- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Home Assistant Questions
Posted on 10/3/22 at 11:08 am
Posted on 10/3/22 at 11:08 am
I am just beginning major renovations/addition and wanted to reassess where I am with my smart home options so that I can make a few choices during construction. I constantly see people recommending Home Assistant on here or Reddit if you are starting/upgrading your smart home setup but don't really fully understand it and why its better than using google/alexa/etc.
Devices I currently run: Google home, google mini, 8 Hue bulbs w/ hub, 2 eufy vacuums, 2 roku TVs, 1 kasa light switch for porch lights, Lennox Icomfort thermostat, simplisafe system, and 1 govee light strip
Things I plan to add: Exterior soffit lights with a smart switch, more hue lights, smart garage door, and any other recommendations.
What do I need to run this? Will it run everything above? is this the best option and what are the advantages/disadvantages? I see most say to run it on a Raspberry Pi 4. I am also very open to ditching any of the above devices for a new/better route especially my security system which gives me a ton of issues.
I would love to have more options with automations and routines but I dont want to jump into it, waste some money, and go back to what I was doing so just trying to gather peoples thoughts and resources on it.
Devices I currently run: Google home, google mini, 8 Hue bulbs w/ hub, 2 eufy vacuums, 2 roku TVs, 1 kasa light switch for porch lights, Lennox Icomfort thermostat, simplisafe system, and 1 govee light strip
Things I plan to add: Exterior soffit lights with a smart switch, more hue lights, smart garage door, and any other recommendations.
What do I need to run this? Will it run everything above? is this the best option and what are the advantages/disadvantages? I see most say to run it on a Raspberry Pi 4. I am also very open to ditching any of the above devices for a new/better route especially my security system which gives me a ton of issues.
I would love to have more options with automations and routines but I dont want to jump into it, waste some money, and go back to what I was doing so just trying to gather peoples thoughts and resources on it.
This post was edited on 10/3/22 at 11:27 am
3
Posted on 10/3/22 at 5:24 pm to LSUDbrous90
I can't promise that all of your current stuff will work with HA out of the box, but I can promise that someone somewhere has made it all work with HA and you may have to do a little leg work for some things.
That said, I can also promise that you will be amazed at how much stuff HA finds on its own and just works with.
You can run it on a Pi, but those are hard to find right now and HA really runs better on a mini PC like a NUC or a used ultra-small form factor box from ebay.
Most of us who use HA do so because it is far more powerful than google/alexa/etc, and because it handles a lot of stuff locally and doesn't lock you into some ecosystem. You can integrate google home and alexa into HA. There is a bit of a learning curve, but it's getting much easier to do things than it used to be.
I don't think trying HA can waste any money. Time, sure, but not money. Whatever you buy to run it on can be resold for the same as you paid, and whatever devices you buy to use with it can also be used with alexa or whatever.
If you really get into it, HA gets really cool when you start building your own devices and running ESPHome and things like that. You can do whatever you dream up, things that just aren't possible with google/alexa/whatever.
That said, I can also promise that you will be amazed at how much stuff HA finds on its own and just works with.
You can run it on a Pi, but those are hard to find right now and HA really runs better on a mini PC like a NUC or a used ultra-small form factor box from ebay.
Most of us who use HA do so because it is far more powerful than google/alexa/etc, and because it handles a lot of stuff locally and doesn't lock you into some ecosystem. You can integrate google home and alexa into HA. There is a bit of a learning curve, but it's getting much easier to do things than it used to be.
I don't think trying HA can waste any money. Time, sure, but not money. Whatever you buy to run it on can be resold for the same as you paid, and whatever devices you buy to use with it can also be used with alexa or whatever.
If you really get into it, HA gets really cool when you start building your own devices and running ESPHome and things like that. You can do whatever you dream up, things that just aren't possible with google/alexa/whatever.
Posted on 10/4/22 at 2:28 pm to LSUDbrous90
I’ll probably reiterate a few things Kork said but the biggest reason people go with a controller like HA is local control and open source access.
Though unlikely, there may come a day that Google or even Amazon decide to drop home automation and you’d be stuck with a bunch of dumb smart things. Wink is a perfect example. Also, the local component still works if you internet happens to go out. However, ifany of your devices rely on a cloud service to interact with HA, you’d still lose them with no internet. I’ve built my automations with about 90% local control. Just a few final holdouts from when I started.
Depending on your technical skill level and based on the devices you mentioned, you can probably start by setting up whatever automations and control Google Home can offer. HA is extremely powerful and has probably the best developer group in the open source market. There will be a pretty steep learning curve if you do not have a lot of experience But you can start with google home while you learn.
A few YouTube channels to check out that are really good for home automation stuff:
Digibur DIY (local LA boy)
Dr. Zzzs
The Hook Up
If you are committed to going down this path, go ahead and apologize to your wife now.
Though unlikely, there may come a day that Google or even Amazon decide to drop home automation and you’d be stuck with a bunch of dumb smart things. Wink is a perfect example. Also, the local component still works if you internet happens to go out. However, ifany of your devices rely on a cloud service to interact with HA, you’d still lose them with no internet. I’ve built my automations with about 90% local control. Just a few final holdouts from when I started.
Depending on your technical skill level and based on the devices you mentioned, you can probably start by setting up whatever automations and control Google Home can offer. HA is extremely powerful and has probably the best developer group in the open source market. There will be a pretty steep learning curve if you do not have a lot of experience But you can start with google home while you learn.
