I’ve been diving deep into the world of smart home automation lately, and I must say, it’s been an incredible journey! 
I wanted to share my recent success story with Z-Wave devices and custom automation, in case it can inspire or help others on their smart home adventures.
One of the biggest challenges I faced was getting my older Kwikset 910 touchpad locks to update their status when manually operated. After some research, I stumbled upon a brilliant automation solution that detects activity from the lock’s sensor and triggers a status update via zwave_js.refresh_value. This has been a game-changer for me, as it ensures my locks always reflect their true status in Home Assistant. 
Another project I’ve been working on is integrating my swimming pool’s pH sensor into Home Assistant. I’ve been able to read the pH data from my Raspberry Pi’s GPIO I2C bus and store it in a .txt file. While I initially considered using MQTT or REST APIs, I found a simpler solution by leveraging Home Assistant’s built-in capabilities to read files directly. This has allowed me to monitor my pool’s pH levels seamlessly without overcomplicating things. 
I’d love to hear from others who have tackled similar challenges or have creative solutions for integrating sensors and devices. What’s been your biggest smart home win lately? Let’s share and learn together! 
