I pondered the question below for some time, and despite lots of reading, it didn’t really sink in until now.
There are many vendors out there with multiple devices/gizmos and they all have their own iOS/Android Apps to help run such devices. In fact on my phone/tablet, I have multiple apps (all grouped together) for the many smart devices I have at home. One must ask though:
What’s the point in installing a 3rd party App (e.g. Home Assistant) ? All it does is clutter my phone even more with one more App, Should I even bother?
Well… It is true that individual Apps give you greater control over the many devices you have. However, with a HA (Home Automation) one can define ‘rules’ that makes all the various devices kind of talk to one another.
If garage door is opened, start recording the garage camera
If person A is home (based on their iPhone), Start heating the house
If it’s late and TV is On, close shades, dim lights down, …
… and so on and so forth.
Parts of the above script can be run from all the various/individual Apps. However, if there are dependencies, one need a ‘Container’ App (e.g. HA) to make sure all the individual tasks are executed correctly, in sequence … etc.
So (The way I see/understand it), Home Automation is about:
Executing a set of functions by various devices …
and have some level of interaction between those devices
It is meant to remove the mundane/boring stuff from every day’s life.
On the plus side, packages such as HA enable one to control all their devices from their local network, without going to the cloud.
I’m going to answer this two different ways. First, big picture: Many of us started with multiple different apps and selected HA as “one hub to rule them all.” But in an ideal world, we would have first selected the core system (HA) and added supported hardware as needed.
From this perspective, the interaction is baked in. No need to retro-fit, because each component is selected to fit the overall scheme. For example, I chose to rely heavily on Zigbee devices which work with the native ZHA integration. Avoiding third-party apps and cloud-based solutions were among the design criteria. As “mundane” tasks are identified, a solution based on what’s already installed in HA is selected as a solution.
My second kind of answer comes from a different perspective. What sort of functionality did the user choose to implement? Some folks want voice control of everything. Some want to automate climate, music, lighting, window shades, etc. Still others want monitoring. I’ve seen discussions on bed occupancy sensors, toothbrush monitoring and even bathtub occupancy sensors. It’s all possible. The first thing you need to figure out is where your priorities lie.
For me, it was purely practical. Monitoring my HVAC system and various temperatures around the house allows me to save money on fuel without letting any pipes to freeze in winter. In my climate, these are essential life-support systems. Likewise monitoring my sump pumps, since a flooded basement also means no heat. I added some remote line voltage smart plugs to beef up my Zigbee network (the smart plugs act as nodes in the mesh.) So I got some basic remote control in the bargain. I’m pretty happy with this. Sure, I’ve added a few things like weather and sea conditions, but that’s mostly just fooling around.
I started automating various functions of my home in 2006, well before Home Assistant existed or most existing gadgetry was even a gleam in an engineer’s eye.
It’s mostly about convenience and security. Plus, I enjoy it as a hobby.
Yes @Taras, some of these features were available many years ago. I started a long time back when our first baby was born, and bought a baby-room camera from x10, that connected to the TV downstairs via an RF bridge. Image quality was still SD (525 lines) … Then, I discovered all the devices X10 had and invested in some of them to turn lights on/off when away from the home. There was no internet option back then (and no smart phones either). All of this went dormant for few years, then came the Nest thermostat (got 2 of those), the Amcrest PZT Cameras, and the very affordable WyzeCam. Quickly everyone was doing smart bulbs and I never really understood that back then… Then, Alexa/Google and Voice command, smart WIFI dimmers from Feit (very affordable at Costco). Before you know it, there were multiple devices from as many vendors and now, how do I fit all of these together?
To @CaptTom’s point, and in hindsight, I did not do much research early on (like most), as the early smart switches were very expensive, and Smart Homes were to some extent an expensive curiosity (from my perspective at least). In any event, we’re here today, very interesting times, and I only wish I had the time to dedicate a bit more to this. Though, like @Taras mentioned, this is a hobby, and not sure we’ll ever get to “Ok, you’ve done enough, leave it as is”.
My latest additions are: a Radon detector (AirThings) for the basement, and water and electricity consumption monitoring with Flume and Sense. All of these a direct consequence of Covid-19 i.e., the kids spend a lot of time playing in the basement, and the utility bills have gone up … Curious as to what tomorrow will bring.
I was lucky, I started with home assistant, and have endeavoured to only get stuff that fits.
