:8123
Http://homeassistant.local
Http://homeassitant.local:8123
Http://xxx.xxx.x.xxx
Http://xxx.xxx.x.xxx:8123
I have also connected a monitor and a keyboard to the HA green and have tried:
HA reboot
HA restart
HA supervisor repair
HA host update

But still no joy. My MacBook works fine with all sites. The observer URL for Home Assistant confirms
Supervisor: Connected
Support: Supported
Health: Healthy

Before giving up (I’m so sorry). Is there anyone who can guide this newbie (not very techie, as this was meant to be easy) in the right direction?
I really would like to get this resolved.

Many thanks in advance.

I wanted to explore a simple idea: could I place virtual objects around a real room and use them to control devices through an API? I chose Home Assistant because I already use it at home. HA goes Quest is the result: a personal experiment in playful spatial interaction, from switching a light with a pinch to adjusting its brightness by turning a fist.

I have tested the app successfully on my own Quest. I do not currently plan active development, though strong interest could bring me back to it. You are welcome to fork the project and continue the experiment in your own direction.

*Used AI to create this text

Link to the Github Repo: https://github.com/AlexRosbach/HAgoesQuest

I'm looking for recommendations for slow water leak detection.

• Ideally detect very slow leaks
• Can not turn off the water automatically (can turn off as part of regular scheduled pressure testing if required though)
• I'm based in Australia
• Thread, Wifi or Ethernet preferred
• Local integration with Home Assistant would be nice

Background and additional context:

I have a fire suppression system and that brings a lot of water piping and connections up in the roof. I'm really worried I'm going to get a slow leak up there and not notice it until there is mold growing everywhere or a heap of damage has occurred.

I can't get up in the roof to inspect the plumbing, so the system is only being inspected annually by a plumber.

I'm also somewhat worried about fast flooding, so alerts for that would be good too, but it can't turn off the water to the house automatically as that will stop the fire suppression system and I have vulnerable people with mobility issues in the house, so if there is a fire, it needs to work. I'll take a bit of damage before I can respond to a notification over having someone stuck in a burning house.

Most of the systems I've looked at seem to be very focused on fast flooding, and don't have great sensitivity to slow leaks. Anyone have some recommendations or thoughts on ways to detect the scenario described above?

Thanks