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Shout out to Home Assistant! I have a docker instance of it running on an Ubuntu server at home, and I bougth a few pre-flashed Tasmota electricity meter plugs

Shout out to Home Assistant! I have a docker instance of it running on an Ubuntu server at home, and I bougth a few pre-flashed Tasmota electricity meter plugs from Delock. I added another docker container for mosquitto (MQTT) which reads the plugs and integrates into HA. This way I learnt my NAS eats as much electricity a day, as does playing Horizon Zero Dawn on my PC for an hour. Ikea Smart lights on half the brighness are basically non-consuming, and the router is best kept shut down when we're not home for a week or two. In the end, small household appliances don't make as big a difference, as letting your car charge with solar when electricity is cheap, and reducing charge speed when electricity is expensive (which is also doable with HA). There were great threads in HN about how you can even save energy by heating up or cooling down your house in advance with cheap electricity during the day when demand is low, and turn down the heat/ac in the night when demand is high, thus storing energy in the form of heat. But as a junior programmer with a wife in an already expensive apartment, small savings add up. We realized that running the washing machine less often but fully loaded, and with the lowest temperature water, saves us approximately the cost of Netflix. Few people know it's even fine to wash clothes with cold water. Ultimately though, our apartment is pretty well insulated, and I would do all the home automation that I have just for the fun of learning. I definitely spent more money (and time) on the server and smart things than what they save us in our bills. Although I hope to apply my knowledge soon at my parents' house, where there's a lot more potential in energy savings.

