18 ms·

My Preferred Smart Home Vendors

170 points by segfault11 4y ago

miffe 4y ago
I haven't tried Home Assistant yet. But does it support KNX and/or DALI?
- jve 4y ago
  Have noticed KNX integration: https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/knx/ https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/knx/ But I have no KNX devices, so no comment.
- mlenz 4y ago
  Yes, Home Assistant works perfectly with KNX. I have been running it for about half a year now and did not have any issues. To control DALI devices, you need a KNX/DALI gateway. But I think all homes with KNX and DALI will have one, otherwise you could not control your lights via your switches.
  - miffe 4y ago
    Do you have a gateway to recommend? All I have is an Wago PLC.
monkeydust 4y ago
Home Assistant is by far one of the most impressive open source non-business applications out there. Have my setup running for over 5 years. Not without its problems and I have done a few painful rebuilds in that time but I love the fact I can glue together technologies that do not natively talk to each other through node red automations. Think Ring doorbell, sending a notification toast to my LG TV and turning on my Phillips Hue lights.
- memoriasit 4y ago
  How do you send toast messages to the tv? :P
  - monkeydust 4y ago
    https://webostv.developer.lge.com/design/webos-tv-system-ui/notifications/ https://webostv.developer.lge.com/design/webos-tv-system-ui/...
    - sofixa 4y ago
      I really thought you get notifications on your TV when your toast is done toasting.
      - monkeydust 4y ago
        Haha. Now you got me thinking.
      - Semaphor 4y ago
        That’s actually not hard. Connect the toaster to a smart plug with monitoring, make an automation to send a notification when the power draw drops after X seconds of power draw. It’s essentially the same way people make their washing machines smart.
      - ajolly 4y ago
        I get notifications on my TV once my kettle is done heating.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
- izacus 4y ago
  One thing that bothers me with Home Assistant and could never find a way to fix it: Is there a way to disable it from automatically spying on every single logged in mobile phone? E.g. if I install HASS app on an Android phone and login, it'll automatically start tracking everything from location, connected wifi, charging timing, all of it. And I need to go and disable this manually from every entity separately... and it randomly reenables itself if the device reauthenticates. Since I don't want to track every single step my family makes, did anyone find a configuration option on the server to turn this off for all clients?
  - segfault11 4y ago
    You can deny most permissions when setting up the HA mobile app. This way, it won’t have much to report
  - mackey 4y ago
    It should show your phone in the "Integration" list and then you can just disable it. I agree that it shouldn't be like this just by installing the app.
  - tomatocracy 4y ago
    If you're using the "official" companion app on Android, you can go to the Hamburger menu/Settings/Companion App/Manage Sensors and enable/disable them there.
- spacemanmatt 4y ago
  > Have my setup running for over 5 years. Wow. Mine invariably cratered after 3-5 months. Had to start over from scratch every time.
  - tass 4y ago
    What do you mean by cratered? Biggest issue I had was using a raspberry Pi and having the sd card fail. There’s addons for regular backups to cloud storage, and also alternatives to using an sd card - I now use an odroid
    - Semaphor 4y ago
      Same, SD card failure was the only failure I ever had. Nowadays, I just run an SSD instead.
      - theshrike79 4y ago
        I just grabbed a cheap Lenovo Thinkcenter Mini and don't bother with raspberries at all :)
    - spacemanmatt 4y ago
      > cratered Quit working. One or more critical modules would fail beyond my ability/interest to repair in a foreign container-manager based application. Or the thing would quit booting. I guess I could try different SD cards but the ones I had were serving fine with raspbian before. The first time it failed, I tried to join the community but found it exceptionally hostile before I even had a chance to seek regular support.
      - tass 4y ago
        I have had the following variety of problems: * very occasional post upgrade problem which was fixed by the next upgrade or just a restore * zigbee radio occasional issue which turned out to be a bug with the dongle firmware. Upgrading the firmware sorted me out. (Basically, I sometimes needed to power cycle before the zigbee network was functional) * SD card corruption. This was the biggest pain, and required building the system from scratch once (since the backups were on the same card - oops!) and from backup one other time. I never once had an issue after moving away from using sd cards that needed more than a restart - and this was maybe once in the last 6 months. I suspect the upgrade problems I previously had were also corruption related. If you were willing to try again, I highly recommend the odroid with eMMC - it’s also more powerful (though pricier) than a raspberry Pi 4 along with being generally neater since all the plugs attach on one side and it doesn’t need an external usb for its disk.
charleslmunger 4y ago
Interesting that open source stuff (like tasmota for sonoff devices is not mentioned - a number of OEMs offer pre flashed devices. Athom, Kauf, cloudfree, and Martin Jerry just to name a few. These are wonderful to use with home assistant. Similarly, I've had real trouble with some reolink products - they're very cheap, but have codec issues. Were I buying cameras again I'd go with amcrest, which are mostly white label dahua.
- emsixteen 4y ago
  Hey, you forgot this: )
verisimi 4y ago
> My Preferred Smart Home Vendors None.
- verisimi 4y ago
  Ok - downvoted a little, but why would you invite corporations into your house to spy and collect info on everyone, and then make a song and dance about what sort of spying on you and your family prefer? "Do you prefer your jail cell to have the barred window high up AND a thin mattress, or a better view but NO mattress?"
  - RealStickman_ 4y ago
    > Must be controllable locally, and cloud dependency must be optional. In other words, I can use the device without any internet connection. Criteria #1 in the article
  - sofixa 4y ago
    As per TFA, there are many vendors who sell local-only/first/optional hardware, which paired with a local-first software hub like Home Assistant means you have a smart home without inviting any corporation in your home.
