Hi Guys. Could you pls advice us required devices?
Our installation:
Currently we have home assistant in the docker container(technically in the kubernetes statefull set, and I’m going to move it to deployment + external SQL db, but it doesn’t matter)
Installed to our NAS - a compact fanless x86_64 computer. We use philips hue lamps and the philips hue bridge to work with them - initially we tried zigbee USB dongle from the Aliexpress(cc2531), but it always works unstable. and actually ate a lot of time to reflesh it, etc
We live in Canada, so, we probably need devices for NA plug and 110V. But we immigrants and we have transformator and several 220V/eu plug devices.
Current goal of system
We use Home Assistent to help us stay in the daily routine like wake up in the same time, and go to the bed in the same time, because of pandemic it is challenging. Lamps change their colour to less temperature (not really red, but at least yellow…) and less brightness by cron.
reasons to upgrade
- We want to improve how system is good handle it’s current task: We use in the bathroom just standard LED lamps. And they often die because of humidity. Also they affect a sleep if visit a bathroom at the night - because bright and with high temperature. Replacing to the low temperature faint lamps not a way - as result, I can start to sleep when I’m at the bathroom at the daylight, I know myself
We need something more intellectual here - We want to make system more convinient - right now we manage it using mobile apps and personal computers. Usually, in the real life, press a button, like to enable light, is more useful.
- We want to assign to our HA instance new roles, like air conditioning/keep a same temperature and security
Plan to upgrade
We want to improve our current system in the two steps, which I marked right now , later , and assign to it more roles, like climate and security control.
About skills: I’m a computer cloud engineer(like devops/SRE, also backend python and golang developer and QA), and my husband is c/c++ and data scientists. Also my husband a little bit handyman(and I’m totally not). It means that we skilled enough to even change python’s code of HA and/or it’s components. Buuut… My husband really busy in the work right now. It means, that this upgrade will be my project for 95-98% in terms of time. Also about myself, I’m not totally busy, but can’t say that I have weeks for this project or that I really know well a home assistent. It means, that I prefer stable solutions, which requires a minimum handy work (like our current philips hue hub, and unlike USB zigbee stick cc2531)
Our requirements:
Price is important, but up to 350 USD or so is totally OK, and doesn’t matter at all. If above, it’s a little bit more worse, but OK
Privacy is important
My time is important - I have it, and we still don’t have children, but still need to maintain a home(like clean what robot vacoom cleaner can’t do, to cook, etc. Also need time for friends and my hobbies, etc
My husband’s time is the most important - pls advice things which require a minimum handy work (but python programming is OK, I can do it myself)
My own ideas (pls correct me and advice)
I think, we want to add:
1. Temperature and humidy control - right now. We have air conditioner and air purifier which could be managed using IR. Do we need BroadLink RM4? How can I be sure that it could work with both devices? Or maybe better to switch on/off airconditioning just using a smart plug? Air conditioner auto start to work if it was shutted down by power and than returned back. But air purifier, which can increase humidity, can’t start to work without pressing button or command via IR. Also I’m worry that probably it’s no way to get a data from air purifier that it’s out of water. But I can write a python code which could detect that humidity level stopped to increase (but IR command was actually sent). But lack of feedbacks - I not sure if we could expect that it will work perfect. I had an idea to use webcamera to watch to indicators of air purifier, but I’m not very expirienced in the ML and machine vision. My husband is, but he had lack of time as I said. Maybe it could be more cheap to by a new humizer with native management via home assistent, I not sure.
1.1. Current devices: Danby DAC060EB1WDB is air conditioner and the air purifier is dalkin mck 75jvm-k
1.2. A quiestion: which temperature and humidity sensors do we need?
2. light walls, motion sensors - right now - it could be really perfect, if it start to automaticly enable orange light at the night in the rooms and/or bathroom when it’s here somebody, it could be perfect. Also it could help with security concerns. I think, it’s easy to detect that we’re not at the home - for example our phones not at the home - and trigger the alarm. But want to read about standard solutions. Regarding security, it’s for later. I think, we need standard philips motion sensors (under hue brandname), am I right?
3. Smart plugs - right now - to maybe manage air conditioner with the most easy way, also to mandatory switch off our computer monitors to help us to not brake a sleeping cycle.
4. Cheap smart lamps for bathroom (or waterproof and more expansive) - right now - our health is important, and we need something with good CRI and no pulsations (it’s reason why we choosed Philips. Also I know all ikea lamps are good. What else?). Maybe withot ability to change themperature and bright, just on/off via zibee and two types: first with a small temperature, and another with high temperature amd very bright - we have sockets for six lamps in the bathroom. Currently we use in the bathroom just standard LED lamps. And they often die because of humidity. Also they affect a sleep if visit a bathroom at the night - because bright and with high temperature. Replacing to the low temperature faint lamps not a way - as result, I can start to sleep when I’m at the bathroom, I know myself We need something more intellectual here
5. LCD screen to show information from HA - later - Any good solutions which requires minimum handy work?
6. webcameras - later - for security. Privacy is important. we don’t need anything directly attached to the public cloud, and know that somebody with root access to the vendor’s cloud, able to watch in us 24/7. But devices, which require cloud for initial configuration, but still work in the sealed envinronments is also OK - I can ban internet access for webcameras in our router. Which cameras do we need?
7. leak and smoke detectors - later or now. Right now if the integration is easy. Which sensors do we need?
8. any ideas how to use heater - later(we’re in the North Hemisphere, it’s a lot of time until Winter). I don’t have, only ask husband to make some thing using arduinos and attach to device, which we already have in the wall
9. Switches - right now - just to operate with light manually. Going to let ourself to change brightness, but not a lamp’s temperature. Probably zigbee/philips hue is the best choice for us?