Home Assistant Automaton

[dmclone]

We're moving into a new house and I want to start using Home Assistant. Looking for what type of setup to run.

I have a Windows 11 NUC just laying around that I could use.

I have a bunch of smart lights. Some Hue.
The new house has Ecobee thermostat
I have a couple of Google nest Cameras
Today I use Google Assistant to control things and run routines.

I'm going to be buying probably 8 smart blinds from SmartWings. They are giving me the option of ZigBee or ZWave Plus.

Would this be a good use case for Home Assistant?
Should I use my NUC for this purpose? Will i have to constantly be updating it or is this set it and forget it?
Should I use Zigbee or ZWave?
Anything else I'm missing?

 

[Cloneon]

I'm an enthusiast, but mostly in principle. Though I'm not looking for automation, I am looking for voice control, media distribution, lighting, and security.
I, personally, would never attach myself to proprietary technology where its sustenance is controlled by the dollar. I fell for that with Google Home, only to see so many changes that it has severely restricted anything you used to be able to do without incident. And, subsequently, forcing you to pay more for something that does. It's a cycle that open source openly stands against. So, my recommendation is to stay with Home Assistant.

 

[1100011CS]

I'm an enthusiast, but mostly in principle. Though I'm not looking for automation, I am looking for voice control, media distribution, lighting, and security.
I, personally, would never attach myself to proprietary technology where its sustenance is controlled by the dollar. I fell for that with Google Home, only to see so many changes that it has severely restricted anything you used to be able to do without incident. And, subsequently, forcing you to pay more for something that does. It's a cycle that open source openly stands against. So, my recommendation is to stay with Home Assistant.

I had setup most of my home for voice control then I got cancer and it paralyzed my tongue and part of my throat so I can't talk. Now it's a pain to just turn on the lights

 

[HFCS]

I'm an enthusiast, but mostly in principle. Though I'm not looking for automation, I am looking for voice control, media distribution, lighting, and security.
I, personally, would never attach myself to proprietary technology where its sustenance is controlled by the dollar. I fell for that with Google Home, only to see so many changes that it has severely restricted anything you used to be able to do without incident. And, subsequently, forcing you to pay more for something that does. It's a cycle that open source openly stands against. So, my recommendation is to stay with Home Assistant.

I too am an enthusiast.

 

[tman24]

I am running home assistant on my proxmox server (old engineering workstation).

I have a handful of wireless light switches, handful of wireless plugs, 2 ecobee thermostats and a handful of ip cameras.

For the most part i have some automation to turn the lights on/off at different times. Its nice to see how much power things are using and how often the ac/furnace is running. i have frigate running for the cameras.

I dont think there is much difference between zwave and zigbee. coworkers use zigbee, but for the most part pick on and commit.

 

[CyPhallus]

I am running home assistant on my proxmox server (old engineering workstation).

I have a handful of wireless light switches, handful of wireless plugs, 2 ecobee thermostats and a handful of ip cameras.

For the most part i have some automation to turn the lights on/off at different times. Its nice to see how much power things are using and how often the ac/furnace is running. i have frigate running for the cameras.

I dont think there is much difference between zwave and zigbee. coworkers use zigbee, but for the most part pick on and commit.

I run both zigbee and zwave stuff on my RPi HA hub. I just use Nortek USB sticks plugged into the Pi and it works pretty good.

 

[GBlade]

Look into smart light switches and dimmers instead of smart bulbs. They avoid the problem of someone turning the light off at the switch and losing the smart features.

I use zwave because I have weak Wi-Fi signal through my house. ZWave uses a different frequency, but requires a dongle.

 

[CyPhallus]

Look into smart light switches and dimmers instead of smart bulbs. They avoid the problem of someone turning the light off at the switch and losing the smart features.

I use zwave because I have weak Wi-Fi signal through my house. ZWave uses a different frequency, but requires a dongle.

Also Zwave+ devices function as repeaters as well so you can get farther away from your hub and still have decent signal.

 

[Cloneon]

I had setup most of my home for voice control then I got cancer and it paralyzed my tongue and part of my throat so I can't talk. Now it's a pain to just turn on the lights

OMG. So sorry to hear about your disability. I wonder if signing can be an interface. So, I searched for it. My first search turned up several devices. So, I'd be surprised if some innovative person hasn't already made it work with HA. I wish I could help further.