Dont really need the poe hat. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32973169095.html?spm=2114.search0302.3.8.5c8a7eaawQQaZb&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_0,searchweb201603_0,ppcSwitch_0&algo_pvid=d0dfacc7-d0ca-4bea-bbd5-1109237f9a8c&algo_expid=d0dfacc7-d0ca-4bea-bbd5-1109237f9a8c-1
i use these for all my rasp pi installs
I’ve done user interviews with most of my extended family. Seriously. Plus, with the density of sensors and other automations, the panels likely won’t get a ton of use unless you want to use them for other reasons. Also, the plan is to make the panel UI very contextually aware. So, for example, in a “Guest Mode”, the whole thing could turn into nothing but a touch screen on/off switch.
Have you built in default behaviour for failure cases? e.g. partial power failure, internet failure, component failure, and (the big one) YOU failure - i.e. what happens if you aren’t around to keep all of this working?
All of my HA has augmented manual controls rather than replace them. e.g. I would never remove physical light switches but rather find ways to parallel their behaviour.
Case example (I was using Domoticz at the time but the principle is the same). three years ago, the SSD in the Pi that ran Domoticz failed when I was away on business and unable to do anything about it. All the lights worked (physical switches), the radiator thermostats worked (physical controls). The only things that failed were the various automations that switched lights on at dusk etc.
This will be an interesting challenge! Once Rhasspy has been broken up into services, it may be easier to run multiple instances of it on your NUC (probably via Docker). You’ll definitely want wakeword detection happening on the Pi’s themselves, since 36 simultaneous audio streams would probably be a bit much.
Keep me informed of your progress; I’d love to hear how it goes 
Hey Tim,
one other i wanted to mention to you (as i’m currently using it) is snips.ai.
Its very flexible in the way how you can speak to it. Its not about specific phrases you have to teach it but it can really understand your sentences based on how you train it.
its also completely locally and one advantage (for me) is that you can split up recording and processing. F.e. i use raspberry zeros with ReSpeaker Pi-Hats on top which only do voice activation and then send the recording to my home server for processing. Its really flexible and easy to set up.
It uses MQTT and i’m using Node-Red to trigger my automations.
Did you read this?
Don’t use consumer hardware like a NUC if you are going all in. Invest in a real server chassis (ie. ThinkServer) with hot swappable drives, redundant power supplies, redundant RAM, etc. Then run everything in the most universal environment possible which is best for you. VMs dedicated to one or two tasks, or containers, or a combination of both. Run two UPSs, one for each power supply. And you might want to consider using an enterprise grade PoE switch with redundant power supplies as well. Or just keep a spare switch pre-configured. And without saying, use enterprise grade WiFi.
Nice device. Do they have a rpi4 version with usb c (and I think higher power needed?)
uhrg =(
well, hello, here i am, looking for an alternative.
I just started exchanging heosy for sonos. The first will come tomorrow. Why !!!
Have you looked into centralizing the switching capability into one or two power locations and using HA to control them? Check out a series of videos from Super House that shows how he implemented his home wiring.
What is heosy?
i agree on the other comments about the NUC, for such an amazing and integral system you dont want to be swapping hardware or containers in downtime.
At least, if cost is concern check out a couple of Dell Power Edge R710, or R620. You get redundancy all around, for sure vmware. For switch, i would end up with Cisco C3560 48P poe, excellent switch for its price with all features you need for L2/L3. I like Unifi, you can make the controller another vm.
The only other thing of concern is the lack of manual controls for when something happens, and it will.
You’re going to have one of the most amazing smart homes, with lots of others envy! Great job!!!
This solves the problem of the potential need to downgrade to a switch but doesn’t give me a local “power kill” option in cases where a bulb breaks and I need to quickly stop the flow of electricity.
Also, I’ve heard THIS is not to code where I live.
We’ll see. The right solution will present itself after talking to the electrician.
I don’t have strong feelings one way or another on this. Yes, this would get me what I need right now without Rhasspy needing to grow to support multi-sat configs, but I’m also 18 months from moving in. I think the multi-sat configuration interests me because I would consolidate the processing in one machine that I can grow as needed.
All things like this are risky. My family has a high risk tolerance for these sorts of things and this is where we landed. I considered taking it further. [maniacal laugh, maniacal laugh]
Joking aside: Good hardware, lots of redundancy, documented processes, an interested teenage son who performs backup duties, regular maintenance, etc. I was a systems engineer for many years and have a good sense for what it takes to keep a complex system up and running 24/7.
Totally agree!
Will do!
Thanks! I’ll check this out. The great thing about any of these methods is that I can invest in the hardware and make (and change!) software decisions later, as new projects are developed or improved. Such a stark contrast to closed systems like Google Assistant. As crazy as some of my project sounds, it’s much more flexible and safe IMO vs slapping Google Home Hubs all over the place, which I see more and more people do.
That’s a great price! Yes, I didn’t actually mean a poe hat. This is the same kind of dongle I’m using to power all my Aeotec sensors and planned on doing the same for the the Pi. I haven’t seen this low of a price (without really bad reviews)!
I’m embarrassed I didn’t come to this upgraded solution already. Good call. Yes, for sure, this is the way to go. A little NUC is great for a small/medium setup but something much more higher end is in order for this big one.
The plan right now is all Unifi hardware - APs, switches (PoE and otherwise), and router. I’m using all of that now and have been super impressed.