I have finally found a product I would like to add to the home and it requires HA (and/or others) so I dragged out a Pi-3 and installed the “Pi-3-17…” HA-OS with a 7" touch screen. It boots fine to the HA-CLI. Mouse and keyboard all work. Nothing graphical yet for the touch-screen though.
Before making the leap ($$$) for the home monitoring hardware I’d like to test with some basic stuff just to see if it is as hard to use as many pundits claim.
I’d like to go with zigbee kinda stuff but do not not know what to purchase for a basic test kit.
I am guessing a sonoff-zigbee dongle or other brand, but not too expensive in case I drop the HA idea.
A zigbee test device, maybe a relay or something I can hear “click” on command etc.
I am not a novice to the IoT idea, having written my own protocol and Arduino mesh network of 53-nodes. All running swimmingly for the past 5+ years. I am totally new to HA, but do not want something that is hard to maintain and add devices. My own IoT stuff can provide that pain and suffering as needed. LOL
You need a browser to get graphical “experience” , either use the HA-Phone app or some other device with a browser.
Until then HA is just waiting for you to “onboard” your installation, i.e create user etc, like any other app/os
NOTE: Btw be prepared to ditch your PI3 , as it’s far from supported
Please read the Official Documentations
A USB Zigbee dongle plugged into your HA server works fine, but coverage depends on where your server is located — not always where you need it. Using a USB extension cable helps reduce interference, but doesn’t solve distance.
A LAN-connected Zigbee coordinator is a great alternative: place it anywhere on your network, right next to your Zigbee devices, for a much stronger and more reliable signal. Can also be connected wireless over WiFI.
Welcome! It looks like you’re setting yourself up for your own pain and suffering though.
As others have said:
Pi3 is woefully short on RAM and only has 512Mb - 1Gb, while the installation docs recommend at least 2Gb. Anything beyond the most basic of integrations will choke that Pi3 and run into OOM errors.
HA is a headless server. You don’t use the directly-connected touchscreen, but instead access it on a different browser on your network. You could attempt to use the screen via TouchKio (search these forums), but again, Pi3 might probably not handle it.
Save yourself the headache of dealing with USB and get a LAN/PoE coordinator like the SMLight mentioned above. Sure, it’ll cost more than a USB coordinator, but you won’t have to deal with USB interference, device paths & suboptimal positioning.
As a test device, I suggest you get a simple zigbee plug (with or without power monitoring). Avoids the hassle of wiring in a relay while you play around, plus you can easily put it to use once you’re done testing. (See Note below)
Decide now which Zigbee integration you want to go with. Your choices are either ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT (Z2M). ZHA is built in to HA, but has less supported devices & slower device integration times. Z2M is a bit more complex to set up initially & requires you to also install the MQTT integration, but has more supported devices & generally exposes more device settings.
Note: before buying any zigbee devices, make sure that exact model is supported in whichever zigbee integration you decide to use.
For ZHA, you can check here & look for the HA logo.
For Z2M, you can check here.
If you can’t find a device you’re interested in in either of the above links, check reviews for explicit mention of ZHA/Z2M support.
I’d recommend getting Zigbee and Z-Wave controllers directly from Home Assistant Open Home Foundation (Nabu Casa): Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 - Home Assistant They’re reasonably priced, purpose built to work with Home Assistant, have antennas tuned to wavelength, and likely to be well supported moving forward.
