The Technical Difficulties Podcast

What if your smart home devices never needed batteries — ever? In this episode recorded LIVE at CES 2026, Pete, Brandon, and Vince sit down with Danielle Hicks, VP of Marketing at WePower Technologies/GEMNS  to learn how their energy harvesting technology is about to change the smart home game.

GEMNS converts tiny movements — a button push, a switch flip, a lock turn — into enough energy to power a wireless signal. No batteries. No wiring. No maintenance. And it lasts forever.

We cover how the tech actually works, their battery-free Z-Wave leak detector (the first device certified under the new Z-Wave Long Range 2025b protocol), what it costs, and where this could go — from smart home sensors to industrial applications to aging in place.

Is it real or science fiction? We were skeptical too. Then she explained it.

Learn more about GEMNS: https://gemns.com

Support the show and get the best deals on Zooz smart home products:
👉 https://www.thesmartesthouse.com?sca_ref=6284708.sXoXFTZinuqY

What if your smoke alarm could turn off your stove before a fire even started? That's exactly what Pete Thorp and Larson Webb built with Fire Avert — a smart home device born out of Pete's years as a full-time firefighter responding to the same preventable kitchen fires every single shift. In this episode, they break down how the product works for both electric and gas stoves, walk through its Z-Wave and LoRa connectivity, and share real-world data from a 5,000-unit apartment rollout that saw kitchen fires drop from 18 per year to just 2.
We also dig into their Shark Tank appearance, the AI-powered system they're building to predict which apartments are most likely to have a fire, and some genuinely wild firefighter stories along the way. If you're serious about smart home fire safety — or you just want to hear two firefighter-turned-entrepreneurs talk shop — this one's for you.
Fire Avert is available at firevert.com, Amazon, and Lowes.com. Zooz ZEN55 Smoke & CO Detector Bridge mentioned in this episode can be found at thesmartesthouse.com.
Support the show and get the best deals on Zooz smart home products:
👉 https://www.thesmartesthouse.com?sca_ref=6284708.sXoXFTZinuqY

🎥 Check Out Our Channels

Pete: https://www.youtube.com/@UCrd5f8FlkYrZYcfgosM7IAQ

Brandon: https://www.youtube.com/@UCpZYk1Lmqna3TKUnGIq1FIg

Vince: https://www.youtube.com/@UCU_ZANWReE8h0nL0GXPcH1A🎙️

Support the show and get the best deals on Zooz smart home products:
👉 https://www.thesmartesthouse.com?sca_ref=6284708.sXoXFTZinuqY

Season 5 is HERE — and we're kicking it off in-person! Pete, Brandon and Vince are back from CES 2026 with their honest takes on everything they saw on the show floor.

In this episode we cover:
🤖 Robot lawn mowers that FINALLY trim the edges (Yarbo, Navimow, Ecovacs & more)
🧹 The Roborock Saros stair-climbing vacuum — does it actually work?
🔗 Matter protocol — progress or more of the same?
🧠 AI in EVERYTHING — what's real vs. marketing hype
📷 AI-powered security cameras from TP-Link, Reolink & Eufy
🏠 Aging in place tech and smart sensors
🤯 Switchbot's wildest products yet (e-ink art, tennis robot & more)
👓 Smart glasses, body cams & wearable AI
🤖 Humanoid robots: fighting, dancing & why we should be concerned
🧊 Companion robots — cool or creepy?
🏔️ Is CES still worth it? Our honest verdict after 5+ years

🎥 Check Out Our Channels

Pete: https://www.youtube.com/@UCrd5f8FlkYrZYcfgosM7IAQ

Brandon: https://www.youtube.com/@UCpZYk1Lmqna3TKUnGIq1FIg

Vince: https://www.youtube.com/@UCU_ZANWReE8h0nL0GXPcH1A🎙️

Support our Podcast and find the best deal on Zooz smart home Products:
https://www.thesmartesthouse.com?sca_ref=6284708.sXoXFTZinuqY

Pete's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYSmartHomeGuy1
Brandon's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BrandonDoyleMN
Vince's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYwithVinny

TJ Huddleston has installed half-million-dollar smart homes, lived in 40,000+ sq ft mansions (temporarily 😅), and now helps regular people build rock-solid networks and automations that actually work.

