Let’s start with I am absolutely not a programmer but I am familiar with system integrations. This is my first experience with home automation. My goal has been to keep the integration simple, out of the cloud and maintain at least simple functionality in a system failure (still be able to manually turn lights on and off etc.) I am absolutely a Home Assistant Fan, I have found it pretty easy to configure or to find information on when I hit one of my personal “brain dead” area’s. I am very much still a newbie but have learned a lot over the last couple months. I’m sure my automations could be written better but all my stuff works the way I want, it’s mostly pretty simple.
My system though cranky a couple times in the beginning as I learned has been virtually rock solid.
I have the following integrated…
RPi3B+ (latest one) with a good 3amp power supply and Samsung Evo Plus SD.
Maria DB running on Synology DS218 NAS to offload the Pi.
Osram Lightify hub and lights
Lutron Caseta Pro Hub, switches and pico remotes
Cover (garage door) is MyQ
HUSBZB-1 for my Z-Wave and Zigbee devices
Cree bulbs
Samsung Smarthings Motion & Temp Sensors (ZigBee)
Dome Motion & Light Level Sensors and one Door Sensor (Z-Wave)
Asus RT-AC68P Router
Octoprint Print Server
TP-Link HS105 Outlets
Yamaha Receiver
A little info on my experience with all this…
The Pi speaks for itself so not much to say, good power supply and and a SD capable of high volume writes or run a separate database.
Osram Lightify - I went with this for my lights because it seemed to be an easy integration, does not rely on the cloud except to setup initially, was not expensive and has features other’s didn’t like full color ceiling flood light replacements. Also found some really good prices which was a bonus. Be sure when buying bulbs they are “Sylvania Osram Lightify” and not the earlier “Sylvania Lightify” to experience the full functionality. This was my first integration and has been a rock solid performer.
Cree Bulbs - I have a few of these integrated to the Osram hub. They work well but I had to play with the first one to integrate it. These bulbs did not play well with my HUSBZB-1, everything kept going offline after a few hours which is why I tried them on the Osram where they have been working just fine. They do come up with funny display names in HA but you can change them.
Lutron Caseta - I needed something that did not require a neutral wire and this was the logical choice. I got the Pro Hub kit that comes with a dimming switch and pico remote from ebay about $60 less than other retailers. You do have to run it as a custom component but it was easy to setup, just follow the instructions. I have added another non-dimming switch and a couple on/off only pico remotes. The remotes are great because you can use them for anything in HA. Another that does not require the cloud to operate after initial setup.
The MyQ Cover was another easy integration but does require Internet connectivity to work. It has bee pretty reliable and I use it as a light trigger mostly.
Asus RT-AC68p router was a bit of a hassle at first. Telnet never worked for me, it may today after several HA upgrades but I got it to work with ssh enabled for local access only. I am not using a key file but rather local user/pass as my network is not remotely available except through OpenVPN. I use this for a Tracker, bluetooth does not have the range for my phone so WiFi was a better choice. It know’s when we pull into the driveway and triggers automations as it should.
TP-Link HS105 outlets are great, they just work it’s that simple. I have Octoprint setup and monitor temp’s. I have written scripts that if a temp get’s above the “safety” range it just shuts down the 3D Printer. I also have some low voltage lights outside and have the transformer plugged into one and use the Sun to trigger on and off for them instead of a timer.
So down to the HUSBZB-1… I almost tossed this thing due to the learning curve. What finally dawned on me was it requires patience when setting it up. The Z-Wave devices respond slow taking commands and initializing but once configured work great. ZigBee was another curve as well… read on.
The Dome Motion/Light sensors work great it was configuring them that seemed to fight me at first. What I found the MOST helpful was learning battery powered Z-Wave stuff wants to sleep immediately and takes a bit of time to fully add itself to the system. I found by hitting the “wake up” button a few times it fixed all that. Also when changing parameters on them I got everything ready to execute then woke them up before I sent the changes to them, they responded immediately that way. The range is not that great, not sure if it’s the dongle or the device but it is acceptable.
ZigBee threw me a little as well. The Samsung Smarthing Motion/Temp sensors are great. The only thing they do not give me is the battery state but they are rock solid and integrate in a snap. Where I had issue was after a few hours everything Zigbee went offline, Cree Bulbs and the Sensors. Through some trial and error I removed the Cree bulbs and the Sensors stayed online just fine. Rather than try and figure that one out I integrated the Cree’s to the Osram hub and everything has been solid since.
HA just found my Yamaha Receiver so no effort there.
So after about 2 months I got all this stuff working quite well. The Wife comes home, garage door opens, turns on some lights in the garage on a bit of a delay so it doesn’t blind her as she pulls in but has enough light by the time she shuts off the car. She can walk into the storage area of the basement from the garage and the lights magically go on and lights keep going on as she enters the utility area and heads up the stairs. If there is no more motion in each respective area lights go off after 5 minutes. No more using her elbows to bang on light switches when her hands are full. I can turn lights on all of these area’s from one Lutron Pico and at the same time cancel the automations if doing any work in the basement like when the guy cleans the furnace. Using the same pico to turn the lights off also enables the automations again.
Lights in the family room come on at a low light level and if the TV is on (It knows because the Receiver is on) chooses the appropriate scene. I have 2 with different scenes with varying light levels and colors for TV On and Not On. The lights also go out when the room brightens up in the morning. Turning on the TV also changes the lights to the appropriate scene if they are already on as well as turns them on if the light level is low enough.
When walking through my dining room which is the gateway to the rest of the house, at a low light level the chandelier lights come on at a low (night light) level and it goes off after 5 minutes of no motion. Opening the front door also triggers the chandelier.
I have a couple other things I’m working on but these are some of the ones making things convenient.
So again… I’m sold, not looking any further than HA. I may change my platform up a but and replace the HUSBZB-1 with 2 separate Z-Wave and ZigBee sticks for better compatibility but other than that things really are running well and I could not be happier. Okay I lied, a LOT of info but enough writing time to go learn something new I can get this to do!