March has this funny way of sitting right between the dreary tail end of winter and the hopeful promise of spring. Looking back at my camera roll, it was a month of small upgrades, quality time, and getting my hands dirty with some fun tech projects.
Life Lately
One of the highlights of the month was managing to get out for a proper date night. It’s easy to fall into the routine of evenings on the sofa (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but there’s something special about actually getting dressed up and heading out together.
Mother’s Day also rolled around, which meant the annual scramble to sort flowers via Interflora. Some things never change. There’s something comforting about those little traditions though, even if they do involve panicking that you’ve left it too late for delivery.
I also had a moment that made me smile – sending a surprise Costa Coffee delivery to work with the message “Gift for a girlfriend stuck in work – LOVE IS IN THE AIR.” Sometimes it’s the little things, right?
Home Upgrades: The EV Charging Saga Continues
So remember the Ohme EV charger we had installed? Well, it had been giving us grief for a while – repeatedly losing signal and dropping connection. Frustrating doesn’t even begin to cover it when you wake up to find the car hasn’t charged overnight because the charger decided to have a wobble.
The good news? Ohme’s warranty support came through. After documenting the issues, they sent out a replacement unit, and I’m pleased to report it’s been rock solid ever since.
Credit where it’s due – dealing with warranty claims can be a nightmare, but Ohme handled it well. The new unit integrates perfectly with smart tariffs, automatically charging when electricity is cheapest overnight, and the app actually stays connected now. No more playing charging roulette or waking up to an uncharged car.
If you’re having similar issues with smart home devices losing connection, my advice is: document everything, be persistent, and don’t just live with a faulty product. Most companies would rather replace a unit than deal with a frustrated customer.
Tech Corner: Tinkering with ESP32 Boards
This month I’ve been diving deeper into ESP32 microcontrollers. These tiny boards pack a serious punch – WiFi, Bluetooth, plenty of GPIO pins, and they cost next to nothing.
If you’re interested in home automation but don’t want to buy expensive off-the-shelf smart devices, ESP32 boards are the way to go. Here are a couple of quick tips I’ve picked up:
Quick ESP32 Tips
- ESPHome is your friend: Instead of writing Arduino code from scratch, ESPHome lets you configure devices with simple YAML files. It integrates directly with Home Assistant and handles OTA updates beautifully.
- Power supply matters: Many weird ESP32 issues (random reboots, WiFi dropouts) come down to inadequate power supply. Use a decent quality USB power adapter, not the cheap ones that came with your old phone.
- Start with a pre-built board: The ESP32-WROOM modules are great, but for beginners I’d recommend development boards with built-in USB-C and proper voltage regulation. Makes life much easier.
I’m planning to use these for some custom sensors around the house – temperature, humidity, maybe even a presence detection setup. More on that in future posts.
Looking Ahead
April is just around the corner, and with it comes longer evenings and hopefully some better weather. I’ve got a few more home automation projects queued up, and I’m hoping to make more use of that (now reliable!) EV charger.
Here’s to spring finally arriving.
Be First to Comment