My first post here… im not sure if im putting it in right category, but as is not related only with configuration or hardware i felt “uncategorized” fits best.
Im looking for automation system for my home, as many others i want to start “small”, and grow with time. At beginning i tried to find some commercial solutions/hubs, so i looked at Fibaro, Vera, and so on. These systems are nice, have lot of useful features, but are “closed” and by that limited in some way. Then i found Home Assistant, and i felt it is something what i want to give a try
First of all i must write what i do know, what i can do etc:
Linux is a “black magic” for me - i can say that directly, im windows/MacOs user.
despite that i felt really good in computers, programming, and so on. Just never had need/chance to try Linux
arduino, i love it. Already planning to make some own devices using Z-Uno.
soldering skills and electronics basics are obvious considering love to ardu
What i would like to get:
most important: access to home automation system while being OUTSIDE. Trips, vacations, and so on. So access by internet is crucial for me. Here i must mention my home internet connection does not have static IP.
flexibility in creating scenes, rules, and so on
integration with Netatmo would be nice (i do have already weather station and thermostat)
As i know (but i can be wrong) all three points are already possible in Home Assistant, im just looking for confirmation
Here comes important questions:
Hardware
As for start im planning to use just couple z-wave sensors: 2-3 windows, 4 lamps, and some selfmade (Z-Uno) relays for battery operated outdoor christmas lights. In future i would like to add more, including garden irrigation system, garage doors and some others. Total number of sensors should not exceed 50 in the future. Question is what hardware should i choose considering such load ? Is Raspberry Pi 3 powerfull enought ? Or should i consider some mini-pc like NUC ? (please remember about my lack of experience with linux)
Software
This question comes together with answer for first question. If you say “take NUC” then for sure i should install linux, and then Home Assistant. But if best choice would be Raspberry… i do see theres some kind of Home Assistant operating system, it does look like perfect solution for a “box”
used only as Home Assistant Hub, is this OS already “bug free”, stable enought, and easy to use by novice ? Auto update feature seems to be very interresting. Or maybe i should just go traditional route of Raspbian -> Home Assistant ?
Anything else useful (tips, advices and so on) for novice in Linux/Raspberry/Home Assistant would be great !
Hey Greg, at the moment I am looking at changing my setup and am very interested in trying the HassIO on a Pi3. I can say with all confidence that running Raspian & HASS work great. The Pi models have no problems running HASS and with the tutorials found here, even most novices experience little difficulty. I originally ran HASS on Raspian in a virtual environment but then moved to a Server setup to combine HASS with a Zoneminder setup and a few other applications.
Last night I experienced a server crash and am wanting to split the setups to not loose both at once in the future. My household has become very integrated with the home automation and I do not want them to experience and outage again, or at least have it be a minimal impact. You should have seen their faces this morning when I told them they had to use the switches until I can rebuild HASS
Using the switches ? I do agree with them, we do have 21st century, fix that ASAP !
And seriously, thank you for your answer. After couple hours more of reading my first post can be actually written as just one question:
Raspberry Pi + HassIO, or miniPC with Linux and Hass (eventually NUC w HassIO)
NUC is a bit pricey, and thats the biggest problem - so thats least possible option for now. From other side i found used Acer Veriton N282G PC (1.8GHz Atom CPU, 4GB Ram, 160GB HDD) at price of new Raspberry Pi.
Raspberry is smaller, consumes much less energy, can have HassIO, but also have less memory, slower CPU and generally is (probably) behind the Veriton in matter of performance. Also it does use SD card as storage what can cause some problems in case of constant reading/writing (im speaking from my own experience here).
Veriton takes much more energy (about 5x more) what is noticable amount in lets say period of one year, but also have better performance, and traditional (slower but safer in this case ?) HDD as main storage. Drawback - i cannot install HassIO, so i will have to learn how to use Linux (maybe actually its not bad), plus mentioned much higher energy costs.
Device - rasp or pc will be used only as Home Assistant HUB, i dont plan installing other services or servers. I dont have Raspberry Pi yet, or any “free” PC, so i will have to buy something anyway.
Hardware - A Pi3 should be quite sufficient. Then too you can use Hass.io, which is basically a fully packaged OS and Home Assistant install that you manage through the web interface.
Remote access is probably easiest done with PiVPN, you can couple that with Dynamic DNS to allow you to easily access your home network from anywhere.
Then, apply the KISS principle. I’ve seen many posts from people frustrated because they rushed in and tried big complicated automations, without taking the time to learn. Also, in my opinion the point of automation is to help, not replace. If you’re deploying automation that relies upon people unlearning behaviours (like not turning lights on/off at the wall) you’re doing it wrong
