2025 Summary

2025 was a very hands-on year. Most of my energy went into improving the office environment, tightening Home Assistant logic, hardening the network, and writing posts that turn experiments into repeatable steps. This is a practical look at what worked, what did not, and how I plan to improve.

Highlights

Office climate that behaves

I built a more predictable climate loop for a small, tricky workspace. Key progress:

• Clearer logic for extraction and circulation with quiet hours and an override when the extractor is active.
• A simple cadence for the circulation fan that runs five minutes in every fifteen during daytime hours.
• Better separation of goals for occupied and unoccupied periods. Comfort when I am in the office. Damp prevention when I am not.
• Real world testing for airflow, including simple visual checks to confirm air exchange.

Humidity control with fewer surprises

I spent time understanding why relative humidity rises or falls with temperature changes and how dew point relates to surface risk. Results:

• Set points that keep RH in a safer band even when the room is cool.
• Dehumidifier use that matches room state instead of running blindly.
• A plan to address known ingress points around a single skin brick wall and a door with leakage paths.

Home Assistant that explains itself

Automation reads better now. I moved toward template sensors and booleans with names that tell the story. Examples include:

• A boolean that answers a simple question. Is it smart to vent right now.
• A sensor that expresses the fifteen minute circulation window and ignores quiet time if the room is occupied.
• Tighter tolerances and minimum cycle durations on heat control to avoid short cycling.

Network resilience that actually fails over

I added a simple 4G modem as a backup path. Nothing flashy, just a reliable way to keep working when the main link goes down. The result is less downtime and fewer manual resets.

Writing that supports the work

I rewrote and published practical guides and notes, including:

• Office climate setup with Home Assistant examples.
• Release notes and versioning approaches that stay readable.
• Commit messages and pull request descriptions that help reviewers.
• Backups with restic and cloud storage, plus restore and retention steps.

Where I struggled

• Too many experiments in parallel. I often ran three ideas at once. Each moved slowly and none reached a clean finish.
• Publishing cadence fell off. I kept drafts in the hopper waiting for one more improvement. Useful and short would have been better than waiting on perfect.
• Measurement drift. I did not always record before and after data in the same format. That made it harder to compare outcomes.
• Energy focus came late. I tuned comfort and humidity first, then circled back to efficiency. I should bring energy impact into the initial design.

What I could have done better

1. Finish and document one change at a time
   Ship a single improvement end to end. Define the test, record baseline, apply the change, and publish the result with code and numbers.

2. Convert logic into named sensors first
   If a condition matters, give it a name in Home Assistant. Named sensors make automations simpler to read and easier to test.

3. Make airflow and moisture visible
   Keep a simple weekly check that includes airflow verification and a short damp ingress checklist. Do not rely on memory.

4. Bake energy into every decision
   Track run time and estimated cost for heaters, fans, and dehumidifiers. If a control rule increases cost, it needs a clear benefit.

5. Publish status updates, not just guides
   Short status posts help future me and anyone following along. A 200 word note with a code snippet is often enough.

Commitments for 2026

• Monthly write-up. One post per month minimum. Short is fine.
• One small improvement each week. Measured and documented.
• Standard test notes. Before and after readings for temperature, RH, dew point, and energy use where relevant.
• Automation style guide. Names, comments, and structure that match what worked in 2025.
• Backup drill once per quarter. Practice a restore and verify retention rules.

Here is to tighter loops, clearer writing, and quieter fans in 2026.