I have begun a project to automate the entire house with automated systems which will allow me turn of computers, lights, plug sockets and other devices. The system is run on a raspberry pi in a headless configuration to allow me to easily access it without the need for another monitor
Hi I am starting automation on my workshop. Things like door unlock and lock themselves, windows open and close themselves and have a simple security system using motion detection and a ip camera here and there. I think that'll be a good start
The plan is to use a lot of esp8266s that report back to the a pi 3 that will serve as a base station and manage everything.
You can program the esp8266s using the arduino IDE so it's nice and easy. Plus there's tones of tutorials, examples and libraries online that help greatly.
So far my setup is pretty small. I have it running a couple of WEMO switches, a NEST, and monitoring my chromecasts and pi-hole so far. I ordered a Z-wave usb stick to play with and might get an RF TX/RX to put on the GPIO to run some generic wireless switches I already have.
It has been a while since a posted this topic and have managed to make a lot of progress. I have been using RF sockets throughout the house which can all be controlled from the pi using a reciever and transmitter.
I have been looking at other solutions for automation such as NEST and philps HUE (which cost way too much). I have been looking at solutions for lighting in a lot of detail and have decided that replacing the wall sockets is way more cost effective since you can get RF light switches which will work well with the current set up.
I had some trouble setting up the RF receiver and transmitter, lots of searching on GitHub was the solution if anyone needs help send a message and i can find the repository.
I am totally going to necro this thread, saves making a new one. It is still relevant also.
I have been playing with Home Assistant for a while. It is a great system that interconnects with so many devices from different manufacturers. However it can be a pain to set up and test. There are much easier solutions out there, but not with the range of device support.
I have the following devices connected:
Philips Hue starter kit. 3x bulbs and the hub.
Xiaomi human detectors x3. Small battery powered sensors that trigger when a human walks past.
Xiaomi RGB wifi bulbs x3, similar to the hue ones but cheaper. The app probably isn’t as good, but it matters not when controlled by Home Assistant.
Xiaomi MiFlora plant monitor, which I cannot connect yet due to bluetooth LE support in HASS.IO. Plants around me die like I am the nothing from the never ending story. In time, when this works properly, I could rig up automatic watering or have notifications when plant is unhappy.
Xiaomi temp/light/humid sensors
Australia BOM sensors configured. Does nothing, but could be used to trigger things when it is raining.
MQTT broker with Owntracks on my phone. So my phone reports its position routinely to the home assistant system, not via any third parties.
So fairly small amount of stuff, but lights turn on and off when I walk around the house. That is pretty cool. Unsure if it is more efficient having bulbs on all the time in standby, compared to just switching them on when required…?
I haven’t done anything more involved like having the lights change when the tv is on and playing movies, or crazy stuff like that. The possibilities are somewhat endless.
@Yutang You mentioned RF rx/tx devices, what are these used to communicate with and how is that going?
That’s a much better set of equipment than I have. Thought the Philips Hue was a bit pricey. RF devices are a perfect solution if you don’t want to break the bank. You have an RF transmitter and receiver connected to the GPIO on the Pi. You can then capture the signals sent from a remote control and send them through the Pi. There are rf light switches and plugs too so it’s a really good option really.
Yeah the Xiaomi stuff seems pretty well made. I found a starter kit from alibaba or aliexpress or one of those places. I was mainly looking for presence detection for rooms, hallways, toilet etc. I have the lights turn on when they detect someone, and then turn off 5 minutes after movement stops. Usually means you have to do the crazy flailing arm inflatable tube man dance to get the lights on if you are in the toilet for a while, but I can handle that. The other advantage is the sensors are all battery powered and work over BLE, Wifi or some other chinese mind control. Even the small door reed switches. Still, RF might be good to secure the shed etc. Do you have any links for the kit you used?
I got the Philips hue kit a while ago, trying out the whole smart lighting thing. I didn’t end up buying more, or their newer devices. They are a bit too pricey, and having them controlled by home assistant I am not getting anything extra for the monkey spent. However, they tend to keep their bulbs updated, like when there was that remote zigbee exploit that was bricking people’s bulbs.