Is there a general overview of "compatible" hardware?

Hardware
1

Hello,

I wonder if there is some kind of wiki website that lists more or less compatible hardware devices for the most common use cases?

There are so many different manufacturers with so many hardware solutions.
Some are not compatible with HA, some need HASP extensions, some are supported out of the box.
Some are more recommended because once connected to HA they no longer require cloud access, others still rely on proprietary cloud connections.
Some use WiFi, some use Zigbee, some use another proprietary protocol.

A community-driven site that lists the hardware and its specs, and at best makes some recommendations, would be very helpful.

Is there anything out there?

2

Found https://zigbee.blakadder.com/ for Zigbee Devices.

Already quite good, but there is still room for improvement.
Do you know more sites?

3

Esphome devices. Not sure about the url but google it.
But this only gives you what can be flashed to run ESP-Home.

4

One thing I’ve learned in three years of learning Home Assistant is that there is no such thing as “common”. And the devices market changes so fast and so often, such a list would be obsolete minutes after you hit “save”.

Your best bet is to define what, specifically, you want to do and ask the community for suggestions.

If you ask five forum users “how do I…”, you will get six replies. All equally valid.

3 Likes
5

Best to choose the integration you’re interested in and then look at the capability list. Zigbee and z wave js have really good wikis. Others are really integration specfic like Tuya for example. I wish there was what you’re looking for but it’d be a beast to maintain

6

For z-wave devices:

Z-Wave JS Config DB Browser (https://devices.zwave-js.io/)

But then, Phil, what do you have in mind when it comes to “most common use cases”? I suppose you have a short list of things you’d like to do?

7

Not really. :sweat_smile:
I’m in my second buying frenzy for my smart home and want to buy both cheap and compatible (of course).

It would be annoying if I now buy something that would be incompatible, the community has had bad experiences or the use would not be optimal because you need extensions and online services to operate.

All this summarized on one page - yes, that would be a dream.

8

Might be a good idea for a maybe a reviewed list of ‘best buys’ as just been talking to someone who is thinking of KNX as ‘professional’ supported devices don’t seem to exist.
I did try to say ESPhome/Tasmoto and many things such as zigbee/BLE as long as you have the radio and classid’s should be no problem.

Seems if it doesn’t say on the box or in the sales info then some people are a little scared and a review list of ‘top buys’ for specific types of device might give much assurance.

9

I don’t think you can really make a list for devices using KNX, Modbus, MQTT etc. as the protocols themselves are supported - so any device implementing it properly should work fine with HA - and these are thousands…

10

I’m quite sure, you’re very welcome to develop and maintain such a site. :slight_smile: Many will use it, but only very few will be able to maintain such a thing.

It simply is a very fast moving topic, there are thousands and thousands of devices, that will have differences regarding the specific country thea are sold in, not even taking into account that there are much more “labeled” devices.

Let’s be honest, this is more than a full-time project for not only one developer. Maintaining such a page is a nightmare of its own, despite the fact, that the actuality will be behind the reality. Always! :slight_smile:

Please, don’t get me wrong, this is not the first time I’m discussing such a topic, and I can see the “need” especially for new users, but I very much doubt, that this would be a project that would make much sense in the long run.

New users want such a list, but in reality don’t know what to get from it. By the time, the knowledge gets build up, but with more knowledge about all the HA thingys, you won’t need such a list anymore. You just search for your own. Because in the end, I need to know what I’m ordering. If the device is only one revision different, it might not work the way one expects it to. So I need to specifically search for information about that one out of thousand devices…

If you really think this through, you’ll likely come to the same conclusion, it is not feasable in a way that people would benefit from it.

1 Like
11

That was my point as a list of ‘top buys’ for specific types of device and device in terms of operation.
For me KNX & Modbus are expensive legacy controls that I wouldn’t likely recommend now as so much home automation has entered the consumer market and can do the same thing maybe even better for lower cost.

The problem is for less technical there are thousands and that is just really confusing and why I was posting as surely even after a bit of interesting debate and maybe make them poll driven (prob get spammed though) we could have a top 5/10 of socket relays, top5/10 light relays, temp sensors, curtain closers and such like.

These having a focus on easily available low cost consumer electronics that give home users the privacy that Google/Amazon/Apple web middleman devices do not.

I haven’t really looked for a while and all I could say being a tinkerer was that I would prob get some lowcost Sonoff devices and flash with ESP32Home firmware and get rid of Tuya or whatever middleman webservers.
Shelley also seem to provide a good range are they any good ‘as is’ or to swap the firmware and does anyone think one is superior to another.
Moes are they any good or are they worse than the other 2?

As if you think about the application of devices there is quite a short common list.

Switch, Thermostat, Curtain, Socket, Light, Hub, Occupancy, Security…
Which are good and what also has a good hardware hack.
Prob in the forum under hardware you could have a device type recommends with a header poll and only except HA user reviews and other users can gauge what they say.
Its a Homeassistant users helping other home assistant users on products they have used as presume some have tried many and could offer some incites and a few supporting photo’s and implementations.

2 Likes
12

Awesome replies, thanks a lot.
But there’s so much information in these answers, it’s a shame to have them not collected at one point.
Don’t get me wrong: No front against you in personal.

Which systems aren’t not recommened because of cloud dependency or lack of functionality in HA?
What are the alternatives?

