<![CDATA[Geekin' Out]]>https://blog.dgiaffe.netRSS for NodeSat, 02 May 2026 04:15:30 GMT60<![CDATA[Naming standards for my Home Assistant devices]]>https://blog.dgiaffe.net/naming-standards-for-my-home-assistant-deviceshttps://blog.dgiaffe.net/naming-standards-for-my-home-assistant-devicesFri, 18 Apr 2025 16:32:09 GMTWhile early, I want to be ready when I move in my new house and planning makes it all the more exciting! Last night, I was thinking on how I would name my devices in a logical way. In my past experience with Home Assistant, it gets messy real quick when you name your devices on the spot! You get bulbs with similar names as other devices, you want to move a sensor around, but then need to change the sensor name if you want your consistency, which also means changing your automations, and so on..

I figured since I'm starting fresh, I might as well get some kind of naming convention that I'll try and follow closely. I thought I'd share it here as I made it as generic as possible if it can help someone.

To organize, I will rely on labels, areas and floors built-in within Home Assistant. Also pro-tip, you can have the following code snippet in your configuration.yamlfile if you want to add some notes on a device/entity:

homeassistant:
    customize:
        entity.id:
            attributename: attributevalue

Note that I haven't done any research and there may be already naming conventions available, but it's my house, so my rules! 😅 Now, let's get into it.

The naming convention itself

XX-000

...where

  1. XX is the Type of the device

  2. 000 is the increment

Now, let's get into identifying the rooms and types, shall we?

Device Types

IDDevice TypeExamples
PWPower-relatedSwitch, Outlet, Battery, Power Source, Power sensor
LTLight-relatedBulb, Lamp, LED strips
EVEnvironment-relatedTemperature sensor, Humidity sensor, Air
SCSecurity-relatedCameras, Door locks, alarms
AVAudio-Video-relatedSpeakers, smart speakers, TV, Monitors, Displays, Projectors
CSCustomA device that doesn’t fit in other categories or has multiple sensors. (ESP-32 with multiple functions enabled, Everything presence Lite, etc.)
TGTriggersQR Code, Barcode, Zigbee button
HPHome Assistant Helpers

Final thoughts

I originally thought of a deeper naming standard based on the room, floor and location within the room for the device. However, seeing the organization options there are in Home Assistant, I believe it’s more convenient to have device name that is more general and that would allow me to move things around without having to rename a device if it ever happens.

I would also like to label my devices with a small labeler, but since some devices are very tiny, I believe it may not be possible in all circumstances. I want to also try and rely more in virtual labels from Home Assistant for my automations. This way, I might be able to not fiddle with all the automations when a device fails or it’s being replaced by another. More on that topic in a different article!

]]><![CDATA[Preparing for a new house]]>https://blog.dgiaffe.net/preparing-for-a-new-househttps://blog.dgiaffe.net/preparing-for-a-new-houseThu, 12 Dec 2024 15:50:02 GMTI am about to purchase a house and really looking forward to it! This is a great opportunity to geek out on the networking I’ll put in, the home automation I’ll configure via Home Assistant and see what I will do to have technology make the family life easier.

I plan to share my activities here as much as I can while keeping privacy proper.

Brainstorm ideas - Networking

I am looking to up my Ubiquiti Unifi game when I move in. I currently have a USG as well as a small 8-port 1Gbps switch with PoE and a U6-PRO AP. Since the house has two floors (ground and basement), I believe I might need two APs, but that remains to be seen. The reach of the antenna is pretty impressive.

I want to change my USG because well.. it’s getting old. Many suppliers also now offer >1 Gbps speeds where I’m at so that would be great to have a native solution that can distribute those speeds properly. I am looking to get the cloud gateway ultra This little bad boy has a 2.5G WAN port, so at least I won't be blocked by a slower-than-my-ISP WAN connection hehe. I am also impressed by the price, it's really not that bad for what you're getting.

Brainstorm ideas - Home Automation

I'm definitely sticking to Home Assistant for my automation needs and I want to leverage it. Currently, in the appartment where I'm at, I run it on a virtual machine on my QNAP TS-670 Pro, but I believe I might switch to host it on a small computer OR a Raspberry Pi with an enclosure.

I'll also stick to Zigbee, Wifi and Bluetooth for my devices, I don't plan to get into Matter or Z-Wave yet. I already have quite a few devices, so we'll see how I integrate them in the new house.

That's just a small little article as I didn't want to let go of this blog. I'm new to the whole blogging thing, but I always wanted to be a writer, and I feel like just documenting what I'll be doing might help others and future me if I don't remember how to do something.

]]><![CDATA[Welcome!]]>https://blog.dgiaffe.net/welcomehttps://blog.dgiaffe.net/welcomeThu, 21 Nov 2024 21:06:33 GMTI decided to just jump in and figure out what the hell I want to talk about here. I love Home Assistant and home automation in general, Scripting, Video Games, and DJing. Most likely, this blog will be used to share my findings and how I setup my stuff at home or share scripts I made to simplify my life.

This will also be a good tool for myself to remember what I did in the past and improve my documentation skills, which are definitely subpar 😅

Lets see how that goes! Welcome to this space, looking forward to meeting you all

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