In this episode of Technical Difficulties, Pete, Brandon, and Vinny sit down with TJ from HomeTech.fm to talk about:

How he went from Craigslist ad ➜ professional smart home installer

What it’s really like wiring giant luxury homes (and living in the attic)

Why he left high-end Crestron/Control4 installs to start his own low-voltage & networking business

His personal Home Assistant setup: Zigbee, Z-Wave, adaptive lighting, presence sensors, Sonos, SDR gas meter, smart garden & more

The eternal battle: Ubiquiti vs Eero for Wi-Fi and networking

Why he’s all-in on PoE security cameras and 24/7 recording (including the story of catching a break-in when Ring totally missed it)

Real talk on Matter: what works, what doesn’t, and why he’s still cautious

Smart blinds, robot lawnmowers, smart toilets (yes, really), golf simulators, and where he sees home automation going in the next 5–10 years

🔌 Guest Links

TJ Huddleston
🎧 Podcast: HomeTech.fm – weekly smart home & home tech show
🌐 Personal site & links: huddleston.bio

🎙 About This Podcast

Technical Difficulties is the smart home podcast where:

Things break

We make fun of them

And then actually tell you how to fix and improve your setup

Hosted by Pete (DIY Smart Home Guy) with Brandon Doyle and Vinny, we talk to creators, pros, and industry folks about real-world smart homes, networking, automations, and all the weird tech in between.

👍 If you enjoyed this episode…

Subscribe so you don’t miss future interviews

Like this video to feed the algorithm robots 🦾

Comment your favorite moment or your biggest smart home fail

Tell us: Ubiquiti or Eero – which team are you on?

Thanks for listening/watching — on behalf of Brandon and Vinny, I’m Pete. See you in the next episode!

Support our Podcast and find the best deal on Zooz smart home Products:
https://www.thesmartesthouse.com?sca_ref=6284708.sXoXFTZinuqY

Pete's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYSmartHomeGuy1
Brandon's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BrandonDoyleMN
Vince's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYwithVinny

Support our Podcast and find the best deal on Zooz smart home Products:
https://www.thesmartesthouse.com?sca_ref=6284708.sXoXFTZinuqY

Pete's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYSmartHomeGuy1
Brandon's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BrandonDoyleMN
Vince's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYwithVinny

In this episode of Technical Difficulties, we sit down with Richard Gunther — longtime smart home expert, podcast host, consultant, and one of the most respected voices in connected home tech. Richard has been deep in the smart home world for more than 25 years, starting with X10 and HomeSeer and evolving through Insteon, Amazon Alexa, HomeKit, Home Assistant, and everything in between.

We cover A LOT in this conversation, including:
✔️ The smart home devices Richard actually trusts
✔️ Why he ditched Amazon Alexa for Apple Home
✔️ His very honest take on Home Assistant
✔️ What AI gets wrong about smart homes (and what it should be doing)
✔️ The most overrated and underrated smart home tech today
✔️ His early days with X10, Insteon, media center PCs, and CES
✔️ Why manufacturers still don’t understand the “smart kitchen”
✔️ Real-world smart home fails that will make you feel better about your own setup
✔️ The future of smart home automation — and why we’re not there yet

Whether you’re a smart home hobbyist, a DIY tinkerer, a Home Assistant power user, or someone trying to make your tech actually work, this episode is full of insights, laughs, and blunt honesty.

🎧 Listen to Richard’s podcasts:
Smart Home Show → https://smarthome.fm

Entertainment 2.0 → https://thedigitalmediazone.com

📱 Follow Richard:
Mastodon & Bluesky: @RichardGunther
About Me: https://about.me/richardgunther