Actually I suppose I started with Hue Starter Kit, liked that and the fact Kodi could control the lights, but when that wasn’t enough I started looking around for open source solutions. There was openhab, home assistant and a couple of other things. One was written in perl, and one seemed to be mainly a German language community, which didn’t seem convenient to a non German speaker. I like python, and the docs were great for HA. However this post sold me on it: https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2016/01/19/perfect-home-automation/
I re-read it occasionally, just to remind myself.
TL;DR - app driven devices are generally about control, HA is about automation.
I like HA in that I don’t have to have any other apps whatsoever. HA controls all devices from a variety of platforms without any issue and without anyone realising it’s doing it.
Good points about how quickly the technology changes. If you got on board early, you’re always dealing with compatibility issues.The new stuff is where the fun is, but you may have an investment in the old.
Home monitoring was the “killer app” for me when I started spending more time away. And it was a great excuse to play with a Raspberry Pi, something I’d had in the back of my mind for a while. I can see this becoming a real time-sucking hobby if I allow it. I already spend too much time here on this forum And I just bought some ESP8266’s to play around with when I get time.
Good to know I’m not the only one getting slowly addicted …
You make good points about ‘old’ investment. I bought 2 D-Link PZT cams, then 4 Amcrest, and now I have few WyzeCams. The D-Link/Amcrest were pricey (~$80 a piece) and are now obsolete. In contrast, the WyzeCams are very affordable ($20 apiece) and not a big deal to throw away and get new ones. Wyze started with Cams, and now they have a growing assortment of affordable devices. I hope they continue on this trend, to make HA affordable and fun to experiment with. Can’t wait for HA to support Wyze natively.
Thank you @nickrout that’s a good read, and still relevant 4 years later. One thing I never truly ‘understood’ is with the smart bulbs. Some let you adjust the color from warm/cool/daylight … while others have the full color spectrum. I have 4 of those (1 at each corner) in my family room, and I tried some crazy colors (blue/green/orange//yellow/…) and liked none. In all honesty, who would use such colors and transform their living room into a dance floor? Or maybe I’m missing the point. The way I see it (and I’m sure opinions are divided on this) … HA is about bringing in convenience. Anything else, I fail to see (or maybe not yet).
That’s the beauty of HA. There’s something for everyone. I find myself shaking my head and thinking “but, why?” sometimes. Toothbrush sensors? Bed occupancy sensors? But then I read about it, and I can see where it makes sense for some people.
To be honest, that 2016 article somewhat missed the mark for me. I agree home automation should make things easier, not harder. I agree with the concepts of local control and systems which work normally when HA is down or someone simply chooses not to use it.
What doesn’t work for me is excessive automation. I need monitoring, and I like remote control. But I do not want lights turning on for me as I move around. My automations are for things like notifying me if my sump pump is stuck on, or a temperature falls too low. I have an automation for turning lights on and off when I’m not home, for security.
Again, this is a personal preference, and HA suites me just as well as someone with the opposite view.
The answer to the first question is the resource you said you lacked: time (for research and experimentation).
I did. I left my automated home run for many years, as-is, while I pursued other hobbies.
What I pointed out earlier: security.
Aside from the existing alarm panel, that’s integrated with the home automation system, I’m notified (late in the evening) if I’ve left open any of my home’s exterior doors (as well as the shed door and yard gate). If service people arrive and open the yard gate, that’s announced (so we’re immediately aware of anyone entering our backyard). This (and more) provides added peace of mind.
@123 You’re absolutely correct. I had ‘forgotten’ (in my post) about the security aspect as well. I did install several cameras over the years, now my next ‘challenge’ is to somehow re-cycle the ADT system that came with the house. The electronics are a bit dated (15 years old) but all the sensors (and through-the-wall wiring) is worth re-using. I’ve read some about how to re-purpose my ADT SafeWatch Pro 3000, but the more I dig into this, and the bigger my ToDo list becomes … If only the wife and kids would agree this is important, and not just another case of Daddy and his new toys.
My answer to “What’s home automation” is “all about” is a bit more philosophical. Long, long ago I read a story about a concept building created by ATT. In it, a central computer tracked the location of any employees. If you sat down at ANY computer, your current work showed up on the screen just as you’d left it somewhere else. If you were standing by a phone and it rang, the phone’s for you. Lights go on and off as you move about the building. It was a building that reacted to it’s occupants and their needs. I was sold.
Now, something like 40 years later Home Assistant gives me a way to do that which doesn’t also offer up my entire life ON VIDEO to Amazon, Google, the NSA, and anyone they give/sell that information to.
And I just bought some ESP8266’s to play around with when I get time.