Being a Tech Nerd, the prospect of having a fully integrated Smart Home Solution is right up my alley and something I’ve always wanted to have. So finally after much consideration, I went out and brought a load of Philips Hue Bulbs and Switches as well as 2 Smart Garage & Gate Openers, and a Ring Smart Doorbell. planning to control them both with my Alexa Smart Speaker and the mobile app. This is where my (admittedly very first-world) problem started to unfold.

The Problem?

Ok, first things first, there is more than 1 problem, a lot more than one. I first started by installing my ring doorbell, which, I have to admit was a lot easier than I expected. It connected instantly to their app, and then I was presented with a message saying I was required to pay a subscription to store any of the footage from my doorbell. After a good hour of research, I realised that there was no option to record to local storage, on a device that I paid over $130 for. First disappointment. Then it came time to install my Philips Hue Lighting & Switches. The Philips Hue app is, well terrible. I was constantly signed out from the remote access, and there is no way of inviting guest users so when I needed to share access to the system, I had to give my account details, a massive security issue. Furthermore, I found that with a mesh wifi network, the Philips hue app wouldn’t connect to the local network, which would be ok, only if I wasn't being signed out constantly from the remote access. Finally, It came time to set up my Garage Door & Gate controller I got from a brand called Meross. This was by far the star of the show, the remote access remained signed in, with my only complaint being the need for a cloud server for them to function. The main issue I had was the cross-compatibility, by which I mean that for example, I can't use my Philips hue light switch to open the garage door, and I had to deal with a bunch of individual apps, making the user experience far from optimal.

The Solution?

This is where Home Assistant came to the rescue, after many hours of research. Home Assistant is an Open Source project that acts as a Central Hub between all your Smart Home devices. Better still, Home Assistant runs on either a Raspberry Pi or a Local Home Server (check my other posts for more information). This means that you both have increased reliability and Security as you are eliminating the need for a middle man (i.e. the cloud server).

This essentially means that I can now use my Philips Hue Light Switch to control my garage door and any other device that I desire. Below is a list of just a few things you can do with Home Assistant

1. Use geo-location data so that your lights, heating, etc turn off when nobody’s home, and turn on when you arrive
2. Use the same set of hardware for motion lighting and presence detection in an alarm system
3. Be notified when a door is left open
4. and so, so, so much more. If you can imagine it, it’s almost certainly possible.

Oh, and I forgot the best bit, It's all controlled inside 1 App. An app that allows you to assign users, specify what devices each user has access to and also have a log of what user interacts with what when. I'll be posting more articles about how I’m Using home assistant, and please comment below if you have any home assistant Questions or Ideas.

Subscribe to my newsletter Here to stay up-to-date on my Upcoming Home Assistant Projects.

Conclusion

I urge you to look into the possibilities that Home Assistant brings to the table. Not only is it free software, but it also has endless possibilities as to how you can use it. It takes a matter of moments to set up, and is well worth the effort.

Comment below if you have had experience with Home Assistant or are Interested In Getting Started.

‍