So with all this corona stuff going on, just staying at home and whatnot, I thought I would give home automation a try! I’m new to this stuff and the amount of information out there is a bit overwhelming to be honest.
I’m probably gonna install HA on a Raspberry PI or in a docker on my server, but I need some hardware to connect devices too. I would like to have one thing that supports most devices and protocols, but not having to rely on some third party cloud service or something (like Smartthings, if I’ve understood it correctly).
I thought my first project was gonna be to buy a few smart bulbs and try to get them to automatically dim down when I play media with Emby. I also want to get a sensor to automatically turn the lights on (dimmed) if my kids wake up at night. For these things it seems like a just need a Zigbee USB or something, but if I want to expand later with some Z-Wave, is there a good device that supports both? And are there other protocols that I could end up needing? I know that question is probably hard to answer… I’m just a bit lost here
I’ve been looking into the Athom Homey which supports Z-Wave+, Zigbee, 433 MHz, 868 MHz, Bluetooth, WiFi og IR, but its also very expensive. Does it work well with HA, and are there cheaper options that supports just as much stuff? Not sure if I’ll ever need all of that though
A lot depends on what you want to do. My take as a relative newcomer is that you’ll do fine with a RPi if you’re just doing the “base” HA with normal monitoring and control stuff. Nothing I’ve done so far has put a dent in my RPi 3B+ processor or memory. If you want to get into streaming video, or even audio, or plan to go crazy with all additional processes, and as you say you’ve already got a server you can add a docker to, that option starts to look better.
Same for protocols. A lot depends on what you want to do. I did my research and bought a HUSBZB, since I was leaning toward Zigbee but wasn’t sure. Obviously WiFi is an option right out the box, so that gave me three paths.
For me, so far Zigbee has been the clear winner. I’ve bought hardware from seven different manufactures, and it only takes a few moments to pair them. They self-negotiate a robust mesh network and devices work in the most remote corners of the house. A few strategically-placed mains-powered devices act as repeaters in the mesh. I have devices in the fieldstone basement and in three outbuildings. They just work, all the time, with no hassle.
WiFi seemed like it should have been the easiest, since I already maintain a home network. But for me, it’s been the least reliable and most time-intensive to set up and maintain. Each manufacturer has their own proprietary interface. You generally need to create an account on their cloud to activate and connect. You probably want to establish IP address reservations and possibly firewall rules for each device. You usually need to install a separate HA integration, at least one of which has had outstanding bugs for years, with little developer interest. Vendors change their APIs and even lock them out (TP-Link in the UK.) Any place in the house without 100% rock-solid WiFi coverage results in disconnects, delays and generally unreliable device control.
I haven’t even wandered into Z-Wave yet. I’m sure it’s fine, but at this point I have little justification to even bother.
thanks for all the replies! we’ve had some illness here, so I forgot all about this
thanks for the suggestion. it doesn’t seem to be sold here, and when I was looking into it, there seem to be different frequencies for eu and us. do you know if this one works in eu?
yeah, i think i’m gonna start with zigbee. you haven’t had any issues? i read the husbzb was best for z-wave and that the zigbee part crashed often, but that seem to be older info, so probably been improved since then.
does anyone know if there is any difference in performance using conbee vs raspbee? any pros and cons?
also, if i start using home assistant on a rasberry pi 3b+ now, can i install it on my server later (if i need something more powerful) and just move config files and it would work? or is that something i have to think about now?
I can only speak to my own experience. Zigbee is now my preferred protocol. For me, it just works, out of the box, with virtually no integration, installation, configuration, or maintenance effort, regardless of which manufacturer’s gear I’m using (seven different ones so far.)
Obviously YMMV. Maybe I’ve just been lucky. I use a Raspberry Pi 3B+ and that too has been very easy and reliable. My HA doesn’t come close to taxing the processor or memory resources of the RPi.
