Wake up to music
Five minutes after I wake up, my amplifier turns on automatically and plays a Jazz playlist on shuffle. No manual action, no screen: just the right atmosphere to start the day.
About
Who am I?
Pierre, aka The Optimization Guy
A smart home enthusiast, daily optimization fanatic and tinkerer, I originally just wanted to "better manage my heating"… then I discovered Home Assistant, and I never really left.
Here, I share what I set up at home: automations, integrations, energy monitoring and fine-tuning for everyday comfort.
You'll find detailed real-world use cases, ready-to-adapt code and honest feedback on what works… and what doesn't, all with one obsession: optimize without over-complicating.
My journey
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The origin story
From home automation to global optimization
My journey into home automation started very pragmatically, driven by two essential needs: security and heating control.
I started with mainstream solutions like Blink, then Tapo. These tools helped me discover the potential of connected homes… but also their limitations:
- restricted automations
- cloud dependency
- closed ecosystems
- near-zero interoperability between brands
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The turning point
Taking back control
Very quickly, these limitations became blockers. I then chose to migrate to Home Assistant, and progressively replace my devices with Zigbee-based, local and interoperable solutions. This change marked a real turning point:
- a centralized system
- advanced automations
- coherent logic
- greater reliability
- less dependency on cloud services
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Today
A setup that keeps evolving
Since then, my setup has never stopped evolving.
My favourite automations
Some automations have become so natural that I don't even think about them anymore, and that's precisely the sign that they're working perfectly.
Smart outdoor lighting
I repurposed indoor motion sensors, installed in weatherproof junction boxes outside. They automatically trigger the lights around the house whenever movement is detected. Simple, reliable, and incredibly practical every day.
Mailbox detection
My mailbox is connected: mail delivered = instant notification on my phone, mail collected = the notification disappears automatically. No unnecessary reminders, no doubt: the information is accurate and contextualized.
My stack & how I work
The foundation
- Home Assistant Green as the core of the system
- a local-first approach
- automations designed as real processes, not gadgets
The AI co-pilot
I also developed a Home Assistant expert agent, used as a co-pilot to design, maintain and optimize automations.
Today, a large part of my work relies on Claude Code and its MCP, used as an automation engineering tool.
AI isn't there to "do things for me", but to improve the quality of decisions and the consistency of the system.
The real challenge in home automation (WAF included)
The biggest challenge in home automation isn't the installation, maintenance or bug fixes… it's getting your household to accept and use it. A technically perfect automation is worthless if:
- it surprises people
- it complicates everyday use
- it creates frustration
User experience always comes before technical performance.
Current & upcoming projects
Connected bird feeder
Capable of detecting and recognizing bird species.
System monitoring
With intelligent alert prioritization.
Discord
As a central notification and supervision tool.
n8n
For complex optimization and alerting workflows.
Where to start?
Three articles to discover the blog, from heating to the mistakes not to repeat.
Tado: real gas savings and honest feedback
Real-world feedback after 2 years with a Tado thermostat and heads: kWh, euros saved, comparison method and savings simulator.
9 mistakes I made when starting with Home Assistant
Real-world feedback after 50 devices: batteries, Wi-Fi, cameras, hubs… The traps to avoid and the simple choices for a stable foundation.
Wall-Mounted Home Assistant Tablet: My Complete Setup
How I turned a Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE 11" into a permanent wall-mounted smart home dashboard with Fully Kiosk Browser: hidden cable, battery preservation, automatic wake-up. My honest take after several weeks.
A question about your setup?
An article idea, feedback on an automation: drop me a line.