100+ Home Automation Ideas with Tutorials: from Simple to Amazing

No silly gimmicks. This collection of home automation ideas will actually make your home more enjoyable for you and your guests.

I’ve personally implemented many of the ideas in this list.

These all came from our DIY Home Automation project. Pictured above is a 3D Floorplan of our home. It is made interactive with Home Assistant.

As I was building the cabin, I found many of the home automation ideas to be silly and gimmicky. Many solutions end up being clunky and hard to use. For example, changing light scenes with a smartphone app seems fun at first. Until friends come over and turn off the light switch. Or you get tired of pulling out your phone from your pocket and unlocking it when you have an armload of groceries.

After many years of experimentation, I compiled this list of home automation ideas from the things that actually made the home more convenient to use.

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About these Home Automation Ideas

Each idea has a difficulty level:

• Beginner home automation ideas:
  Use pre-built products (linked) and require little experience.
• Intermediate home automation ideas:
  Include tutorials and link to source-code for existing software on an Arduino/Raspberry Pi.
• Advanced home automation ideas:
  Bring your own creativity (knowledge of coding, electronics, etc. may be required).

I’ve tried to include links and tutorials wherever I can… but there’s a lot in this list! Leave a comment at the end if you’d like a deeper exploration into one of the topics.

Have home automation ideas to add to this list?

Use the contact form to let me know!

I happen to use Home Assistant for all of my home automation ideas. It’s a popular open-source solution. It does not send your data to companies like Google and Apple. Some of the links below will reference Home Assistant in particular. All the ideas would translate to other home automation platforms.

Lights and Lighting

• Beginner
  • Install smart lights (Philips Hue, Lutron, or similar).
  • Use smart switches (Philips or Lutron) so power is never cut to the bulbs.
  • Turn on/off lights at certain times of the day.
  • Turn on hallway lights for a period of time after motion is detected.
  • Create different light scenes, like party or relax.
  • Create a kiosk for controlling lights and scenes with Home Assistant (or similar).
• Intermediate
  • Turn on/off lights based upon who’s home (see: Presence and Motion detection).
  • Add ambient lighting to a home theater (see: Movies and TV).
  • Make light fade in/out rather than switching on/off.
  • Build an Arduino light-up alert to indicate when something happens.
• Advanced
  • Create “status lights” that change color to indicate when something important has happened, like when a guest arrives (see: Security and CCTV) or the garage door is left open.

Sound and Music

• Beginner
  • Use Sonos to have speakers in each room playing the same music.
  • Create a kiosk for controlling sound/music with Home Assistant (or similar).
• Intermediate
  • Make your own “Sonos” multi-room sound system with spare parts.
  • Create your own Airplay+Spotify server to play music on the multi-room speakers.
  • Make a “loudspeaker” alert system.
  • Change the audio source for each room (Airplay, Spotify, etc.)

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Movies and TV

• Beginner
  • Automatically download new movies/TV every night.
  • Run your own media server with Kodi.
  • Raise/lower a projector screen with Harmony Home Hub (or similar).
  • Turn on/off a TV/projector with Harmony Home Hub (or similar).
  • Create a kiosk for controlling movies/TV with Home Assistant (or similar).
• Intermediate
  • Store movies/TV on a DIY NAS.
  • Use ambilight to add a colorful pop behind the TV/screen.
  • Raise/lower a projector screen with a custom IR controller or wired connection.
  • Build a RetroPi (DIY video game system).
  • Build a score counter or light-up display for a sports team or video game.
• Advanced
  • Automatically open/close blinds/drapes when the TV turns on/off to improve lighting.

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Presence and Motion Detection

• Beginner
  • Use motion sensors (like SmartThings) to tell when a room is occupied.
  • Add mobile devices (with GPS) to Home Assistant.
  • Create a sensor for the presence of each individual in the household.
• Intermediate
  • Use DIY bluetooth beacons to detect which room a person (phone) is in.
  • Assign unique door codes to each guest and detect who has entered.
  • Use MotionEye to detect guests with cameras.
  • Ping a phone’s static IP address on the LAN to detect presence.
  • Use geofencing to turn on/off certain notifications/alerts.
• Advanced
  • Use multiple presence signals (GPS+beacon) for greater accuracy.

