Best answer is âMaaaaaayyyybeâŠâ
Most things that use an ESP8266 for brains can have ESPHome shoved down itâs throat for reprogramming, and then you can HA all over the place. A lot of other stuff does have an HA plugin for it (I had an electric mouse trap with an HA integration at one point).
Aside from that, you can link your Google Home account to HA (and back again) to be able to cross-control stuff, not sure if you can link Alexa through it though.
MHz. I had to really widen the range.
Fair enough
The support has gotten really pretty good. You can always check the integration support here: Integrations - Home Assistant
If youâre getting started I definitely recommend going with ZigBee devices. Youâll need a $30 USB adapter and then youâre pretty much good. They have much wider support than individual brands. You also can set them up right through home assistant, as opposed to needing the manufacturers app.
I generally donât like WiFi devices in general. Home assistant may support it but youâll still need the manufacturerâs app to get it set up - and then there are the security issues, too many WiFi devices, etc.
Blind wise, Ikeaâs should work just fine (theyâre ZigBee). Sengled makes fairly cheap ZigBee RGB LED bulbs that are good quality. Philips hue is also zigbee. There are plenty of ZigBee relays and other sensors too.
Iâm happy to answer any questions, Iâve been running it for a few years, though I havenât really had time to really dive in.
Edit:
Whoops, replyed to the wrong post. Meant to get @Eriequiet
I wouldnât say âgetting startedâ
More⊠âam I fucking upâŠâ â âŠand additionally fucking up by investing in more devices that can only work with corporate spywareâ
Iâve probably got
3-4 plugs
6 rgb bulbs
2 rgb strip
1 rgb monitor backlight kit
3 smart blinds
1 fan combo switch
4x echos for commands, music zones, and various tasks
Planing to add, garage door command module
4-8 switchâs (4ways are a bitch)
Maybe a presence IR/microwave presence detector depending on if I can get Alexa to push commands to pc with a project I found
Well so privacy issues aside (and Iâm a huge privacy advocate), there were reports saying that Alexa is a huge loss for Amazon and its future as-is is kinda uncertain. There were talks about introducing a possible paid plan.
Iâd definitely recommend going the ZigBee route with home assistant. No corporate lock in, no spying, frankly easier to manage everything. You can use home assistant to expose everything automatically to Alexa.
So basically, I wouldnât say youâre fucking up, but I would strongly recommend against using Alexa as the backbone of your smart house ecosystem
Full transparency: to control your house from anywhere and for the Alexa and google cloud integrations, youâll need to subscribe to home assistantâs cloud integration plan for $6.50/month.
(There are work arounds but theyâre really involved) Itâs great software and directly supports the developers working on it full time so Iâm happy to pay, but it should be mentioned
What brands are those?
Govee
Treatlife
Kasa
Those appear to be home assistant compatible
So, thatâs good⊠if/when I ever suck it up and learn to be smart enough to set up home assistant⊠looks like nothing Iâve gotten yet is unusable
The genie Aladdin add on seems unconfirmed
Oh and 3 snapbot blinds
Thatâs not overboard. I run an Alexa device in every room except bathrooms), one each on my deck and pergola and also my car and office: 12. 24 lightbulbs (LIFX), I think about 8 or 10 switches to control garden lighting, pool filter and lights, spa, etc. 4 ceiling fans and several mosquito zappers which are on the deck and pergola. I havenât integrated blinds yet because I canât easily run power to them. There will be other things I have forgotten about tooâŠ. Garage door, and several locksâŠ
Once you get started, you will not stop.
Yea I donât think I was overboardâŠ
I just realized I was beginning the real commitment⊠and wanted to verify if I have an escape vector
Iâm using the snapbot stick turners⊠they have Iâd guess an 18650 in each one, battery life has been excellent⊠they include a solar paddle for the window that I havenât messed with since 2 of my 3 wonât have direct sun
I havenât charged them in 6? MonthsâŠ
I donât take them down when I charge⊠I just steal my longer vr usb c cable, and plug the charger near the window, and charge in situ⊠3-4 hours
Needed an IR? Hub⊠I was pretty pissed⊠they swore up and down didnât need a hubâŠ
ââŠ. No hub needed âŠâŠ.*unless you want any connectivityâ
Fuckers
There is no escape vector. I will be forced to pay for the Alexa subscription when they implement it, otherwise my entire house wonât work. My wife claims to hate it but loves to show it off to her friends when they drop over. My daughter hates it because she reckons whenever she goes to her boyfriends place she canât turn on the lights or TV etc by voiceâŠ.
[quote=âEriequiet, post:15961, topic:5860â]
snapbot stick [/quote]
thanks. I will have a look. I already have an IR blaster for the TV and set top box and airconâŠ. It is really sad when you start thinking about all the crap actually installed.
I wouldnât be half as annoyed about the hub⊠if it wasnât IR basedâŠ
And the units have Bluetooth/wifi in them for the app the control them directly from your phone⊠but it wonât work with Alexa unless you install a hub using obsolete techâŠ. Wtf
Blows my mind that these companies donât pay some random college kid 100$ to proofread their shit
Stupid question while we are semi on home automation stuffâŠ
Any quick and dirty ways to get a device like a tower fan or an air filter or any other random plug type device to work with a smart plug, when its default plugged in behavior is âoffâ
Purely analog things like a box fan are easy⊠set the switchâŠand use a smart plugâŠ
But the device where it cycles thru power settings from a push button, and doesnât retain state seems like a no win scenarioâŠ
I guess you could wire up a little esp32 and solder it to a button to simulate taps⊠but thatâs probably more hassle than itâs worthâŠ
Also those little Switchbot button pushers I guess⊠but they seem pricey and need a hub
Or with an IR blaster if the device has a remoteâŠ
Yeah. Bypass the switch and hard solder depending on how it is set up. I did it with a fan controller. I only have one speed and it is the fastest one.
Very messy.
IR if available is likely the easiest but still messy.
Who named a hurricane Debbie?
And furthermore, why isnât there a single reporter writing the headline âDebbie Does Charleston (again)â?
