Home Assistant: Open-source home automation platform running on Python 3 • Hacker News Board

Re: Home Assistant: Open-source home automation platform running on Python 3

#161

Post by roel_v » Thu, Aug 23, 2018, 9:49 PM UTC

mediocrejoker wrote: post #153

hondadriver wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fully second this, we also have Forest. They have proven to be the most reliable Home Automation part in our home. Prices start at about EUR 500, but increase with curtain length (excluding the curtains). Seems like at lot, but having to recalibrate / repair a cheaper system every now and then will be more expensive in the end when your time is valuable.

Is this the kind of thing that requires a professional installation? Any sort of guides or kits available?

No this can be diy'ed, especially easy, straight rails.

Re: Home Assistant: Open-source home automation platform running on Python 3

#162

Post by raman325 » Thu, Aug 23, 2018, 9:51 PM UTC

hirundo wrote: post #63

balloob wrote: post #7

Founder of Home Assistant here. Happy to answer any questions.

My initial experience with Home Assistant has been very frustrating. I filled my house with HomeSeer HS-WD100+ and HS-WS100+ wall dimmers/switches. I thought I was safe as they are best sellers in zwave devices. But Home Assistant doesn't seem to support them without elaborate workarounds that, as a noob, I haven't been able to penetrate. The forums have been talking about a solution coming soon ... for years now. In…

Have you looked at AppDaemon [0] [1] or Node-Red [2] [3] as alternatives to using YAML to write automations? AppDaemon allows you to write automations in Python, and Node-Red allows you to do it in a visual workflow editor. I haven't made the switch from SmartThings to Home Assistant yet because I haven't been limited by SmartThings yet and it was simple to set up, but when I do switch, I will probably start with those tools since the paradigm is more familiar to me. You can't get away from YAML completely since you would still need to build your sensor and device definitions in YAML, but I think the YAML structure works better for that use case anyway.

[0] https://appdaemon.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ [1] https://github.com/home-assistant/appdaemon [2] https://diyfuturism.com/index.php/2017/11/26/the-open-source... [3] https://nodered.org/

Re: Home Assistant: Open-source home automation platform running on Python 3

#163

Post by raman325 » Thu, Aug 23, 2018, 9:52 PM UTC

mediocrejoker wrote: post #154

hirundo wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My initial experience with Home Assistant has been very frustrating. I filled my house with HomeSeer HS-WD100+ and HS-WS100+ wall dimmers/switches. I thought I was safe as they are best sellers in zwave devices. But Home Assistant doesn't seem to support them without elaborate workarounds that, as a noob, I haven't been able to penetrate. The forums have been talking about a solution coming soon ... for years now. In…

I've struggled with this as well. I actually find the YAML harder to write than a full programming language would be. For example, conditional logic such as "Turn on this light when the sun goes down only if this person is home" get complicated quickly. The breadth of options and plugins available is impressive but the documentation presents a lot of small snippets and not many explanations of how to design a coheren…

See my reply to the parent

Re: Home Assistant: Open-source home automation platform running on Python 3

#164

Post by t0mbstone » Thu, Aug 23, 2018, 9:56 PM UTC

avianlyric wrote: post #158

alias_neo wrote: post #93

I've been using Home Assistant for a couple of years now. I won't go too much into what I use it for, there's a bunch of info about that, and the guys on the Discord have entire public repos full of all their cool automations (on Github). What I would share is that in the couple of years I've been running it, I've been through a dozen Sandisk and Samsung MicroSDs on my Pis _even though_ I was running my time-series d…

What hardware did you end up picking? I’ve been looking to replace my RPi with something a bit beefier. Some of the components I’m running are memory heavy, and my pi is struggling to stay responsive.

Honestly, raspberry pis are a joke for anything serious. They only make sense if you are extremely limited when it comes to space.

You can easily buy a mid-level desktop computer for $200 (either brand new, or off ebay/craigslist/newegg). I would recommend getting an i7 with at least 8 gigs of RAM and an SSD. As of right now, newegg has no less than i7 30 desktop pcs for sale under $200.

Slap linux on it, plug it into your power and ethernet under your desk and forget about it.

You will have a dedicated server whatever you want. Home automation, gaming servers, docker containers, whatever. Just leave it running 24/7.

If you really want to get fancy, plug it into a backup UPS for in case the power goes out.

Re: Home Assistant: Open-source home automation platform running on Python 3

#165

Post by bradstewart » Thu, Aug 23, 2018, 9:59 PM UTC

Lightbody wrote: post #54

Since this comment thread involved a lot of people talking about their smart devices, I’ll just put out a PSA: don’t bother with cheaper zwave light switches and dimmers :) if you’re looking for a high quality decent price option, just get Lutron Caseta. Or if you want higher end / better style, get Lutron’s RA 2 Select hub (basically Caseta++) for $100 more and then you can use Caseta dimmers or higher end Maestro d…

Caseta is a fantastic product. Works well, looks great. Lutron switches in general have a high-end "feel" when you press them, and these are no exception.

That said, I went with Insteon switches in my current place to save a few bucks--they're ~$37.5/switch in a 5 pack [0] which adds up pretty quickly.

