Happy New Year! If you know me well, you’ll know I’ve developed a bit of an obsession with Home Assistant and ESPHome. For those unfamiliar with these, Home Assistant is a home automation system for controlling everything smart in your home and ESPHome is a custom way to help make things that are not smart, well, smart. There’s just something incredibly satisfying about programming a light to turn on at the perfect time or setting up a sensor to control my home’s energy use – something that I’ve had time to do over the Christmas break. For me, it’s not just about the tech—it’s about making life simpler, smoother, and a little more enjoyable.
But here’s the thing: as much as I enjoy automating my home, I’ve realised the same principles apply in other areas, like education. The goal of smart systems, whether at home or in schools, is to take care of the little things so we can focus on what really matters.
Take Evisense, for example. One of its strengths lies in the way it simplifies school processes and reduces admin headaches for teachers. Just like my Home Assistant setup makes it easy to manage my home, Evisense helps teachers manage evidence, communication, and student progress without getting bogged down in complexity. It’s built to do the heavy lifting so teachers can focus on teaching, just as automation in my house frees me up to enjoy time with my family.
My Home Assistant notifications
Evisense notifications
One feature in Evisense I’m particularly proud of is its notification system (I use notifications in Home Assistant a lot to let me know when washing machine has finished, when there is a cat upstairs or there is an intruder in the garden). It’s kind of like a smart home alert – but for teachers. Notifications are thoughtfully timed, so teachers aren’t interrupted at awkward moments (say, during their weekend Netflix binge). Instead, they can pick up updates when it suits them, staying informed without feeling overwhelmed. It’s a simple thing, but small adjustments like these make a big difference.
Another parallel? Both Evisense and smart home systems thrive on flexibility. Just like I can fine-tune my ESPHome devices to meet my family’s specific needs, Evisense adapts to the unique requirements of each school. Whether it’s capturing evidence for early years or special education, or improving parent – teacher communication, Evisense is as adaptable as my home automation setup.
At the heart of it all, whether it’s my tech-obsessed home or the tools we build for schools, the goal is the same: to make life simpler, so we can spend more time on what’s truly important—whether that’s spending time with family or making a real difference for students. And I’ll be honest, there is very little keeping me from getting a Home Assistant integration for Evisense into Home Assistant if I thought enough people wanted it!
Want to find out more?
Book an online meeting with me to find out more and ask any questions you may about Evisense.