I’ve searched and read so many posts found under searches for ‘beginner’, ‘suggestions’ and the such. But I’m at a loss on where to get started with actual equipment. I’ve got a Pi with HA installed and ready so I’m past the HA setup part. I need help replacing the limited capability Wal-Mart equipment I have now with hardware that will 1) work with HA and 2) fits my needs. I’d love to learn it all myself but after about the 12th how-to that is either too vague or over my head, things get overwhelming. And I get that every setup will vary by needs, budget, current setups, and much more… but surely there’s a ‘basic’ get something like x, y or z of you need p, q or r functionality?
And if not, per chance someone can help get me started? My primary concern is having a system that will function if I loose network. Nothing worse than every light coming on at 2am after a thunderstorm knocks out power, then every Google in the house yelling “I can’t seem to connect to the internet!”
Right now, my primary hardware needs are just color changing light bulbs, dimmable light switches and camera’s with the ability to record to SD card or local network. I see lots of options discussed but I’m trying to figure out how to keep it low-budget and, like mentioned, something that will not shutdown as soon I loose network. That’s the part that is my biggest hurdle.
Thanks for any help, insight and direction anyone can provide!!
Also, to note… I see the HA Integrations page. But that is both information overload and insufficiency. Take the camera’s for instance. There are over 40 different manufacturers listed. I don’t the critical difference(s) between Foscam, Axis, Samsung or Tuya. Or which one is more budget freindly. Or which one requires pay services vs local services. And I see the IoT classes but how does that translate to camera access? Can I access a video feed on a ‘local push’ camera from within my network even when my ISP is down? Does one brand work better with Zigbee or ZWave, which I believe I need one of those to be able to create the HA configuration that fits my need to not shutdown when I loose network connection, correct?
I’m lost and feel like I’m just confusing myself even more, the more I read or watch!! lol
I’d personally suggest going at it from the other end. When I decide that I’m interested in getting a (fill in the blank, let’s say a robot vacuum as a random example), I do some general searching for robot vacuums and find some options that are in my price range and have good reviews, then do some Google searching to see if they integrate well into Home Assistant. Then with that info there’s usually a clear winner (or a couple or maybe none).
I definitely get your information overload feeling. I think a lot of it just comes from the fact that there are simply so many manufacturers out there, plus a lot of folks (myself as an example) came to Home Assistant after already having bought a hodgepodge of devices. Yeah, there’s an integration someone made that makes my (fill in the blank) sorta work with Home Assistant, but if I was buying something new there’s no way I’d buy that specific one.
Yes, @brooksben11 has the right approach. First, figure out what you want to accomplish. Then search for hardware. Amazon, Ali Express, IKEA, wherever. Then narrow down what works with HA.
I suggest you consider using Zigbee and/or Z-Wave devices. They are far more likely to work locally, without needing the vendor’s cloud or a kludge integration. IP-based devices work fine, but they are always at risk of the vendor pushing an OTA update which breaks functions you depend on, shutting down their cloud servers or going out of business. The big exception to this would be ESPHome devices you build yourself.
Edit: I thought of another tip: Follow the KISS principle. It’s very tempting to jump all over every integration, add-on and gadget you see. The problem is, with all the frequent updates, breaking changes, bugs, deprecations, and obsolescence, it becomes a full-time job maintaining your system. This stuff is fun, but can become frustrating if you overdo it.
I know it can be overwhelming when you start with HA, just because you have so many options and you can/have to do it yourself: there is just no standard way.
I second to what these guys are saying: think of what you would like to automate, 1 thing/‘category’ at the time.
When I started using HA, I found cheap Tuya devices (IP based) which some of them could be flashed to work without any cloud service.
I kept it very basic so I could get the hang of HA, automations, …
Little by little I integrated the devices/systems that I already used.
After some time I wanted to expand my system and started with zigbee because of being relatively cheap, is a mesh structure and a there are a lot of devices that communicate that way.
First with lights, then some buttons and later sensors.
The learning curve of HA can be quite steep (it was for me and I see it’s like that for a lot of users here), also because of possibilities of HA and depending on your current knowledge of similar systems.
So give it some time, read a lot and try it with baby steps.
For IP cameras indoors, give this one a try. Inexpensive, reliable, and fully-featured with no cloud requirements. It’s manufactured by Dahua and OEM’ed by Amcrest.