Help a newbie understand the possibilities of Home Assistant

[HisDudeness (Jeffrey Lebowski)]

@Tinkerer

You can get by with only 32 GB of storage, or you can find that a 200 GB isn’t anything like enough.

I know I am keeping on insisting on something you already explained to me, but I need to ask. Can I use a primary, smaller media for the OS and a bigger external storage for data logging, if that is the primary use of space? If so, how many space would be needed for the OS install alone?

@Tinkerer

SSDs have a write life that is orders of magnitudes greater than even endurance SD cards, never mind USB sticks.

Also, would I be wrong in assuming the great majority of writing cycles happen for logs, while the underlying system remains mostly untouched? Because in that case I could use an SD for the OS, and an SSD to keep elaborated data.

Lastly, if I am to use the RPi3 I already have lying around, I won’t have USB3.0 available. Will the USB2.0 ports I have be too slow? Do I have to upgrade my system for that reason alone?

[Tinkerer (aka DubhAd on GitHub)]

@HisDudeness

I know I am keeping on insisting on something you already explained to me, but I need to ask. Can I use a primary, smaller media for the OS and a bigger external storage for data logging, if that is the primary use of space? If so, how many space would be needed for the OS install alone?

Depends on your install choice. If you use HAOS you have limited options, if you use Container you can do whatever you want.

@HisDudeness

Lastly, if I am to use the RPi3 I already have lying around, I won’t have USB3.0 available. Will the USB2.0 ports I have be too slow? Do I have to upgrade my system for that reason alone?

An SSD will still work, you’re just going to have limited performance, but that’s a statement that applies to everything to do with the Pi3.

[info4hx4 (John)]

@stevemann

I am also a cheapskate. Only two of my lights are “smart”. Only because I bought them before the aforementioned rabbit hole. All of my lights are simple (cheap) white LED lamps that you can buy at any Home Depot, but the wall switches are a mix of Z-wave and WiFi (mostly WiFi because they are cheaper. A lot cheaper.) A few plug-in lamps have a Sonoff Mini for WiFi control.

Most of the cameras in and around my home are Wyze Cam2’s and Cam3’s. But, I don’t use the Wyze cloud. The Frigate add-on is my DVR (Digital Video Recorder).

Would you be kind and further expand on the make/models? I am searching for a cheap (wifi/Zigbee/Z-Wave) elusive wall switches that work directly with HA. Did I mention cheap? I also cannot have even initial setup connecting to the internet as I have no internet (or cell) in this location.

[stevemann (Stephen Mann (YAML-challenged))]

I like WiFi- it just works. I recently bought some Kuled switches because they come pre-flashed with Tasmota. (I don’t use Tasmota much and the first thing I do is to put ESPHome on it).

Kuled KS-602S Wi-Fi Smart Switch PREFLASHED WITH TASMOTA | eBay

I don’t think you will find a WiFi switch that does dimming or color changes. For that you need Z-Wave or Zigbee, but those devices cost at least double the price of WiFi.

If you need three-way switching, Z-wave switches will do it. I don’t know about Zigbee. (FWIW, in three years I have had two z-wave switches die- but my WiFi switches just keep working).

[aceindy]

@stevemann

I don’t think you will find a WiFi switch that does dimming or color changes.

Dimmers ain’t a problem (look here under dimmers)
But color, yeah, that is a problem with WiFi