Perhaps the wish for a complete database, narrowed down to product IDs is too ambitious. Fair enough, I really get your point.
But perhaps a list of manufactories could be helpful? So I wouldn’t buy a TP Link Tapo device once again (cloud only), perhaps a TP Link Kasa device (needs “only” WiFi). A Lidl Silvercrest Zigbee Plug or a Tradfri Switch is cheap and compatible.

Having these information in an overview would be wonderful.

But I get your point, that could be challenging.

13

I think that is a common thing as if you looking further than just Google/Amazon/Apple kits your prob want a more private offline type of control and try to keep with that across multiple devices.

If its esp then esphome is practically a yes and you can burn off the cloud bumf with what I consider a better MQTT local firmware with no middleman.
Sonoff even though pretty cheap as in build & purchase still seem do the job OK but they are not the best but they do often seem to be esp inside and easy to flash.
You could connect to the cloud as often home assistant can but you can get scenarios of a ota firmware update and the API has changed.
I just don’t want to use a cloud service period and its been quite a while since I had a look at whats on offer but the BLE Mesh sig stuff took my interest so I got x2 Bluetooth Smart Switch Wireless Remote Control with Bluetooth Gateway – MOES purely because I have not a clue and in my never read the instructions manner I will see when I get them but they where £5 each delivered …
So we will see as when they are cheap like that then curiosity will have me doing a tear down.

As a noob looking at what is on ESPHome then Shelly looks good for relays Sonoff maybe for a plug.
As on the ESPhome site under ELECTRICAL STANDARD it has devices by region.

There is an absolute huge thread on the TP Link Tapo that was using there web api and as scrolling through got lost if its was or not working OK and would say no as wow from the posts it seems a lot of hassle.

Tasmota has a device list here https://templates.blakadder.com/
Search out preflashed devices if you don’t want to do it yourself.
Athom Preflashed Tasmota Smart Plug Works With Home Assitant Electric Consumption Monitoring 16a Uk Standard - Automation Modules - AliExpress
Athom Preflashed Esphome Smart Plug Works With Home Assitant Uk Standard 16a - Automation Modules - AliExpress

1 Like
14

I hope you didn’t get that as discouraging, it wasn’t meant that way. I just simply can’t imagine someone bringing it together, but on the other hand who would have thought about a touchscreen device as a telephone in the early 2000s. :rofl:

Maybe we should start a little smaller by guiding people to find the necessary information in an easier way instead of cumbersome gathering the informations?

Search for what you want/need on amazon.com and afterwards on amazon.co.uk. Amazons biggest market is the US and Canada, followed by China (language barrier) and the UK. So it’s easy to assume, that on these two platforms you get the best overview on what is sold from around the world. If Amazon itself doesn’t have it, there is a Marketplace seller that wants to offer it. :slight_smile: And you get an insight from two very different systems, US 110V, UK 230V. Different regulations, different ways of living. If you won’t find a device in either of these places, simply leave it alone, it is most likelynot sold very often, and thus likely to not be supported in many cases.

So now that we have an overview, select two or three devices from different manufacturers. Take the model and go into this very forum and paste it as a search term.

Chances are high, that you will get an answer, at least a thread where someone is not getting along with that device and possibly a solution. If you find more than one thread (the longer the better) about something “not working”, leave it alone and go back to Amazon.

Now that you have finished your research for a product, take your two most favourable devices and do a price search. While at it, you will find some “not price related” infos, just take the time to read some of them (blog entries, youtube videos, “unboxing” and so on).

And here we are, you should now have at least a better insight on what you want (and probably won’t need). :rofl:

1 Like
15

To the KNX guy now after finding Athom with preflashed opensource devices to answer my own question it prob looks like https://www.athom.tech/ are the best bet for offline opensource preflashed devices.

Then if you can not find a preflashed https://www.esphome-devices.com/ & https://templates.blakadder.com/ as I am only interested in opensource/offline and would only recommend it.

The integrations part is a great setup and very informative about a lot of devices I would never use and apols should of said specifically opensource & offline and wrongly presumed that would of been a preference and an automatic pick for top devices.

1 Like
16

What do you want to do?

17

Nothing in particular.
Sorry for that :sweat_smile:

18

@philmarx the Shelly plus line seems to offer both cloud & mqtt.
https://shelly.cloud/shelly-plus-series/ even though new and was still a beta they look promising for local private control.
Haven’t purchased one but if your backboxes are deep enough as look very slim you might be able to retro fit as well.
If not looks like also tasmoto is still an option

19

There are a few devices that might fit behind a switch in a wall box. I have an Aeotec Nano (Z-Wave) and a few Sonoff Minis (WiFi) inside wall boxes. I flashed ESPHome to the Sonoff Minis.

1 Like
20

Yeah the mini R2 are tiny also prob a touch smaller and a bit less cost, this is part of the problem for a noob as with the R2 it says it has a Rest API is that a embedded server or is that again a cloud service?
I am trying to escape from cloud services totally and get a list of top possible buys that don’t need firmware 1st then a 2nd with esphome/tasmoto firmware and a bit of DiY, but no cloud services.

Also I am strangely drawn to ble sig mesh more out of curiosity as have never used and the power draw is much less whilst separating the control network from a home data one.
I know the power is miniscule but if you do have a number of devices it does as up and x10 less usage is always a bonus.
Tasmota looks a doodle with the R2