  - function_seven 4y ago
    I don’t invite corporations into my house to spy. That’s the entire point of local-only devices! All my smart home stuff is either Zigbee/Z-wave or some 3rd-party firmware over WiFi (Tasmota/ESPHome) I happen to have a couple Echos. They don’t know about my smart home. They’re glorified Bluetooth bridges and one day I’ll replace those as well.
  - ClumsyPilot 4y ago
    Because then you can have free market in your house and capitalism solves every problem.
    - incahoots 4y ago
      Got a chuckle out of me
jve 4y ago
Another device I'v been using few months: Ikea Tradfri Control Outlet (Works over ZigBee): https://zigbee.blakadder.com/Ikea_E1603.html https://zigbee.blakadder.com/Ikea_E1603.html Works well with ZHA. Had 0 problems. Unplugging, plugging in, restarting HA, lossing power, etc - had no issues whatsoever. However it may depend on Zigbee chip too (I have CC2538)
- janci 4y ago
  +1 for IKEA Tradfri series
- Hamuko 4y ago
  Wish it had energy monitoring though.
xoa 4y ago
I wish there were more sensors and other smart home devices that a offered power over ethernet option vs WiFi/BLE/Zigbee. In many spaces running a wire isn't much of an ask, and it particularly is a nice complement to wireless since the spaces it's most trivial to do so (unfinished non-living areas) are also the most irritating to actually get to, have poor wireless coverage, don't have other power available and one wants reliability. PoE also means tying into other infrastructure (like everything can take advantage of a UPS and network power control) and eliminates a whole class of trouble points. Wireless standard support for IOT stuff tends to really, really lag and security is more than a bit questionable. For WiFi a dedicated SSID that is 2.4GHz only, DTIM 1, its own VLAN (or multiple via PPSK or at least PSK+MAC) and with basically every feature added past 2011 turned off helps but some kit still makes me wish for a simple plug particularly when it wants a wall wart anyway. Ah well. I'm glad there is still a reasonably healthy selection at all for those of us who have the same criteria in terms of "LAN only capable/HA control/no subs".
- rkagerer 4y ago
  I agree and would love to see a list of what is out there, and some elaboration on good microcontrollers / accessories / platforms to use for bespoke projects.
- eternityforest 4y ago
  PoE is a bit excessive for this I think. Most of these IoT devices should be using less that 1mA on average, usually a lot less. They also need next to no data transmission rate in a lot of cases. 3 or even 2 thin wires could easily handle it. You could even reuse USB-C as the connector, and optionally actually use the USB lines for configuration, or use barrel jacks for a bit more power and easy DIYing. If you limited it to just really simple stuff you could use very thin cheap wire, branching however you want because you only need 4800 baud or less, easy to hide, almost no cost.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - xoa 4y ago
BrandoElFollito 4y ago
I think OP put a few restrictions they could relax a bit. I use Meross devices with krahabb's wonderful LAN integration (https://github.com/krahabb/meross_lan https://github.com/krahabb/meross_lan). It requires a specific pairing process of the device, but not any firmware reflash. Relaxing an extra bit, one can flash many devices with ESP Home (https://esphome.io/ https://esphome.io/) - an excellent cistom firmware. Its only flaw is that the captive portal does not work well after an upgrade (something that is hanging in the bugs section and nobody cares)
jtthe13 4y ago
Surprised there is no mention of IKEA. It's affordable, standard-compatible, and last time I checked, was among the most secure: partly because of the reputational risk for IKEA, (and also because it's the right thing to do!) they must keep it updated and supported for a long time.
- mslot 4y ago
  Their lights are nice, but their motion sensor drains the battery in 2 months or so. Eventually I figured out that I could control the IKEA lights via Philips Hue, so I could switch to a Hue sensor which is already lasting a few years. In general, Philips Hue / Signify is very reliable in my experience, though expensive.
  - omh 4y ago
    There is something odd about the battery life on the Ikea motion sensor. I use it in our bathroom and it's activated multiple times per day. The first battery lasted about 3 months but the second battery has been going for over a year. There are some reddit threads but I never got a clear answer.
  - theshrike79 4y ago
    I've got a bunch of Hue motion sensors (which have lux and temperature sensors too btw). I've replaced the batteries (2xAAA you can grab at any store) exactly once during the 5 years so I've had them.
- kayodelycaon 4y ago
  IKEA devices have a tendency to drop off and need repairing. Every power outage would require repairing half of my lights. Their switches and motion sensors chew through batteries. Their color bulbs are disappointing in both lumens and color reproduction. Their white-scale bulbs max out at 4000k, when most daylight bulbs are 5000k.
zokier 4y ago
What is the general opinion on Ruuvi? At least they are fairly open source friendly, but idk if they are actually good? Have been considering getting them... https://ruuvi.com/ https://ruuvi.com/
- Semaphor 4y ago
  There’s apparently a custom HACS integration [0], discussed in their forums [1]. Personally I’d get the cheaper Aqara sensors as I have a Zigbee network anyway, so I see no advantage in BLE. Also, the motion sensor (of the tag, not of other people) seems like a really useless feature. [0]: https://github.com/ruuvi-friends/ruuvi-hass.io https://github.com/ruuvi-friends/ruuvi-hass.io [1]: https://f.ruuvi.com/t/ruuvi-sensors-ruuvi-gateway-home-assistant-easy/4445/7 https://f.ruuvi.com/t/ruuvi-sensors-ruuvi-gateway-home-assis...
  - theshrike79 4y ago
    The motion sensor isn't useless, you just lack imagination :) You can slap one on your mailbox lid for example and have an alert pop up when the counter changes. It has X/Y/Z acceleration sensors too if you want to know the direction of the motion.
    - adolph 4y ago
      Like gentle Y/Z is postal carrier, hard X followed by Z is those dern teens again?
- theshrike79 4y ago
