Hello,
I’m looking for some recommendations on which smart devices are good to get started with Home Assistant.
I’m new to automation, but have a technical construction background. So I was able to install the Hass.IO on a Raspberry Pi and get it up and running. However, I haven’t been able to figure out how to connect smart devices to HA. I have a couple of smart devices (TV, Nest Thermostat, myQ garage opener, Google Cast, Phillips Wiz wi-fi bulb, cheap/foreign LED strip lights, etc) I tried searching for some articles on here, but everything seemed really specific to certain devices that I either don’t have or required some additional programming that’s above my current skill/knowledge level. At this point, I just want to try to get devices grouped together to get smart devices into my HA before I start buying stuff that’s not compatible or proprietary (like what I’ve read about with the google/Nest devices). Therefore, I was hoping I could get some good recommendations of a device(s) to try out that will help me learn the basics with HA while not breaking the bank or committing to additional paid subscriptions. I’m expecting my first child in May… so I’m trying to avoid spending a lot of $$ upfront , in case for some reason Home Automation just doesn’t click… (basically so my wife doesn’t kill me for wasting $$ on a hobby that’s out of my league haha )
Any advice is much appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Welcome! My own background includes construction, and 36 years in IT. I’ve been using HA for about a year now and I still consider myself a raw beginner. There is just SO much to learn, especially if you’re not already a Unix expert.
To me, the first thing is to find your personal killer app. What sort of “smarts” would actually help your day-to-day life? For me, it was monitoring my heating system and temperatures in certain areas. Knowing how low I can keep the thermostat without having pipes freeze could actually save me money. Not only fuel, but massive damage if a pipe were to burst.
Next was some automation to turn on lights while I’m away, with the unexpected benefit of being able to turn lights on and off without getting up from the couch.
Obviously, everyone is different. A lot of folks here are keen to track where everyone in their family is at any given time. Others want whole-house audio or home-theater systems. Some have implemented bed occupancy sensors, toothbrush operation sensors and even toilet seat sensors (don’t ask me why!) The possibilities are endless.
Once you’ve figured out what gives you the most return on investment, you can explore which devices can get you there. Also consider which protocols you want to use. I settled on Zigbee (using an inexpensive HUSBZB-1 USB device on the Pi) for smart plugs. IKEA’s Tradfri stuff is pretty reasonable and works great with the HUSBZB-1, but I’ve also used other brands. I’ve also dabbled with some WiFi smart plugs from TP-Link with mixed success. And my Honeywell smart thermostats required their own HA software component which talks to the Honeywell servers. That’s been fairly reliable, too.
Thanks for the info! I’ll definitely look into these.
What kind of Honeywell thermostat do you have? I used to use the Lyric, but switched over to the Nest because the Lyric would loose connection and reset all the time.
I would say that you use the local “software” components to get the feel of Home Assistant. This way you need to not spend anything. It can be anything simple like integrating a Weather components like Dark Sky ( a very commonly used), creating a small Alarm (with notification to Messaging apps like Telegram / MS team / Flock etc. Head-up to https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/ to see different available integrations.
When you get comfortable in this,then head over to some hardware integration
Before starting with HA, I bought some Honeywell RTH6580WF smart WiFi thermostats. There is a HA component which works OK, although the native Honeywell app allows more functionality like schedules and permanent vs. temporary “hold” settings. The down side is the dependency on Honeywell’s servers, and the fact that while they collect all your usage data, they don’t share it with you. The up side is that there’s a backup (the Honeywell server) if your HA implementation fails. (Mine hasn’t… yet.)
Oh, good point! When I first started HA it found some devices right away (my router, TV, Roku device, etc.) and included simple things like the weather card. Playing around with this stuff will help a lot.
I started (1 month ago) with electric socket zigbee (aka smart plug) with an USB Zigbee gateway (Phoscon Conbee ii) and I plugged a light on the smart plug.
This way it was easy to check if it works : click a button on HA UI and check if the light switch on/off).
I started with a smart plug because my first objective was to turn on the electrical heater in the bathroom 15min before I wake up
Then I try to integrate devices I already have (chrome cast, printer, router, ups, hifi, ‘software’ (weather, nmap tracker …). Sometimes it works sometimes not
Then I added an Osram bulb and an Ikea bulb (no need to have the tradfri hub). After some tests I chose Philips Hue bulb (+Philips hub) (because of quality of light and it works even if HA is in maintenance.
In term of hardware compatibility, vendors have that some list:
I like my Honeywell T6 zwave thermostat. It was super easy to install and setup, has all you need for automation, and all the benefits of zwave (doesn’t require a c-wire but can use one).
Lol on the wife and hobbies over your head. Be confident… with enough time anyone can get the hang of home automation, especially someone who has proven themselves in technically related work. Yes the learning curve can be steep, but most of the good tech stuff is no different. These forums make it cake for someone like you to proceed with success.
Best place to start is a wifi bulb that has built in support and/or a wifi socket. It’s how most people started way back when and the best way to learn all the basics, scripts, automations, scenes etc etc, as you get immediate results from devices that just work rather than something overly complicated that’ll just confuse the process. Even the good old turn light on at sunset will teach you a lot.
Once you have your head around those basics you’ll find it far easier to understand what’s going on with more complex devices and when you ask for help on here you’ll understand the responses rather than cutting and pasting code and crossing your fingers.
, in case for some reason Home Automation just doesn’t click… (basically so my wife doesn’t kill me for wasting $$ on a hobby that’s out of my league 
haha 
)
Cheers,