Hi there, new to HA. I was playing with HA before but now have now got a fresh install on a RPi5 and wanting to setup the network.
Currently my setup is (no HA):
Deco Mesh network with 3 nodes (2 house 1 garage).
Philips Hue TV Lights and Hue Bulb in a lamp (these can be changed or removed).
ESP32 boards dotted around to mess about with things
ESP32 controlling stairway LED lights, which I’ve coded to automatically adjust for Day/Night modes. It connects to my server and gets the local sunrise/sunset time then sets the LEDs accordingly.
What I want to do is simplify the setup. HA can control Hue TV lights which is already a good start. I want to add the following:
door sensors for the house and also garage doors.
temperature sensors dotted around in the house and 1 in the garage.
Maybe can reflash the ESP32 on the stairs and have HA control them instead
Add 2 Govee lightpoles as HA can control those (and half the price of PHue light poles)
Add some motion/presence sensors
I’ve googled, youtubed, and asked on Discord so far. I want to avoid using another company which needs a bridge/hub, as they might have to use cloud integration and relying on cloud services can make things messy. Also, if I have 1 hub (like a zigbee usb hub) then the garage may not be in range for that, so I was hoping to have a WiFi-only solution.
Basically I am looking for good sensors that are compatible with HA out the box, with little fuss, and not costing an arm and a leg so I can order in bulk. AC preferred, but battery can do. The simpler the sensor, the better, so HA can do all the heavy lifting and complexity. Want to avoid having twenty different hubs for different manufacturers, if possible.
What would you guys do on my setup to make it all HA compatible?
It was only a preference really, and that comes with no previous knowledge or experience. Happy to hear how you’d change my setup to make it a good HA network, as you likely have loads of experience here. ie, what works, what doesn’t. I’m a noob
To be honest I’d invest in some ZWave and/or Zigbee controller. While at first it sounds as extra spending, long term it opens countless opportunities to add devices to the system, that are more suited to particular needs. In particular, for most of purposes you can find WiFi sensors/actors but due WiFi power requirements these are usually not battery devices, but require some sort of permanent wiring (directly to power grid or to use some power brick). On the other hand Wave and Zigbee standards were from the ground build to operate with low power modes, making these devices perfect for being battery powered and way easier to install/position. And they work locally, without any cloud dependencies. While still lots of different hubs could be used for these, majority of these devices follows the standard and will work with generic controllers.
Esphome devices are great but new ecosystem. Expect a lot of diy builds. They work amazingly and reliably but not a lot of off the shelf products. Great for alarm controller, garage opener and sensors
Low cost.
Matter is a great choice. You can mix this with other ecosystems without issue. No hub needed and finish quality products. I like to use for led bulbs. Also thermostat, locks and sensors available.
Mid cost products
Zwave I like. Lots of products and been around forever. Requires hub but integration is good.
Mid cost products