  The Ruuvi is a complete beast. It'll last for years on a single coin battery. I got them from the initial Kickstarter and replaced batteries last year. You _can_ read them with just a cell phone or hack a Raspberry Pi as a BLE listener, and It'll work just fine most of the time. Even ESP32 has a system for reading the tags with esphome I think. But for the best results I recommend getting their official Gateway: https://ruuvi.com/gateway/ https://ruuvi.com/gateway/ The antenna on that thing is completely ridiculous. My Raspberry Pi had to hang from the ceiling to get even 10% of the readings from my sauna (lined with foil to keep the heat and moisture in as per Finnish building code). I got a the Gateway, quickly powered it up at my desk and boom, it found the sauna tag immediately, zero packet loss. I've got one in both my fridges and freezer, zero issues. Sauna goes up to 80C normally and is MOIST, no problems. People even float them in pools, just cover the moisture sensor hole with tape and double bag it in ziploc. You can get similar BT devices from china, but they eat up batteries like candy and the signal strength isn't that good.
trasz 4y ago
Surprising there's no Yeelight.
int0x2e 4y ago
My personal take on smart home advice for techies: 1. If a device isn't open and managed locally, you're renting it. Some IoT companies will die off within a few years, so try to buy devices you can DIY or control locally. 2. HomeAssistant is amazing. Try to get hardware that can be compatible, though most things already are. 3. Spend some time to make your home network reliable and secure. In particular, most of my smart devices can't connect to the internet, especially when it comes to network cameras and more risky devices. 4. Think about safety. If it is in any way dangerous - don't automate. The risk to human life and property isn't worth it. 5. Start small - outdoor lights and lights in public areas are a great example since you can get them to work well without too much frustration. It is better to pick your battles than dive too deep. Lights for your bedroom are a bad choice, an alert when the washing machine is done is relatively easy. 6. Your smart home should work for you. No need to do something that's cool but isn't valuable.
- benrow 4y ago
  I've just learned this lesson. I'd like local control of lights (rather than going through slow vendor phone app which uses an internet API as common point with the hub). Works well for remote control but slow and cumbersome for when at home. Trying to gain access to the ZigBee network or hub is probably not worth the effort, compared to using a more open stack in the first place.
  - Semaphor 4y ago
    ZigBee is actually pretty open and easy to get access to. Just not if you use some vendor hub.
    - benrow 4y ago
      Good to know, thanks. I didn't know much about ZigBee so did some reading - seemed it's used for things like smart locks so I was pessimistic about it being very accessible. Glad I mentioned it here, I now have a steer in the right direction - thanks.
  - Thlom 4y ago
alias_neo 4y ago
I bought a few of the Switchbot Meter Plus temperature/humidity sensors when they were on sale, to put one in each room and use them to control my heating. They "broadcast" everything shown on the screen as BLE service-data which means you can passively read it at whatever interval. I didn't want to sign up to their cloud with the app where they collect all of your data (my HA is offline, that's how it'll stay) so I built a BLE<->WiFi<->MQTT device using an ESP32 and a firmware I found on Github, with some modifications; it scans for the devices by BLE address, reads the service data and publishes it to the MQTT endpoints used for HASS.
- mook 4y ago
  FWIW, if your HASS is running on a device (like a Raspberry Pi) that has Bluetooth, you might be able to get away with a custom component like https://github.com/custom-components/ble_monitor https://github.com/custom-components/ble_monitor instead. Of course, if your setup is working for you already there isn't much incentive to change it.
  - alias_neo 4y ago
    I run mine on a VM in my server rack Anyone serious about running HASS, or home automation in general should move away from a Pi because it's not cut out for running a home, the SDs are fragile and need decent, clean power and the performance isn't stellar when you've got a lot going on. It's a nice, cheap starting point, but something like a NUC or similar is the next step for a reliable machine to run it on and won't suck up electricity.
teekert 4y ago
Agree with the list, except that I will never buy TPlink Kasa stuff again after they (from my Home Assistant perspective) bricked my HS110. Strange enough I now read that they have super nice support (Platinum level) [0]? Did they do a 180? I remember that page basically told us to avoid Kasa like the plaque? Can I dust off my HS110 again? Here is some info on what happened just before I stopped using any Kasa stuff: [1]. Anyway, I've been very happy with my Shelly plug-S's, I use them everywhere, very nice with the Home Assistant Energy dashboard. I can even tell from my server power usage now when some process has gone haywire. [0]: https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/tplink https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/tplink [1]: https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/237614 https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/237614
birdman914 4y ago
If you are going to go down the automation rabbit hole, I highly recommend looking at Node-RED. https://nodered.org/ https://nodered.org/
- outworlder 4y ago
  I have a love-hate relationship with NodeRed. Connecting all the box is neat and all, until you have to muck around with payload json(which you often cannot inspect until an actual event is generated). It feels like it's missing one level of abstraction.
remflight 4y ago
For sensors, https://wirelesstag.net/ https://wirelesstag.net/ is rock solid. They even let you configure the bridge to push data internally in case the company ever goes bankrupt. The sensors that detect doors opening and closing are great and you can get other tags measure sunlight etc. I highly recommend these if you’re into taking this sort of data.
CharlesW 4y ago
This article focuses on Home Assistant, but I think it's worth noting that the HomeKit ecosystem is default-local as well. And as TFA notes, using HomePod Mini as a hub allows HomeKit devices to to "interface with Home Assistant over the local network (without any cloud connection)" as well. That gives you access to many privacy-respecting devices as long as you don't enable Alexa, Google Home, etc.
- cjdoc29 4y ago
  I didn't realize HomePod interfaces with HomeKit accessories over the local network. At some point, I realized my Belkin smart outlets were pinging the external network a ton and I blocked its internet usage completely. I was pleasantly surprised to see I could still turn on/off my lights from my iPhone!
