so i ve got my Pi3, and want to start automating my home, i m planning on using alexapi + home assistant to control relays turn on-off stuff at home with voice.
I have seen many videos on youtube and such, and each has his own way in approaching this result. and i wanted to know your opinion regarding this:
do you suggest a better assistant than alexapi to be integrated with home assistant?
do you suggest to buy relays and esp8266 to control them on/off. or to get Sonoff ready made and reconfigure it with node-red (i m not very skilled with codes but i m good at copying and following tutorials). which is more efficient and better or you recommend something else ?
I have like 4 appliances that i want to control and some are not in the same room.
Also if i want to use infrared sensor to change TV channel and to control other appliances that are infrared enable IR blast, is it possible with alexapi and home assistant?
where would you recommend to get the relays, esp chip, from ? aliexpress or amazon… ?
I recommend the Sonoff switches flashed with the Sonoff-HomeAssistant firmware. Flashing them is extremely simple, and the Sonoff switches are cheaper than buying the parts yourself. They are 100% reliable for me, I have not had issues with them at all.
Here’s what happened to me. I started out with wifi outlets (ESP8266 to MQTT) and then overpriced light bulbs. Then I realized you HAVE to control that stuff from an app or Home Assistant. That’s fine, unless the bulb is in a lamp next to your bed and you just want to snap it on from a dead sleep. Alexa is nice “Alexa turn on bedroom lamp” is great unless your gf is asleep next to you.
I “evolved” into the in wall smart switches that can be manually controlled as well as by Home Assistant.
Switches and relays and bulbs have their place, for sure but for me the smart home is centered around in wall devices. That being said I have like 6 wifi switches I use. I place them behind those items that when you leave home you wonder “Did I turn that off?” Of course had I started this fresh I’d have put in zwave outlets but I cut my teeth on those switches and you have to start somewhere.
thank you for your reply, but is it possible with Sonoff to make a manual way to turn on and off the just in case u don’t want to use alexapi ?
I read somewhere that you can do this in home-assistant where you caan click on-off without having to use alexapi right ? like user interface or home assistant app ?
Fwiw, I’m in a similar boat to @hagensieker - I think the advice is worthwhile…
I too started with the expensive (hue) smart bulbs, evolved/expanded to cheaper ones (limitless), and concluded by deciding that from now on if anyone of them fail I won’t replace them directly, but will put the resources into in-wall solutions.
Same with non-light devices: I first bought a couple of z wave in-line sockets, expanded to include cheap chinese in-line sonoffs with kmanoz’s (excellent) firmware, and have decided to not buy anymore but to invest in in-wall zwave sockets wherever required.
To have a physical switch (for lights or devices) capable of preventing the ‘smarts’ from working is a dealbreaker, it turns out.
A guest can for example, turn off the lights in a room on their way out. A natural habit for non smarthome people. For hue and limitless, these lights won’t respond to automation now, and you may not have observed the guilty party screwing up your system, so you won’t necessarily know why your system’s buggered.
The bulbs are a cheap and simple way of getting a ‘wow’ factor, and certainly a good way of dipping ones toe in the water, but when your room doesn’t light up when you walk in and you can’t see where you’re going, it’s no fun…
I’ve come to terms with the extra expense, after accepting that it’s the cost of not living with a flawed system!
Ages ago when I swtiched my living room lights to LightwaveRF i once found my wife sitting in a dark room with the TV on.
When i asked why, she responded with “my phones flat, and i can’t find the remote to turn the lights on…”
At that point i promised her that i would only enhance our flat/home, rather than move things across.