A few YouTube channels to check out that are really good for home automation stuff:
Digibur DIY (local LA boy)
Dr. Zzzs
The Hook Up
If you are committed to going down this path, go ahead and apologize to your wife now.
Posted on 10/4/22 at 3:05 pm to The Next
quote:
If you are committed to going down this path, go ahead and apologize to your wife now
It's going to be different for every woman, but you need to find a couple of automations that she loves and then maybe you can do what you want. Try some RGB lighting in the bathroom with a motion sensor to automate a dim red glow at night or some ambiance during a bath.
Posted on 10/4/22 at 5:59 pm to Korkstand
High WAF things I've done:
1) Flowerbed water automation.
2) turn on carport light at night when someone gets home or close garage door at certain time or X minutes after someone gets home.
3) alarm system integration. Arms when no one is home, can manually arm from the bed, or arms at a certain time every night when everyone is home or can set chime instead if someone is not home yet.
4) smart locks so she can verify the house is locked at night.
1) Flowerbed water automation.
2) turn on carport light at night when someone gets home or close garage door at certain time or X minutes after someone gets home.
3) alarm system integration. Arms when no one is home, can manually arm from the bed, or arms at a certain time every night when everyone is home or can set chime instead if someone is not home yet.
4) smart locks so she can verify the house is locked at night.
Posted on 10/4/22 at 7:07 pm to mchias1
quote:I think if someone would devote an entire site or youtube channel to just this topic it would do wonders for the smart home industry.
High WAF things I've done
Posted on 10/5/22 at 12:26 pm to The Next
Thanks for the replies everyone. Right now I run everything through the google home universe and essentially use it as a hub. I tell it goodnight and it locks my doors, sets the alarm, turns out the lights, etc. I just would love more automation and capabilities. I am an engineer and did some coding in college (including python) so I can get around but surely I don't "know what I am doing" without some type of guide. Sounds like it may make sense to just continue moving forward with the devices and universes I am in and maybe things will progress down the road and I can change then.
Is there anything I should be thinking about now in my reno/addition that I may need down the road? It will be a master addition. Also redoing laundry, master closet (old master bedroom), guest bathroom (old master bathroom). Plan to redo the other side of the house in probably 5 years. I plan on running Cat6 to all tv locations & rooms as well as new exterior cameras. May prewire to all windows for wired security. I currently use simplisafe and it being wireless is a disaster where I live as I constantly have sensors offline.
Is there anything I should be thinking about now in my reno/addition that I may need down the road? It will be a master addition. Also redoing laundry, master closet (old master bedroom), guest bathroom (old master bathroom). Plan to redo the other side of the house in probably 5 years. I plan on running Cat6 to all tv locations & rooms as well as new exterior cameras. May prewire to all windows for wired security. I currently use simplisafe and it being wireless is a disaster where I live as I constantly have sensors offline.
Posted on 10/5/22 at 2:45 pm to LSUDbrous90
Wait a bit before jumping from Google. Saw a YouTube video yesterday saying Google will be adding scripting to their automations. Will make it more useful.
I highly recommend prewiring your alarm system. You can get a cheap Honeywell or dsc panel and self monitor it. Look into envisalink. It wires in to the alarm panel as another keypad. You can then use all the alarm sensors as triggers for any automations.
Instead of running HA on a raspberry pi get a used office dell/hp off eBay. Install proxmox on it then you can run single line scripts to set up HA VM and a wireguard VM. The wireguard VM will be your VPN connection to back home so you can control automations away from home.
I highly recommend prewiring your alarm system. You can get a cheap Honeywell or dsc panel and self monitor it. Look into envisalink. It wires in to the alarm panel as another keypad. You can then use all the alarm sensors as triggers for any automations.
Instead of running HA on a raspberry pi get a used office dell/hp off eBay. Install proxmox on it then you can run single line scripts to set up HA VM and a wireguard VM. The wireguard VM will be your VPN connection to back home so you can control automations away from home.
This post was edited on 10/5/22 at 2:50 pm
Posted on 10/5/22 at 2:49 pm to mchias1
quote:Will they run locally or in the cloud? I'm wary of depending on anything google does because they've taken away so much. Really don't want to be left hanging and scrambling to figure out how to set my stuff back up.
Saw a YouTube video yesterday saying Google will be adding scripting to their automations. Will make it more useful.
Posted on 10/5/22 at 2:51 pm to Korkstand
@kork I don't know. This was the YT video Google automations
Posted on 10/6/22 at 10:18 am to mchias1
Think the plan will be to stick with google and prewire security on all of the parts of the home I am renovating/adding. That way when I am ready to make the switch from simplisafe to something wired I can. Is it even possible to add a wired system after the fact without opening walls or anything?
Posted on 10/6/22 at 12:03 pm to LSUDbrous90
quote:It's possible but I wouldn't recommend trying to wire for an alarm after the fact, it will be a lot more expensive.
Think the plan will be to stick with google and prewire security on all of the parts of the home I am renovating/adding. That way when I am ready to make the switch from simplisafe to something wired I can. Is it even possible to add a wired system after the fact without opening walls or anything?
Posted on 10/6/22 at 12:42 pm to LSUDbrous90
If you even THINK you would want or need a wire somewhere at any point in the future, run it while there’s no drywall. At the very least, drill your holes and run a pull string.
Posted on 10/6/22 at 3:48 pm to LSUDbrous90
I use a Hubitat box. Might want to check it out as an alternative to HA. I really like it and have had no issues with adding any device. That said, neither are as plug and play as Google/Alexa but that's a good thing.
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News