- count 4y ago
  HomeKit labeling requirements mandate 'local only' operation. It's the opposite of Alexa/Google stuff in that respect.
cjdoc29 4y ago
Related because the author mentions you can use Home Assistant to control Apple TV (probably more control than what's out-of-the-box). HomePod + Apple TV native integration performs unreliably in my setup. "Hey Siri, pause Apple TV" has a <30% success rate if HomePod hasn't been restarted in the last hour. But it has a 90% success rate in accepting "Hey Siri, turn off Apple TV". Most of the time I'm watching TV, I'm doing things where I can't use the remote (e.g. cooking), so this has been the most frustrating experience with HomePods + Apple TV.
Mister_Snuggles 4y ago
I follow basically the same logic as the author does - local-only, no messing around with custom firmware, etc. I'm willing to make exceptions for things that are just too good to pass up, but those are few and far between. Some additional recommendations that fit the general theme: * Cameras: I use Blue Iris, so anything that does ONVIF is suitable. There's no need to limit yourself to one brand, though sticking with stuff you know is good is sensible - I've got a couple of ReoLink cameras that are good, and I've got some Amcrest cameras that are also good. Keep your cameras, regardless of brand, on a separate VLAN/Wifi network. * Switches and Lights: Ikea's TRÅDFRI outlets, and bulbs are pretty decent and very affordable. I also recently got a bunch of Sengled Zigbee outlets and am very impressed with them - great form factor (small enough to not block the other outlet), and the power consumption monitoring helps me understand my electricity usage better. * Sensors: Ikea's motion sensor is decent and I've never experienced the extreme battery drain that other people have reported - I only have one of these though, so maybe I got lucky. Also, Aqara water detectors have likely saved me thousands of dollars thanks to alerting me to issues in places I don't normally look. * Other stuff: Ikea's STÅRKVIND air cleaner is pretty nifty, and Zigbee-enabled. I've got a handful of Ikea Zigbee buttons (the shortcut button and the five-button 'puck' remote) that work very well. Also, check out ESPHome[0] - if you can't find a sensor or device that does exactly what you need, this makes it shockingly easy to build one. I've got a water level sensor (ESPHome, ESP32, HC-SR04) on my sump pit that has alerted me to pump failures before damage occurred. I'm using a ConBee II with deCONZ for my Zigbee gear, but that's more of an implementation detail than anything. Finally, my one exception to no cloud stuff - the Rainforest EAGLE-200[1]. Being able to monitor and track my home's energy consumption has been very valuable for saving money. You have to use the cloud to set it up, but Home Assistant can do local polling to retrieve the data. You can also, via the cloud, configure it to POST data in real time to a URL, that POST happens directly from the device. [0] https://esphome.io/ https://esphome.io/ [1] https://www.rainforestautomation.com/rfa-z114-eagle-200-utility/ https://www.rainforestautomation.com/rfa-z114-eagle-200-util...
- tlavoie 4y ago
  Ah damn, you reminded me about the Rainforest Eagle's API. That was a thought for a side project, haven't gotten to yet. I already have some ESP32s writing to MQTT (Mosquitto on a Raspberry Pi), which another program dumps to Sqlite DB. I was thinking the Eagle could be writing there too.
Steltek 4y ago
I find the lack of Z-Wave interesting. It comes at a higher cost but in my experience, Z-Wave devices seem to work better than Zigbee. I've had 2 USB Zigbee sticks die on me and my Zigbee devices all blow through batteries like crazy. Also on batteries: I avoid anything battery powered. I do not need another weekly chore of replacing dead coin cells of various sizes. And yes, if you let your collection of battery things grow, it will become a weekly chore eventually. Hardwired or GTFO. The worst offender is "buttons". When I need a control input that's not an in-circuit switch, it's inevitably a coin cell button that will need babysitting. At some point I'm going to start making 3.7V BEC USB things to save myself some frustration.
- robalfonso 4y ago
  For me zigbee has been more reliable. I have only had Z-wave devices fail. Regarding batteries I minimise the use of anything with batteries, but I make a point of buying devices that use larger batterieswhen I have to. I have a couple zigbee motion sensors going on 18 months. Alternatively I’ll use a dummy battery to hard wire a sensor so I can remove the battery
- shadowpho 4y ago
  >At some point I'm going to start making 3.7V BEC USB things to save myself some frustration. That's why I love jlcpcb. I have been building IOT thingies for about $5-$10 a part. They build PCB and do SMT so you get somewhat finished product. (Just need a 3D print for enclosure). This ends up being about same cost as buying from someone else, but 100% under your control\customizable
- outworlder 4y ago
  It's a more expensive(requires licensing) and completely proprietary protocol.
  - Steltek 4y ago
    Home automation seems worth the extra cost for the increased reliability and performance. Not that I'm a big fan of proprietary anything but I really need my lights to turn on when I hit the switch.
lutarezj 4y ago
No mention about philips? My philips sensors are expensive but they do not drain the battery. I use them daily for 2.5 years now and did not change the batteries. They are very easy to mount on walls and they have a magnet.
- nullfield 4y ago
  I’m more surprised because Hue is one of the better systems, and the bridge can be accessed and manipulated fine offline.
ahartmetz 4y ago
Hm. I guess here I can mention an unfortunately not well-known product I have personally worked on that I think is really good. I think it's really good because it speaks roughly all the hardware protocols (lots of ICs and antennas) and all the software protocols, no cloud required. It's called the wibutler home automation central.
- rb2k_ 4y ago
  The website mentions: "Funkstandards / Frequenzen EnOcean (868 MHz), Low-Power-Funk (2.4 GHz) WLAN (802.11 b/g/n 2,4 GHz)" So that's neither of the two major protocols (zwave and zigbee) nor any of the up and coming ones (thread). Am I missing something?
  - ahartmetz 4y ago
    Oh damn, it seems like they removed radio protocols in the v2 hardware... From an Amazon listing of v1: "EnOcean, Z-Wave, ZigBee, Bluetooth Smart, Bluetooth, WLAN"