I've had them for about a 18 months now with no issues. The Android app is pretty terrible, but gets the job done. Alexa integration works well with their hub. I've added a few Insteon outlets, fan controllers, and motion sensors over the last year as well; all solid.

[0] https://www.smarthome.com/insteon-switchlinc-dimmer-white-5-...

Re: Home Assistant: Open-source home automation platform running on Python 3

#166

Post by woolvalley » Thu, Aug 23, 2018, 9:59 PM UTC

diggernet wrote: post #157

kilo_bravo_3 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Caseta is the way to go. I HAD a mix of Elgato, iDevices, Belkin, and Insignia switches and outlets, added ad-hoc based on promotional pricing and free time. It was an unreliable mish-mash with varying levels of compatibility with iOS, Android, and Alexa. Seeing or hearing "The device is not responding" was common. I scrapped it all and went Caseta for everything, giving every device a "one last chance" and swapping…

Thank you. A few minutes ago, I had never heard of Wago. And now I have the urge to replace every wire nut in the house.

Wagos look nice and elegant, but can be minorly controversial in the USA:

https://www.reddit.com/r/electricians/comments/1tefko/why_yo...

Re: Home Assistant: Open-source home automation platform running on Python 3

#167

Post by gerdesj » Thu, Aug 23, 2018, 10:00 PM UTC

gbrayut wrote: post #79

balloob wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the YAML front: we've added support for configuring integrations via the UI, no YAML involved[1]. However each integration will need to be adopted individually for this. YAML will still be around for power users and people who like to use version control. For Z-Wave: the current integration is based on openzwave, a reverse engineered implementation of the Z-Wave protocol with an irregular release interval. As we d…

Glad to hear there are plans to improve it. I'd be willing to do a patreon or monthly donation just for better zwave! Keep up the great work!

My experience has been a bit different to yours but has included a fair bit of headbanging 8)

Zwave support seems to be really good to me. This: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00YETCNOE/ref=oh_aui_de... works passed through to a VM after a vMotion to another host! All Zwave devices I've tried seem to simply work but to be fair I have not done anything like an exhaustive set of tests.

The support on the forums is awesome - one of the best communities about. I'm not quite there yet to really give decent advice but I'm close.

Home Assistant is being developed at a breakneck pace. That means that you must be careful and treat your project with respect. Backups and backout plans and testing must be taken seriously. You have to read everything you can get your eyes on - the forums and docs are very, very, very good. If you do all that then you will be richly rewarded.

Re: Home Assistant: Open-source home automation platform running on Python 3

#168

Post by t0mbstone » Thu, Aug 23, 2018, 10:01 PM UTC

hirundo wrote: post #63

balloob wrote: post #7

Founder of Home Assistant here. Happy to answer any questions.

My initial experience with Home Assistant has been very frustrating. I filled my house with HomeSeer HS-WD100+ and HS-WS100+ wall dimmers/switches. I thought I was safe as they are best sellers in zwave devices. But Home Assistant doesn't seem to support them without elaborate workarounds that, as a noob, I haven't been able to penetrate. The forums have been talking about a solution coming soon ... for years now. In…

I had a similar experience with home assistant. The yaml configuration was so obtuse.

I basically just ended up writing my own python scripts and/or batch files and then I would have Home Assistant simply execute them.

That's how I managed to do some of my more complex, un-supported integrations with Home Assistant, anyways.

Re: Home Assistant: Open-source home automation platform running on Python 3

#169

Post by gerdesj » Thu, Aug 23, 2018, 10:02 PM UTC

raman325 wrote: post #163

mediocrejoker wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've struggled with this as well. I actually find the YAML harder to write than a full programming language would be. For example, conditional logic such as "Turn on this light when the sun goes down only if this person is home" get complicated quickly. The breadth of options and plugins available is impressive but the documentation presents a lot of small snippets and not many explanations of how to design a coheren…

See my reply to the parent

... and find the alert module.

Re: Home Assistant: Open-source home automation platform running on Python 3

#170

Post by gerdesj » Thu, Aug 23, 2018, 10:11 PM UTC

balloob wrote: post #34

kop316 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First, I wanted to say I really enjoy Home Assistant! I was wondering, how has development been since you have been with Ubiquiti?

Being paid by Ubiquiti to work full time on Home Assistant is awesome. I no longer work early mornings, late evenings and weekends. It has allowed me to start larger projects (user system, Lovelace) and able to break them down in smaller pieces that can then be picked up by both me and contributors. Still struggling a bit with finding the right work/life balance now that my hobby has become my job but it's going in t…

It shows. I pointed my new HA at our Unifi controller and suddenly a huge number of attributes were available on each wifi connected device.

I don't care who pays for it but Ubiquiti are not daft: Amazon, Apple, Google etc have all got their feet under the table with their hardware "assistants". UBNT can't compete directly with that but they sponsor Home Assistant. Your salary plus a few other bits and pieces is not much cash in the grand scheme of things but the value gained is close to priceless (I would suggest).

Oh and did I say thanks for your work? Absolutely bloody awesome.