vonseel 4y ago
Worth noting that Home Assistant OS + the official and community add-ons make managing all this very easy. I haven't used it long, since I just moved over from a docker-compose based installation; but, it seems like it makes managing docker-compose files a thing of the past. I'm thrilled b/c the main reason I'm even messing with HA is to set up some automation for a non-developer friend.
- KMnO4 4y ago
  I have a server running over 50 various docker containers, and only 2 virtual machines. One of those VMs is Home Assistant. I tried the container originally, but the full OS is just a better experience. It handles all the supervisor stuff a lot better, and there’s tons of addons you can install with one click. I even have VS Code embedded in my HA dashboard so I can modify my config directly from my web browser. If anyone is looking at trying HA, I’d recommend starting there (https://hass.io https://hass.io).
  - nullwarp 4y ago
    My HASS VM is my oldest VM by far, it's never let me down. I agree it's way better than the docker approach, especially once you start adding USB things that need to be piped in.
    - disqard 4y ago
      What are you running it inside? VMWare, VirtualBox? I had a tough time trying to get my Aeotec Gen5 Zstick to passthrough. I'd love to know what your setup is, since it sounds like you've been successful in connecting USB devices to HA. Thanks in advance!
      - nullwarp 4y ago
        It's just a bog standard Proxmox server running the VM. Plugged the devices in, added them to the VM from the UI and never had any issues.
thomc 4y ago
Using HomeAssistant OS here, with the new energy dashboard. I used an ESP32 device running ESPHome to read the flashing LED on my meter and send energy use to HA. It reacts faster than the zigbee monitor that came with the meter to give me good real time usage and long term stats. The energy use over time allowed me to spot some areas where I could reduce consumption.
lordgrenville 4y ago
Your router's power usage is nontrivial? That's surprising to me.
walthamstow 4y ago
Your NAS's bios power settings almost certainly need tweaking to reflect the current state of energy prices. I did with my Intel NUC and got my 24/7 power usage down 40% with no noticeable performance impact.
- totoglazer 4y ago
  Curious what you tweaked.
  - walthamstow 4y ago
    From memory it was CPU power settings down from max performance to balanced, and I turned turbo boost off. The former lowers the idle wattage and the latter lowers the peak. 8th gen i7 now idles at 8W, which is pretty decent for 24/7. It's just a Plex server and has x265 hw decoding so there's really no reason for it to be tuned for high CPU performance.
kkfx 4y ago
I use it, pip-installed because it's distribution model, a whole OS just to deploy a web-app, it's honestly obscene... It's WebUI is slick, it design less horrific than anything else I tried, but still horrific. To arrive to something maintainable in the YAML monstrous config I've use org-mode. And that's rant is just the tip of the iceberg: - finding device who talk ModBUS or MQTT depending on their kind (i.e. if they need fast monitoring or not) it's HARD, most non-industrial commercial stuff are cloud-IoT crap; - finding devices built for renewable is essentially impossible: those who claim are designed to are not, the others are equally not. It seems that most OEMs or consider that most do not have p.v. etc so it's not worth investing in that area or their very designers do not have p.v. etc and have very wrong assumptions about it. A small example: I have one of the "most advanced" "modern" water heater, "ready for renewables" etc, a 300 liters boiler where the water can be heated: - with a small heat-pump - with a classic resistance - with something else, an external source like thermal solar, a hydro stove etc "modern" for it means: - instead of heat directly sanitary water it heat a "storage water" and have a long metallic spiral where the sanitary water enter from a pipe and exit heated, a good thing for health and durability (the balloon is not pressurized, so cracks are far more unlikely) but that's is. Just a different design with classic decades old tools, nothing special for renewables, energy savings etc. - it's better insulated than classic water heater, again a good thing, but it's just a thicker wall of insulated material... - it allow hot water from external source, again nothing special, heat exchanger like that have invented decades ago. - ...now the "new, smart, exiting part": it offer two switch, one for classic "cheap energy vs expensive energy" and another to be used as a second bit of the first to state: "do not heat, very expensive energy", "do what you want", "energy mildly cheap, start with the heat-pump only than go with the resistence)", "very cheap energy run both heat-pump and the resistence". They do not even consider adding an option to run heat-pump only than stop when it can't heat more or resistence only if you have enough for it (2.7kW) but NOT ENOUGH for it and heat-pump together. Those who design it never consider the direct self-consumption usage, the SOLE sound renewable usage. And that's "designed for renewables". Now the best: from the lowest segment appliances featuring cloud-tied crapplications, with useless features but NOTHING usable locally, not even dry contacts to being controlled by a homeserver to the highest segment like smart wall box for EV recharge where only VERY few offer basic logic like: - charge ONLY from renewables - charge from renewables but watch the clock, ensure this minimum SOC for $this_time seeing actual renewable power and local grid maximum power - charge as fast as possible - slow charge targeting $SOC for $this_time ONLY few months ago a new CCS standard appear dealing with bi-directional usage to enable V2H applications, of course NO ONE have implemented it so far even if EVs are there since decades, albeit marginal. Most EVs use 400V DC batteries, most solar inverters support domestic high voltage batteries who happen to be equally 400V DC, with the very same BMS and concept than cars batteries but no, you can't just plug the battery-on-wheel like the stationary one even if they are the same, nobody though at that so far apparently. At automation level? NEARLY ALL "smart" stuff are unreliable wireless devices with various radio tech/protocols only VERY FEW are wired even if from simple ModBUS to powerline and equally complex TCP/IP stack with classic ethernet cost the very same and happen to be far more reliable. Those who want, know and can end up with HA, some raspy pico/classic, ESPHome, ... arranging fragile and crappy monsters just because no one so far have really though about "the new deal"... Well.... Sorry for the wall of text and for such a rant, but we are really in a ridiculous state of things and IMVHO that's due to the fact we completely miss public and free (in the freedom sense) research who can advance the society for societal needs not for someone business needs against the rest of mankind.

vonseel 4y ago

Worth noting that Home Assistant OS + the official and community add-ons make managing all this very easy. I haven't used it long, since I just moved over from a docker-compose based installation; but, it seems like it makes managing docker-compose files a thing of the past. I'm thrilled b/c the main reason I'm even messing with HA is to set up some automation for a non-developer friend.

KMnO4 4y ago
I have a server running over 50 various docker containers, and only 2 virtual machines. One of those VMs is Home Assistant. I tried the container originally, but the full OS is just a better experience. It handles all the supervisor stuff a lot better, and there’s tons of addons you can install with one click. I even have VS Code embedded in my HA dashboard so I can modify my config directly from my web browser. If anyone is looking at trying HA, I’d recommend starting there (https://hass.io https://hass.io).
- nullwarp 4y ago
  My HASS VM is my oldest VM by far, it's never let me down. I agree it's way better than the docker approach, especially once you start adding USB things that need to be piped in.
  - disqard 4y ago
    What are you running it inside? VMWare, VirtualBox? I had a tough time trying to get my Aeotec Gen5 Zstick to passthrough. I'd love to know what your setup is, since it sounds like you've been successful in connecting USB devices to HA. Thanks in advance!
    - nullwarp 4y ago
      It's just a bog standard Proxmox server running the VM. Plugged the devices in, added them to the VM from the UI and never had any issues.