170 points by segfault11 4y ago

miffe 4y ago

I haven't tried Home Assistant yet. But does it support KNX and/or DALI?

jve 4y ago
Have noticed KNX integration: https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/knx/ https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/knx/ But I have no KNX devices, so no comment.
mlenz 4y ago
Yes, Home Assistant works perfectly with KNX. I have been running it for about half a year now and did not have any issues. To control DALI devices, you need a KNX/DALI gateway. But I think all homes with KNX and DALI will have one, otherwise you could not control your lights via your switches.
- miffe 4y ago
  Do you have a gateway to recommend? All I have is an Wago PLC.

monkeydust 4y ago

Home Assistant is by far one of the most impressive open source non-business applications out there. Have my setup running for over 5 years. Not without its problems and I have done a few painful rebuilds in that time but I love the fact I can glue together technologies that do not natively talk to each other through node red automations. Think Ring doorbell, sending a notification toast to my LG TV and turning on my Phillips Hue lights.

memoriasit 4y ago
How do you send toast messages to the tv? :P
- monkeydust 4y ago
  https://webostv.developer.lge.com/design/webos-tv-system-ui/notifications/ https://webostv.developer.lge.com/design/webos-tv-system-ui/...
  - sofixa 4y ago
    I really thought you get notifications on your TV when your toast is done toasting.
    - monkeydust 4y ago
      Haha. Now you got me thinking.
    - Semaphor 4y ago
      That’s actually not hard. Connect the toaster to a smart plug with monitoring, make an automation to send a notification when the power draw drops after X seconds of power draw. It’s essentially the same way people make their washing machines smart.
    - ajolly 4y ago
      I get notifications on my TV once my kettle is done heating.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
izacus 4y ago
One thing that bothers me with Home Assistant and could never find a way to fix it: Is there a way to disable it from automatically spying on every single logged in mobile phone? E.g. if I install HASS app on an Android phone and login, it'll automatically start tracking everything from location, connected wifi, charging timing, all of it. And I need to go and disable this manually from every entity separately... and it randomly reenables itself if the device reauthenticates. Since I don't want to track every single step my family makes, did anyone find a configuration option on the server to turn this off for all clients?
- segfault11 4y ago
  You can deny most permissions when setting up the HA mobile app. This way, it won’t have much to report
- mackey 4y ago
  It should show your phone in the "Integration" list and then you can just disable it. I agree that it shouldn't be like this just by installing the app.
- tomatocracy 4y ago
  If you're using the "official" companion app on Android, you can go to the Hamburger menu/Settings/Companion App/Manage Sensors and enable/disable them there.
spacemanmatt 4y ago
> Have my setup running for over 5 years. Wow. Mine invariably cratered after 3-5 months. Had to start over from scratch every time.
- tass 4y ago
  What do you mean by cratered? Biggest issue I had was using a raspberry Pi and having the sd card fail. There’s addons for regular backups to cloud storage, and also alternatives to using an sd card - I now use an odroid
  - Semaphor 4y ago
    Same, SD card failure was the only failure I ever had. Nowadays, I just run an SSD instead.
    - theshrike79 4y ago
      I just grabbed a cheap Lenovo Thinkcenter Mini and don't bother with raspberries at all :)
  - spacemanmatt 4y ago
    > cratered Quit working. One or more critical modules would fail beyond my ability/interest to repair in a foreign container-manager based application. Or the thing would quit booting. I guess I could try different SD cards but the ones I had were serving fine with raspbian before. The first time it failed, I tried to join the community but found it exceptionally hostile before I even had a chance to seek regular support.
    - tass 4y ago
      I have had the following variety of problems: * very occasional post upgrade problem which was fixed by the next upgrade or just a restore * zigbee radio occasional issue which turned out to be a bug with the dongle firmware. Upgrading the firmware sorted me out. (Basically, I sometimes needed to power cycle before the zigbee network was functional) * SD card corruption. This was the biggest pain, and required building the system from scratch once (since the backups were on the same card - oops!) and from backup one other time. I never once had an issue after moving away from using sd cards that needed more than a restart - and this was maybe once in the last 6 months. I suspect the upgrade problems I previously had were also corruption related. If you were willing to try again, I highly recommend the odroid with eMMC - it’s also more powerful (though pricier) than a raspberry Pi 4 along with being generally neater since all the plugs attach on one side and it doesn’t need an external usb for its disk.

charleslmunger 4y ago

Interesting that open source stuff (like tasmota for sonoff devices is not mentioned - a number of OEMs offer pre flashed devices. Athom, Kauf, cloudfree, and Martin Jerry just to name a few. These are wonderful to use with home assistant. Similarly, I've had real trouble with some reolink products - they're very cheap, but have codec issues. Were I buying cameras again I'd go with amcrest, which are mostly white label dahua.

emsixteen 4y ago
Hey, you forgot this: )

verisimi 4y ago

> My Preferred Smart Home Vendors None.

