About HiTech Life

Hey — I’m Doug, the person behind HiTech Life. This channel is where I share the smart-home projects I’m actually running in my own house, explained in plain English so you can build them too. No gatekeeping and no unnecessary jargon — just practical automation that earns its place.

The focus is simple: help you save a little bit of time and a little bit of money. That means leaning on free and open-source tools wherever possible — with Home Assistant at the center, AI vision for cameras, and a healthy respect for both your privacy and your budget. If there’s a way to do something well without paying for yet another subscription, that’s the version I want to show you.

Most of what I cover falls into a few buckets: Home Assistant automation and dashboards, AI-powered camera and vision projects, energy and solar monitoring, and honest reviews of the gear I actually use. I try to show the real results — including the parts that don’t work on the first try — because that’s usually where the useful lessons hide.

Whether you’re setting up your very first automation or you’re already deep into a multi-thousand-entity setup, the goal is the same: give you something you can take away and use today. New videos and companion write-ups land here and on the blog as I publish them.

Want to follow along? The best place to start is the YouTube channel, and you’ll find searchable companion guides over on the blog.