thomc 4y ago

Using HomeAssistant OS here, with the new energy dashboard. I used an ESP32 device running ESPHome to read the flashing LED on my meter and send energy use to HA. It reacts faster than the zigbee monitor that came with the meter to give me good real time usage and long term stats. The energy use over time allowed me to spot some areas where I could reduce consumption.

lordgrenville 4y ago

Your router's power usage is nontrivial? That's surprising to me.

walthamstow 4y ago

Your NAS's bios power settings almost certainly need tweaking to reflect the current state of energy prices. I did with my Intel NUC and got my 24/7 power usage down 40% with no noticeable performance impact.

totoglazer 4y ago
Curious what you tweaked.
- walthamstow 4y ago
  From memory it was CPU power settings down from max performance to balanced, and I turned turbo boost off. The former lowers the idle wattage and the latter lowers the peak. 8th gen i7 now idles at 8W, which is pretty decent for 24/7. It's just a Plex server and has x265 hw decoding so there's really no reason for it to be tuned for high CPU performance.

kkfx 4y ago

I use it, pip-installed because it's distribution model, a whole OS just to deploy a web-app, it's honestly obscene... It's WebUI is slick, it design less horrific than anything else I tried, but still horrific. To arrive to something maintainable in the YAML monstrous config I've use org-mode. And that's rant is just the tip of the iceberg: - finding device who talk ModBUS or MQTT depending on their kind (i.e. if they need fast monitoring or not) it's HARD, most non-industrial commercial stuff are cloud-IoT crap; - finding devices built for renewable is essentially impossible: those who claim are designed to are not, the others are equally not. It seems that most OEMs or consider that most do not have p.v. etc so it's not worth investing in that area or their very designers do not have p.v. etc and have very wrong assumptions about it. A small example: I have one of the "most advanced" "modern" water heater, "ready for renewables" etc, a 300 liters boiler where the water can be heated: - with a small heat-pump - with a classic resistance - with something else, an external source like thermal solar, a hydro stove etc "modern" for it means: - instead of heat directly sanitary water it heat a "storage water" and have a long metallic spiral where the sanitary water enter from a pipe and exit heated, a good thing for health and durability (the balloon is not pressurized, so cracks are far more unlikely) but that's is. Just a different design with classic decades old tools, nothing special for renewables, energy savings etc. - it's better insulated than classic water heater, again a good thing, but it's just a thicker wall of insulated material... - it allow hot water from external source, again nothing special, heat exchanger like that have invented decades ago. - ...now the "new, smart, exiting part": it offer two switch, one for classic "cheap energy vs expensive energy" and another to be used as a second bit of the first to state: "do not heat, very expensive energy", "do what you want", "energy mildly cheap, start with the heat-pump only than go with the resistence)", "very cheap energy run both heat-pump and the resistence". They do not even consider adding an option to run heat-pump only than stop when it can't heat more or resistence only if you have enough for it (2.7kW) but NOT ENOUGH for it and heat-pump together. Those who design it never consider the direct self-consumption usage, the SOLE sound renewable usage. And that's "designed for renewables". Now the best: from the lowest segment appliances featuring cloud-tied crapplications, with useless features but NOTHING usable locally, not even dry contacts to being controlled by a homeserver to the highest segment like smart wall box for EV recharge where only VERY few offer basic logic like: - charge ONLY from renewables - charge from renewables but watch the clock, ensure this minimum SOC for $this_time seeing actual renewable power and local grid maximum power - charge as fast as possible - slow charge targeting $SOC for $this_time ONLY few months ago a new CCS standard appear dealing with bi-directional usage to enable V2H applications, of course NO ONE have implemented it so far even if EVs are there since decades, albeit marginal. Most EVs use 400V DC batteries, most solar inverters support domestic high voltage batteries who happen to be equally 400V DC, with the very same BMS and concept than cars batteries but no, you can't just plug the battery-on-wheel like the stationary one even if they are the same, nobody though at that so far apparently. At automation level? NEARLY ALL "smart" stuff are unreliable wireless devices with various radio tech/protocols only VERY FEW are wired even if from simple ModBUS to powerline and equally complex TCP/IP stack with classic ethernet cost the very same and happen to be far more reliable. Those who want, know and can end up with HA, some raspy pico/classic, ESPHome, ... arranging fragile and crappy monsters just because no one so far have really though about "the new deal"... Well.... Sorry for the wall of text and for such a rant, but we are really in a ridiculous state of things and IMVHO that's due to the fact we completely miss public and free (in the freedom sense) research who can advance the society for societal needs not for someone business needs against the rest of mankind.