verisimi 4y ago
Ok - downvoted a little, but why would you invite corporations into your house to spy and collect info on everyone, and then make a song and dance about what sort of spying on you and your family prefer? "Do you prefer your jail cell to have the barred window high up AND a thin mattress, or a better view but NO mattress?"
- RealStickman_ 4y ago
  > Must be controllable locally, and cloud dependency must be optional. In other words, I can use the device without any internet connection. Criteria #1 in the article
- sofixa 4y ago
  As per TFA, there are many vendors who sell local-only/first/optional hardware, which paired with a local-first software hub like Home Assistant means you have a smart home without inviting any corporation in your home.
- function_seven 4y ago
  I don’t invite corporations into my house to spy. That’s the entire point of local-only devices! All my smart home stuff is either Zigbee/Z-wave or some 3rd-party firmware over WiFi (Tasmota/ESPHome) I happen to have a couple Echos. They don’t know about my smart home. They’re glorified Bluetooth bridges and one day I’ll replace those as well.
- ClumsyPilot 4y ago
  Because then you can have free market in your house and capitalism solves every problem.
  - incahoots 4y ago
    Got a chuckle out of me

jve 4y ago

Another device I'v been using few months: Ikea Tradfri Control Outlet (Works over ZigBee): https://zigbee.blakadder.com/Ikea_E1603.html https://zigbee.blakadder.com/Ikea_E1603.html Works well with ZHA. Had 0 problems. Unplugging, plugging in, restarting HA, lossing power, etc - had no issues whatsoever. However it may depend on Zigbee chip too (I have CC2538)

janci 4y ago
+1 for IKEA Tradfri series
Hamuko 4y ago
Wish it had energy monitoring though.

xoa 4y ago

I wish there were more sensors and other smart home devices that a offered power over ethernet option vs WiFi/BLE/Zigbee. In many spaces running a wire isn't much of an ask, and it particularly is a nice complement to wireless since the spaces it's most trivial to do so (unfinished non-living areas) are also the most irritating to actually get to, have poor wireless coverage, don't have other power available and one wants reliability. PoE also means tying into other infrastructure (like everything can take advantage of a UPS and network power control) and eliminates a whole class of trouble points. Wireless standard support for IOT stuff tends to really, really lag and security is more than a bit questionable. For WiFi a dedicated SSID that is 2.4GHz only, DTIM 1, its own VLAN (or multiple via PPSK or at least PSK+MAC) and with basically every feature added past 2011 turned off helps but some kit still makes me wish for a simple plug particularly when it wants a wall wart anyway. Ah well. I'm glad there is still a reasonably healthy selection at all for those of us who have the same criteria in terms of "LAN only capable/HA control/no subs".

rkagerer 4y ago
I agree and would love to see a list of what is out there, and some elaboration on good microcontrollers / accessories / platforms to use for bespoke projects.
eternityforest 4y ago
PoE is a bit excessive for this I think. Most of these IoT devices should be using less that 1mA on average, usually a lot less. They also need next to no data transmission rate in a lot of cases. 3 or even 2 thin wires could easily handle it. You could even reuse USB-C as the connector, and optionally actually use the USB lines for configuration, or use barrel jacks for a bit more power and easy DIYing. If you limited it to just really simple stuff you could use very thin cheap wire, branching however you want because you only need 4800 baud or less, easy to hide, almost no cost.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- xoa 4y ago

BrandoElFollito 4y ago

I think OP put a few restrictions they could relax a bit. I use Meross devices with krahabb's wonderful LAN integration (https://github.com/krahabb/meross_lan https://github.com/krahabb/meross_lan). It requires a specific pairing process of the device, but not any firmware reflash. Relaxing an extra bit, one can flash many devices with ESP Home (https://esphome.io/ https://esphome.io/) - an excellent cistom firmware. Its only flaw is that the captive portal does not work well after an upgrade (something that is hanging in the bugs section and nobody cares)

jtthe13 4y ago

Surprised there is no mention of IKEA. It's affordable, standard-compatible, and last time I checked, was among the most secure: partly because of the reputational risk for IKEA, (and also because it's the right thing to do!) they must keep it updated and supported for a long time.

mslot 4y ago
Their lights are nice, but their motion sensor drains the battery in 2 months or so. Eventually I figured out that I could control the IKEA lights via Philips Hue, so I could switch to a Hue sensor which is already lasting a few years. In general, Philips Hue / Signify is very reliable in my experience, though expensive.
- omh 4y ago
  There is something odd about the battery life on the Ikea motion sensor. I use it in our bathroom and it's activated multiple times per day. The first battery lasted about 3 months but the second battery has been going for over a year. There are some reddit threads but I never got a clear answer.
- theshrike79 4y ago
  I've got a bunch of Hue motion sensors (which have lux and temperature sensors too btw). I've replaced the batteries (2xAAA you can grab at any store) exactly once during the 5 years so I've had them.
kayodelycaon 4y ago
IKEA devices have a tendency to drop off and need repairing. Every power outage would require repairing half of my lights. Their switches and motion sensors chew through batteries. Their color bulbs are disappointing in both lumens and color reproduction. Their white-scale bulbs max out at 4000k, when most daylight bulbs are 5000k.

zokier 4y ago

What is the general opinion on Ruuvi? At least they are fairly open source friendly, but idk if they are actually good? Have been considering getting them... https://ruuvi.com/ https://ruuvi.com/

Semaphor 4y ago
There’s apparently a custom HACS integration [0], discussed in their forums [1]. Personally I’d get the cheaper Aqara sensors as I have a Zigbee network anyway, so I see no advantage in BLE. Also, the motion sensor (of the tag, not of other people) seems like a really useless feature. [0]: https://github.com/ruuvi-friends/ruuvi-hass.io https://github.com/ruuvi-friends/ruuvi-hass.io [1]: https://f.ruuvi.com/t/ruuvi-sensors-ruuvi-gateway-home-assistant-easy/4445/7 https://f.ruuvi.com/t/ruuvi-sensors-ruuvi-gateway-home-assis...
- theshrike79 4y ago
  The motion sensor isn't useless, you just lack imagination :) You can slap one on your mailbox lid for example and have an alert pop up when the counter changes. It has X/Y/Z acceleration sensors too if you want to know the direction of the motion.
  - adolph 4y ago
    Like gentle Y/Z is postal carrier, hard X followed by Z is those dern teens again?
theshrike79 4y ago
The Ruuvi is a complete beast. It'll last for years on a single coin battery. I got them from the initial Kickstarter and replaced batteries last year. You _can_ read them with just a cell phone or hack a Raspberry Pi as a BLE listener, and It'll work just fine most of the time. Even ESP32 has a system for reading the tags with esphome I think. But for the best results I recommend getting their official Gateway: https://ruuvi.com/gateway/ https://ruuvi.com/gateway/ The antenna on that thing is completely ridiculous. My Raspberry Pi had to hang from the ceiling to get even 10% of the readings from my sauna (lined with foil to keep the heat and moisture in as per Finnish building code). I got a the Gateway, quickly powered it up at my desk and boom, it found the sauna tag immediately, zero packet loss. I've got one in both my fridges and freezer, zero issues. Sauna goes up to 80C normally and is MOIST, no problems. People even float them in pools, just cover the moisture sensor hole with tape and double bag it in ziploc. You can get similar BT devices from china, but they eat up batteries like candy and the signal strength isn't that good.

