I’m an avid watcher of YouTube and watched a great video of a chap using a Pi5 with Display 2 to run Home Assistant in his wall.
I have a few Sonoff devices and all run off the app, but have since taken the time to set up a Pi5 and now have all the cables run and the Pi in the wall. However working through some teething issues and keen to work out if I should have set it up the way I have before I progress too much further.
I have:
Pi5 8 GB with 64 GB high speed card
Cooling and EOP modules for the Pi5
Pi OS lite (however I don’t know how close it is to lite anymore with what I have installed)
Docker was used to run HA in a container (I think this is the correct terminology)
I have been using Copilot to help guide me on the setup and have it working pretty well. I have HA installed and working and have already set up a dashboard that works. However I’m having niggling issues with the Display 2 that is making me question if my setup is suitable before I get too far down the rabbit hole.
The 2 main issues I am having are:
The screen shuts off after 3 mins. The tap to wake it up is received as an action. I have gone through many iterations with Copilot to fix but nothing is really working. Not the end of the world but it’s a bit annoying.
The HA dashboard is not connecting on the Display 2 screen after it wakes up. It works on my phone but seems like the wake up process on the screen is causing the HA in the wall to not work. I know the screen is shutting down, not just blanking, so maybe that’s the cause and I need a different way to snooze the screen.
I’m sure I can work my way through these issues and my objectives with HA are to just have some neat buttons and automations, so nothing too crazy. But I am questioning if my approach is flawed and if I should be going down a dedicated HA machine with full OS will be better. If it’s just different then I’m happy to proceed with what I have.
I like how simple the set up is with the Pi5 running HA in the wall as well as the display. However backing up the OS and dashboard will be a bit of a pain as I’ll have to image the card. I also believe updates are harder with the setup I have now.
Depend on what you gonna do. For basic stuff probably pi is enough but if you want some more stuff, then you will have to go for desktop comp or nuc or whatever. But something that have way more power then a pi.
And you can trash copilot as it is trash.
If you can start with a desktop comp or nuc. Just because in a future you will be adding more stuff to it. That is how things usually goes.
You don’t actually need some expensive stuff, some used comp with ddr3 or ddr4 will work more than great.
Are the dedicated HA devices worthwhile? For example the HA Yellow?
Any advice other than Copilot? My ability to work through some of the issues would be non existent without a LLM. It’s a massive help to guide me on what to load in the ssh and there’s no way I’d be able to be where I’m at without it. It does go round and round in circles sometimes though.
@IOT7712 correct. The whole ecosystem is on the Pi5. HA is on there as well as the necessary software to run the kiosk on Chromium.
And that is the problem. If you take this path you will have to learn. Learning takes time and effort and eventually it does cost money. Ai can’t help you with that.
There is no such a thing as free lunch. Yes maybe you can start easily with some ha dedicated device but that is just a start. And then when you get a bit familiar with it you will see that you need something more powerful then a pi. And then go from the scratch again.
So imho better start with proper comp that you will use as a server for years. As I said you can buy used desktops for pennies and they will serve you well for your needs for years to come.
You can upgrade it, add more ssd to it, more ram more everything.
Will you use haos on it or you will use linux and go with docker containers or proxmox it’s up to you. But having device that you can upgrade for cheap is much better then have dedicated pi.
EOP or POE? Why? Isn’t the original power supply that came with the device adequate, and of the correct specification?
Isn’t the very latest bare metal HomeAssistant OS going to be most suitable, straight out of the tin?
Sadly, I suspect your AI advice is woefully outdated and most likely wrong.
Go back to the original vendor documentation, read carefully, and take it from there. Your understanding will become clear and confident.
The field of Home Automation is fast paced, with constant changes, and as you have shown, often AI gives outdated and wrong hallucinations and slop to misguide you.
POE was to run power to the Pi5 as well as direct connection to the network. Just a cleaner way to power it in the wall.
Sounds like my suspicions are correct and it’s not an ideal way to run HA. I’ll play a bit more but maybe a dedicated system to run HA OS is better and just use the screen to run the kiosk.
Your kiosk display device will not need to be a high end Pi, now significantly more expensive with the worldwide memory shortage. Make sure the touch screen drivers are correctly installed, and your POE requirements are adequately met, for the kiosk display Pi as well as the connected display, and if you are also using it for your headless HomeAssistant server Pi, for that too.
How old is the YouBoob video that impressed you? Does it need updating to reflect state of the art practices?
It was from 4 months ago. But in fairness to him I think he is running HA on a dedicated machine and the screen was just for kiosk.
Because I don’t have a dedicated HA machine that’s why I went down the path of putting HA on the Pi as well as the kiosk. That’s why I was questioning that decision now before I get too far in to the build.
Is HA Yellow a viable option? I was thinking it might be a bit more idiot proof for someone like myself vs trying to set up a machine from scratch.
No men. Look home assistant need server to run on it. This is just a kiosk. It takes all heavy lifting from ha and just displays something that is running on the server.
Not since it was withdrawn from production! Who/what offered it up as an option?
Just go simple to start with a barebones Pi you already have, with a A2 rated SD Card, and learn to walk before you run. Your efforts can be easily transposed to a higher end machine once you hit any limitations, which may not happen with only a few devices. Your kiosk display, now connected to a low end Pi, sufficient to drive the HDMI low resolution Display 2, can remain as is, on the wall as a remote display with touch input, interacting with your headless HomeAssistant server over the network.
An absolute eternity in the fast paced world of home automation where there are regular weekly and monthly updates of HomeAssistant, and random updates on third party integrations.
Of course it is one way to contribute back financially to HomeAssistant development.
Your barebones Pi that you already have in front of you, connected to a power supply and network cable will also work, just as well, provided you follow the carefully prepared documentation on the HomeAssistant website carefully and closely, without the distractions of influencers and AI slop. Try it!
For your kiosk, a Pi 4 or even a zero will probably work just as well. Just watch for compatibility and power issues. In the interim, using your phone web browser (connected to your LAN WiFi - this is important) as the remote display should get you going.
Mini PC is your most complicated option to support if things go wrong. Get experience on a simple setup that is well known and widely supported first.
Another Pi, in kiosk mode to drive the Display 2 on the wall is the least friction option to nirvana.
HA Green still only tackles your HomeAssistant server, which you already have the hardware for, and not the display. Tru setting up the Pi you have - you may be pleasantly surprised how smoothly it happens.
Hint: If you do go Green, buy the cell battery option for time backup to go with it - trust me it will save you grief when you first power up. Even if you buy it cheap at the local bargain discount shop - just do it!