Discover the origins of AirGradient, which began as a volunteer project in Northern Thailand during the harsh "burning season" of 2019. Learn how this effort evolved into a company focused on providing open source air quality hardware, measuring critical metrics like PM 2.5 and CO2 to safeguard classrooms Watch this episode on YouTube https://hasspodcast.io/ha206 Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. Support Rohan and Phil on Patreon Share your story We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story . Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:04 Meet Achim: From Siemens to Thailand and a Wildfire Crisis 03:20 Burning Season 2019: The School That Sparked AirGradient 07:50 DIY to Open Hardware: Arduino, ESP32, PM2.5 + CO2, and Dashboards 12:24 Values: Repairability, Ownership, and CC BY‑SA Licensing 16:40 Global Takeoff: Hacker News, Jeff Geerling, and the Kit Era 20:16 ESPHome vs Native: Building the Official Home Assistant Integration 32:26 Works with Home Assistant Platinum: Local‑First and Privacy by Default 36:40 Open Culture, Community, and Academia: Why Sharing Pays Back 41:45 UNICEF Laos: ML Air‑Quality Forecasts + Open Map Integration 44:55 Roadmap: Larger Displays, Portable Monitors, and More Pollutants 46:27 Safeguarding the Mission: Foundation Plan (Switzerland) 49:45 Achim’s Home Assistant Setup: Z‑Wave, ESPHome, Geofencing 56:16 Real‑World Use Cases: Factories, Schools, and Ventilation Control 01:01:58 Accuracy Matters: Calibration, Pitfalls, and Transparent Limits 01:05:19 Wrap‑Up and Where to Buy This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to thesmartesthouse.com Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