trasz 4y ago

Surprising there's no Yeelight.

int0x2e 4y ago

My personal take on smart home advice for techies: 1. If a device isn't open and managed locally, you're renting it. Some IoT companies will die off within a few years, so try to buy devices you can DIY or control locally. 2. HomeAssistant is amazing. Try to get hardware that can be compatible, though most things already are. 3. Spend some time to make your home network reliable and secure. In particular, most of my smart devices can't connect to the internet, especially when it comes to network cameras and more risky devices. 4. Think about safety. If it is in any way dangerous - don't automate. The risk to human life and property isn't worth it. 5. Start small - outdoor lights and lights in public areas are a great example since you can get them to work well without too much frustration. It is better to pick your battles than dive too deep. Lights for your bedroom are a bad choice, an alert when the washing machine is done is relatively easy. 6. Your smart home should work for you. No need to do something that's cool but isn't valuable.

benrow 4y ago
I've just learned this lesson. I'd like local control of lights (rather than going through slow vendor phone app which uses an internet API as common point with the hub). Works well for remote control but slow and cumbersome for when at home. Trying to gain access to the ZigBee network or hub is probably not worth the effort, compared to using a more open stack in the first place.
- Semaphor 4y ago
  ZigBee is actually pretty open and easy to get access to. Just not if you use some vendor hub.
  - benrow 4y ago
    Good to know, thanks. I didn't know much about ZigBee so did some reading - seemed it's used for things like smart locks so I was pessimistic about it being very accessible. Glad I mentioned it here, I now have a steer in the right direction - thanks.
- Thlom 4y ago

alias_neo 4y ago

I bought a few of the Switchbot Meter Plus temperature/humidity sensors when they were on sale, to put one in each room and use them to control my heating. They "broadcast" everything shown on the screen as BLE service-data which means you can passively read it at whatever interval. I didn't want to sign up to their cloud with the app where they collect all of your data (my HA is offline, that's how it'll stay) so I built a BLE<->WiFi<->MQTT device using an ESP32 and a firmware I found on Github, with some modifications; it scans for the devices by BLE address, reads the service data and publishes it to the MQTT endpoints used for HASS.

mook 4y ago
FWIW, if your HASS is running on a device (like a Raspberry Pi) that has Bluetooth, you might be able to get away with a custom component like https://github.com/custom-components/ble_monitor https://github.com/custom-components/ble_monitor instead. Of course, if your setup is working for you already there isn't much incentive to change it.
- alias_neo 4y ago
  I run mine on a VM in my server rack Anyone serious about running HASS, or home automation in general should move away from a Pi because it's not cut out for running a home, the SDs are fragile and need decent, clean power and the performance isn't stellar when you've got a lot going on. It's a nice, cheap starting point, but something like a NUC or similar is the next step for a reliable machine to run it on and won't suck up electricity.

teekert 4y ago

Agree with the list, except that I will never buy TPlink Kasa stuff again after they (from my Home Assistant perspective) bricked my HS110. Strange enough I now read that they have super nice support (Platinum level) [0]? Did they do a 180? I remember that page basically told us to avoid Kasa like the plaque? Can I dust off my HS110 again? Here is some info on what happened just before I stopped using any Kasa stuff: [1]. Anyway, I've been very happy with my Shelly plug-S's, I use them everywhere, very nice with the Home Assistant Energy dashboard. I can even tell from my server power usage now when some process has gone haywire. [0]: https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/tplink https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/tplink [1]: https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/237614 https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/237614

birdman914 4y ago

If you are going to go down the automation rabbit hole, I highly recommend looking at Node-RED. https://nodered.org/ https://nodered.org/

outworlder 4y ago
I have a love-hate relationship with NodeRed. Connecting all the box is neat and all, until you have to muck around with payload json(which you often cannot inspect until an actual event is generated). It feels like it's missing one level of abstraction.

remflight 4y ago

For sensors, https://wirelesstag.net/ https://wirelesstag.net/ is rock solid. They even let you configure the bridge to push data internally in case the company ever goes bankrupt. The sensors that detect doors opening and closing are great and you can get other tags measure sunlight etc. I highly recommend these if you’re into taking this sort of data.

CharlesW 4y ago

This article focuses on Home Assistant, but I think it's worth noting that the HomeKit ecosystem is default-local as well. And as TFA notes, using HomePod Mini as a hub allows HomeKit devices to to "interface with Home Assistant over the local network (without any cloud connection)" as well. That gives you access to many privacy-respecting devices as long as you don't enable Alexa, Google Home, etc.

cjdoc29 4y ago
I didn't realize HomePod interfaces with HomeKit accessories over the local network. At some point, I realized my Belkin smart outlets were pinging the external network a ton and I blocked its internet usage completely. I was pleasantly surprised to see I could still turn on/off my lights from my iPhone!
count 4y ago
HomeKit labeling requirements mandate 'local only' operation. It's the opposite of Alexa/Google stuff in that respect.

cjdoc29 4y ago

Related because the author mentions you can use Home Assistant to control Apple TV (probably more control than what's out-of-the-box). HomePod + Apple TV native integration performs unreliably in my setup. "Hey Siri, pause Apple TV" has a <30% success rate if HomePod hasn't been restarted in the last hour. But it has a 90% success rate in accepting "Hey Siri, turn off Apple TV". Most of the time I'm watching TV, I'm doing things where I can't use the remote (e.g. cooking), so this has been the most frustrating experience with HomePods + Apple TV.

