We just got back from one of the best events we've ever attended. WhaleLAN Winter 2026 in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada was an incredible experience from start to finish, and we genuinely can't wait to go back. For a small team from Versailles, Kentucky that builds privacy-first smart home sensors, being welcomed into a community like this meant everything.
What Is WhaleLAN?
WhaleLAN is a BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer) gaming LAN party held at Smash Champs in Surrey, BC, put on by the team behind Linus Tech Tips and the broader Linus Media Group (LMG). It brings together hundreds of PC enthusiasts, hardware nerds, gamers, and tech tinkerers for a full weekend of gaming, building, and community.
What surprised us most was just how diverse the crowd was. People came from all over the world with wildly different backgrounds, careers, interests, and stories. Engineers, students, artists, hobbyists, professionals, and everything in between. That kind of diversity makes for incredibly rich conversations, and we had no shortage of those. These are exactly the kinds of people Apollo was built for: curious, technically minded, and deeply skeptical of tech that doesn't respect their privacy or their intelligence.
The conversations we had on the floor were genuinely exciting. A lot of WhaleLAN attendees are exactly the kind of tinkerers who care deeply about how their technology works and who controls their data. More than a few people left with their first Apollo sensor and a new interest in Home Assistant or Homey.
Thank You to the LMG Team
We would not have been there without an invitation from Colton Potter. Colton, thank you for thinking of us and making space for Apollo at WhaleLAN. It genuinely meant a lot to our whole team.
Running a live event like this is a massive undertaking. Chase Douglas did an outstanding job making WhaleLAN possible, handling all the setup logistics, and keeping the whole event feeling polished and well-run from the moment doors opened to the very last teardown. We had an absolute blast helping set up and tear down alongside the crew. There's something really special about seeing the behind-the-scenes effort that goes into making an event like this happen, and being part of that process made the whole trip feel even more meaningful.
Sean Caldera absolutely owned the mic all weekend. From keeping energy high on the floor to running a Super Smash Bros tournament that had the entire room locked in, Sean was a huge part of what made WhaleLAN feel alive. A total pro from start to finish.
Free Smart Home Hardware and Swag for WhaleLAN Attendees
We came loaded with free Apollo Automation devices and swag, plus hardware from two partners we're incredibly proud to represent.
Nabu Casa and Home Assistant
Gord Cameron from Nabu Casa supplied free hardware and swag to hand out to WhaleLAN attendees. If you're not familiar, Nabu Casa makes devices for Home Assistant, the world's most popular open-source smart home platform. Home Assistant is free, self-hosted, and runs entirely locally. It does not need an internet connection, there is no cloud dependency, and there is no subscription required. Your smart home data stays in your home, period.
Home Assistant is owned and protected by the Open Home Foundation, a Swiss non-profit that legally holds Home Assistant and over 250 other open-source smart home projects. Because of its non-profit structure and strict governance rules, no corporation (not Google, not Amazon, not anyone) can buy it, acquire it, or change its open-source nature. It is protected permanently for the community. Apollo Automation is proud to be the second official commercial partner of the Open Home Foundation, supporting the continued development of the ecosystem that made our company possible.
Homey
Abe Haverkamp from Homey also supplied free hardware and swag for the event. Homey is a powerful, beautifully designed smart home hub that supports Zigbee, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi, Thread, Matter, and more, all in one device. Like Home Assistant, Homey Pro runs entirely locally and can now be self-hosted. Your data stays where it belongs. Apollo is also a proud partner with Homey.
Live Air Quality Monitoring at WhaleLAN: A Room Full of Gamers
We brought our Apollo AIR-1 Air Quality Sensor to WhaleLAN and ran live air quality monitoring throughout the entire event. If you've ever attended a LAN party, you'll understand the motivation. Hundreds of people, wall-to-wall gaming rigs generating serious heat, and an enclosed venue. On paper it sounds like a recipe for some truly alarming environmental data.
The verdict? We were genuinely impressed. The venue was surprisingly well ventilated (direct quote from Linus, "I know, I pay the bill... Haha."), and CO2, particulate matter, VOC, and NOx levels stayed in respectable ranges throughout the entire weekend. The HVAC team at the WhaleLAN venue deserves real credit for that.
We did, however, record exactly two incidents that we are professionally classifying as "atmospheric methane events." Both brief. Both unmistakable. The AIR-1 caught them immediately. You know who you are.
The AIR-1 measures:
- PM1, PM2.5, PM4, and PM10 particulate matter via the Sensirion SEN55
- VOC Index and NOx Index for gas and compound tracking
- CO2, temperature, and humidity with the optional SCD40 add-on
Everything runs locally over Wi-Fi with no cloud required and no subscription. It integrates directly into Home Assistant and ESPHome and gives you a real-time picture of the air you're breathing, whether that's in a LAN party, a woodworking shop, a bedroom, or your living room. We're putting together a full writeup of the data from the event, so stay tuned.
Visiting Zip Tie Tuning and Zip Tie Tech
One of the real highlights of the trip was getting to visit Alex Clark and Andy Zhang at their brand new studio and shop. Alex and Andy run Zip Tie Tuning and Zip Tie Tech, two excellent YouTube channels covering cars, tech, and the intersection of both. Getting to see their setup in person and spend real time with them was a reminder of how many incredible builders and creators exist in this broader community. They were incredibly welcoming and showed us around a space they've clearly poured a ton of heart into. If you're not already subscribed to both channels, fix that.
Jakkuh Features Apollo Sensors in His Smart Home
We also want to give a well-deserved shoutout to Jake Tivy, known online as Jakkuh, for putting out an awesome video showcasing Apollo sensors in his home using Homey SHS. Jake recently launched his own independent channel after nearly a decade working in tech content, and his smart home coverage is sharp, honest, and genuinely useful. Seeing our sensors featured in a real-world home setup like that, with thoughtful context and real automations, was exactly the kind of community-driven content we love to see. Go check it out and subscribe to his channel.
Why Events Like WhaleLAN Matter to Apollo Automation
Apollo Automation was built by and for the tech community. We started in a basement in Versailles, Kentucky with a shared belief that smart home hardware should respect your privacy, work locally, and never hold your data hostage behind a subscription or a cloud service. The people at WhaleLAN understand that instinctively. They are the same people who choose open-source, who build their own rigs, who read the specs, and who want to actually understand how the things they own work.
Getting to spend a weekend with those people, having real conversations, giving away hardware we're proud of, helping set up and tear down, sitting with the LMG team, and experiencing the genuine energy of a community that loves technology for its own sake was exactly why we do what we do.
We will absolutely be back. Thank you to everyone at WhaleLAN who stopped by, grabbed some swag, asked questions, or just said hello. You're the reason events like this are worth attending.
Follow along on our YouTube channel and join our Discord for updates on where we'll be next, product releases, and our monthly community livestream.
Apollo Automation designs, engineers, and manufactures privacy-first, locally-controlled smart home sensors in Versailles, Kentucky. Our products are Works With Home Assistant certified, Made For ESPHome, and Works With Homey certified. Apollo is also an official commercial partner of the Open Home Foundation. Explore our full lineup at apolloautomation.com.
