How the house runs.
The goal is a home that works without thinking about it — lights, climate, media, and security that just behave sensibly. Here's the stack that makes it happen.
Home Assistant
The central nervous system. Home Assistant runs on a dedicated Raspberry Pi 5 and ties together every device and service in the house. Automations handle the routine stuff — presence-based lighting, climate schedules, and morning/evening routines — while the dashboard gives a single pane of glass for everything that's happening. All my smart devices (including my Tesla and ChargePoint charger) are incorporated via official and community (HACS) integrations.
Plex
Media is all local. Plex runs under Docker on the Linux (Fedora) server, and serves movies and TV (live and recorded) to every screen in the house via Apple TV devices — and remotely when needed. The library is organized around a simple convention: everything in one place. Over-the-Air (OTA) recording is done via a 4-channel HDHomeRun 4K tuner. Plex Pass enables offline sync and the hardware transcoding that keeps streaming smooth even on older clients.
Synology NAS
The Synology NAS serves as the backbone of my home storage and self-hosted services. It handles personal storage, backups, mail, and this website.
Linux Server
The Fedora Linux server serves as the host for many Docker services, including Plex, a Docker image registry, GitBucket, Artifactory, Jenkins, and Kimai.
Networking
The UniFi network is segmented into VLANs — one for trusted devices, and one for guests (with a captive portal). Remote access is handled via a VPN rather than punching holes in the firewall.
Devices & Hardware
The house uses a mix of Z-Wave, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE devices for low-latency, local-only control of lights and switches — no cloud dependency for the basics. Smart plugs, door/window sensors, motion detectors, and a few leak sensors round out the sensor layer. The policy: if it can run locally, it does.