Security and CCTV

• Beginner
  • Integrate a security system like Nest or Arlo with Home Assistant.
  • Automatically re-lock doors after they are closed.
  • View all your cameras, regardless of brand, from anywhere in the world using MotionEye.
• Intermediate
  • Automatically (un)lock the doors when you leave/arrive (see: Presence and Motion Detection).
  • See who is at the door by adding the video feed from the doorbell to Home Assistant.
  • Detect when someone arrives using MotionEye.
  • Add sensors for gas and other security hazards.
  • Build miniature ESP32 spy cameras for ~$10 each.
• Advanced
  • Build your own DIY smart doorbell.
  • Use machine learning (DOODS/TensorFlow) to detect people, pets, cars, etc.
  • Add facial recognition to distinguish between guests.

Temperature and Climate

• Beginner
  • Automate smart thermostat (Nest, EcoBee, HoneyWell) with Home Assistant.
  • Save money by turning off heat/AC when nobody is home (see: Presence Detection).
  • Turn heat/AC back on before someone arrives home (see: Presence Detection).
• Intermediate
  • Build cheap, accurate temperature sensors for more precision.
  • Create a climate dashboard with Grafana/Prometheus.
  • Heated towel racks, radiant floor heating, etc.
  • Turn off heat if a window is open (or warn that it is open).
• Advanced
  • Build a DIY 3-zone thermostat.
  • Automatically open/close blinds/drapes.
  • Automate (de)humidifiers to control humidity levels.

Family and Home-Care

• Beginner
  • Add door sensors (SmartThings, or similar) to alert when a door is left open.
  • Use Home Assistant to set reminders for household maintenance like taking out the trash, replacing filters, etc.
  • Alert when a pet might be in danger.
  • Create a kiosk with the family TODO list on the main screen.
• Intermediate
  • Add sensors for water leaks.
  • Create a 3D Render of the floorplan which reflects the current states.
  • Deter thieves with a “vacation mode” that simulates normal household activity.
  • Turn off unnecessary automations with a “guest mode.”
• Advanced
  • Automatically generate unique door codes for Airbnb guests.

Pets & Plants

• Beginner
  • Use a Tile (or other GPS location device) on a pet’s collar.
• Intermediate
  • Automatically water plants.
  • Automatically feed pets.
• Advanced
  • Detect where pets are in the yard with computer vision (see: Security and CCTV).
  • Build a smart dog toy.

Internet and Home Networking

• Beginner
  • Build a home server.
  • Install an ad-blocker like PiHole or AdGuard Home.
• Intermediate
  • Monitor all network traffic to find out why it’s slow.
  • Turn a Raspberry Pi into a DIY router.
  • Track cellular data usage to prevent going over limits.
  • Install ethernet ports in every room for maximum reliability/speed.
• Advanced
  • Use Kubernetes to deploy an IOT fleet.

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Cars and Travel

• Beginner
  • Open/close the garage automatically when someone arrives/departs.
• Intermediate
  • Build a DIY dashcam.
  • Use connection bonding to speed up the internet.
  • Track speed and fuel usage with OBDII.
  • Open a different garage or door based upon who is arriving/departing.

CNC and 3D Printing

• Intermediate
  • Use Octoprint to monitor 3D prints.
  • Use MotionEye to monitor CNC machines.
  • Turn on/off devices (i.e., a shop vac) automatically when a cut/print starts/stops.
• Advanced
  • Automate tool changing.
  • Automate stock loading.

Appliances and Misc.

• Beginner
  • Create morning/night automations for coffee pots,
  • Use the Harmony Home Hub (or similar) to control anything that uses a remote.
  • Turn on/off appliances automatically (see: Presence and Motion detection).
• Intermediate
  • Monitor power usage with Grafana and Prometheus dashboards.
  • Conserve power by automatically shutting off unnecessary appliances.
  • Use IRC on a Raspberry Pi or Arduino to control anything that uses a remote.
  • Create a relay box for turning on/off power outlets.
  • Notify when the washer/dryer/oven/dishwasher start/stop.
• Advanced
  • Install low-voltage wiring for centralized control of each outlet.