Mister_Snuggles 4y ago

I follow basically the same logic as the author does - local-only, no messing around with custom firmware, etc. I'm willing to make exceptions for things that are just too good to pass up, but those are few and far between. Some additional recommendations that fit the general theme: * Cameras: I use Blue Iris, so anything that does ONVIF is suitable. There's no need to limit yourself to one brand, though sticking with stuff you know is good is sensible - I've got a couple of ReoLink cameras that are good, and I've got some Amcrest cameras that are also good. Keep your cameras, regardless of brand, on a separate VLAN/Wifi network. * Switches and Lights: Ikea's TRÅDFRI outlets, and bulbs are pretty decent and very affordable. I also recently got a bunch of Sengled Zigbee outlets and am very impressed with them - great form factor (small enough to not block the other outlet), and the power consumption monitoring helps me understand my electricity usage better. * Sensors: Ikea's motion sensor is decent and I've never experienced the extreme battery drain that other people have reported - I only have one of these though, so maybe I got lucky. Also, Aqara water detectors have likely saved me thousands of dollars thanks to alerting me to issues in places I don't normally look. * Other stuff: Ikea's STÅRKVIND air cleaner is pretty nifty, and Zigbee-enabled. I've got a handful of Ikea Zigbee buttons (the shortcut button and the five-button 'puck' remote) that work very well. Also, check out ESPHome[0] - if you can't find a sensor or device that does exactly what you need, this makes it shockingly easy to build one. I've got a water level sensor (ESPHome, ESP32, HC-SR04) on my sump pit that has alerted me to pump failures before damage occurred. I'm using a ConBee II with deCONZ for my Zigbee gear, but that's more of an implementation detail than anything. Finally, my one exception to no cloud stuff - the Rainforest EAGLE-200[1]. Being able to monitor and track my home's energy consumption has been very valuable for saving money. You have to use the cloud to set it up, but Home Assistant can do local polling to retrieve the data. You can also, via the cloud, configure it to POST data in real time to a URL, that POST happens directly from the device. [0] https://esphome.io/ https://esphome.io/ [1] https://www.rainforestautomation.com/rfa-z114-eagle-200-utility/ https://www.rainforestautomation.com/rfa-z114-eagle-200-util...

tlavoie 4y ago
Ah damn, you reminded me about the Rainforest Eagle's API. That was a thought for a side project, haven't gotten to yet. I already have some ESP32s writing to MQTT (Mosquitto on a Raspberry Pi), which another program dumps to Sqlite DB. I was thinking the Eagle could be writing there too.

Steltek 4y ago

I find the lack of Z-Wave interesting. It comes at a higher cost but in my experience, Z-Wave devices seem to work better than Zigbee. I've had 2 USB Zigbee sticks die on me and my Zigbee devices all blow through batteries like crazy. Also on batteries: I avoid anything battery powered. I do not need another weekly chore of replacing dead coin cells of various sizes. And yes, if you let your collection of battery things grow, it will become a weekly chore eventually. Hardwired or GTFO. The worst offender is "buttons". When I need a control input that's not an in-circuit switch, it's inevitably a coin cell button that will need babysitting. At some point I'm going to start making 3.7V BEC USB things to save myself some frustration.

robalfonso 4y ago
For me zigbee has been more reliable. I have only had Z-wave devices fail. Regarding batteries I minimise the use of anything with batteries, but I make a point of buying devices that use larger batterieswhen I have to. I have a couple zigbee motion sensors going on 18 months. Alternatively I’ll use a dummy battery to hard wire a sensor so I can remove the battery
shadowpho 4y ago
>At some point I'm going to start making 3.7V BEC USB things to save myself some frustration. That's why I love jlcpcb. I have been building IOT thingies for about $5-$10 a part. They build PCB and do SMT so you get somewhat finished product. (Just need a 3D print for enclosure). This ends up being about same cost as buying from someone else, but 100% under your control\customizable
outworlder 4y ago
It's a more expensive(requires licensing) and completely proprietary protocol.
- Steltek 4y ago
  Home automation seems worth the extra cost for the increased reliability and performance. Not that I'm a big fan of proprietary anything but I really need my lights to turn on when I hit the switch.

lutarezj 4y ago

No mention about philips? My philips sensors are expensive but they do not drain the battery. I use them daily for 2.5 years now and did not change the batteries. They are very easy to mount on walls and they have a magnet.

nullfield 4y ago
I’m more surprised because Hue is one of the better systems, and the bridge can be accessed and manipulated fine offline.

ahartmetz 4y ago

Hm. I guess here I can mention an unfortunately not well-known product I have personally worked on that I think is really good. I think it's really good because it speaks roughly all the hardware protocols (lots of ICs and antennas) and all the software protocols, no cloud required. It's called the wibutler home automation central.

rb2k_ 4y ago
The website mentions: "Funkstandards / Frequenzen EnOcean (868 MHz), Low-Power-Funk (2.4 GHz) WLAN (802.11 b/g/n 2,4 GHz)" So that's neither of the two major protocols (zwave and zigbee) nor any of the up and coming ones (thread). Am I missing something?
- ahartmetz 4y ago
  Oh damn, it seems like they removed radio protocols in the v2 hardware... From an Amazon listing of v1: "EnOcean, Z-Wave, ZigBee, Bluetooth Smart, Bluetooth, WLAN"