Home Assistant beginners

[katie279]

Im still a bit lost with this, i assume for washing machines, dishwashers, stuff like that, it needs to be a "smart" appliance? And you can't just do it with a bog standard Beko?
I still don't really know what i'd use it for over unified lighting, blinds and heating control...

Just try it....

To your point, some people get a cheap smart energy plug and plug their washing machine into this to track energy usage and so on. In terms of other things, it really depends - I've got views of local motorway webcams along my commute, so I can check traffic, Local weather with realtime satellite maps, computer monitors to check temps, network activity, constant broadband speed test (and ping) and loads more - so you don't just need smart devices....!

 

[Semple]

Im still a bit lost with this, i assume for washing machines, dishwashers, stuff like that, it needs to be a "smart" appliance? And you can't just do it with a bog standard Beko?
I still don't really know what i'd use it for over unified lighting, blinds and heating control...

All depends what you want. I've got dumb appliances, but with a smart plug it will track energy usage and can then tell me when a cycle has finished. The only thing it's really missing that a smart appliance would offer is remote start.

I'm mid-project of smart-ifying my fridge/freezer. Already has a smart plug to track energy usage, and I've got a loss of power notification. I'll then be able to check if the door has been closed, temperature sensor for both fridge and freezer, and then a water contact sensor underneath in case of a leak.

 

[CapitalOne]

By default it'll do this, or if you want to be really cool, get some mmwave sensors that are so sensitive they'll detect you breathing in a room (good as normal motion sensors will only detect larger movements, so when you're sleeping, sitting down watching telly etc, they may not report correctly)

**edit sorry, misread your comment - thought you meant tracking occupancy. Yes it does, although this is handy more broadly in allowing you to create schedules for everything: https://community.home-assistant.io/t/scheduler-card-custom-component/217458

You could obviously do this all manually with automations, but handy view to have in one place when you're getting more complex (like occupancy simulation)

Superb thanks - that’s this Saturday sorted!

I do think if it’s logged it should be fairly simple to play it back automatically as long as the HA apis for the actions are similar enough to what’s logged.

 

[katie279]

Superb thanks - that’s this Saturday sorted!

I do think if it’s logged it should be fairly simple to play it back automatically as long as the HA apis for the actions are similar enough to what’s logged.

Yeah exactly, it'd probably be interesting to throw together a page to show activity of your lights, music etc and then you can play with the schedule card for the action, then create a button entitled 'Home Alone Mode' and you're away... !

On a serious note, you could think about more than a single use for this - eg look at the patterns of lights you use in the morning, evening etc and then automate that for yourself, so not just for when you're away from home.

 

[Azza]

Switches and sensors?

So you can buy a 'smart switch' or some kind of module (like a sonoff mini r2) that sits inside the box and use with the existing switch?


Also motion sensors, I've read Hue are really good and Sonoff are pretty naff, but are Philips really worth the extra £££?

 

[dlockers]

Switches and sensors?

So you can buy a 'smart switch' or some kind of module (like a sonoff mini r2) that sits inside the box and use with the existing switch?


Also motion sensors, I've read Hue are really good and Sonoff are pretty naff, but are Philips really worth the extra £££?

Create an alert on HUKD. I grabbed 2 yesterday for 16 quid, and then did a subscribe and save and have 4 more arriving for 30 quid later.

 

[Azza]

Create an alert on HUKD. I grabbed 2 yesterday for 16 quid, and then did a subscribe and save and have 4 more arriving for 30 quid later.

For Hue sensors?!

 

[danb21t]

I'm running HA in Docker on my unRAID.

I've been running around the house installing Shelly relays in all my light switches.
I've had a play with their motion 2 and button 1.

I was worried that the motion 2 was going to be slow given it's wifi, but works pretty well.

Anyone else using Shelly stuff?

Looking for a decent wifi switch.

 

[Semple]

Switches and sensors?

So you can buy a 'smart switch' or some kind of module (like a sonoff mini r2) that sits inside the box and use with the existing switch?


Also motion sensors, I've read Hue are really good and Sonoff are pretty naff, but are Philips really worth the extra £££?

I've got some Shelly's that sit in the backbox - they're basically just a smart relay.

I've got a few aqara motion sensors (I think they're a Xiaomi sub brand) a lot cheaper and have actually been very good.

 

[Semple]

I'm running HA in Docker on my unRAID.

I've been running around the house installing Shelly relays in all my light switches.
I've had a play with their motion 2 and button 1.

I was worried that the motion 2 was going to be slow given it's wifi, but works pretty well.

Anyone else using Shelly stuff?

Looking for a decent wifi switch.

Yeah got two Shelly 1s and a 1PM.

 

[dlockers]

Super happy with this:



Is there an ELI5 to graph my energy cost data over the past 7 days?

Yeah got two Shelly 1s and a 1PM.

Do you need to rewire your lights for these to work? A 3rd wire or something? I forget, long time since I looked.

 

[dlockers]

For Hue sensors?!

Sorry, am an idiot - I think I had the screen cropped and thought you said hue bulbs.

 

[katie279]

Super happy with this:



Is there an ELI5 to graph my energy cost data over the past 7 days?

Starting simple, just something like this:

Statistics graph card

The statistics graph card allows you to display a graph with statistics data for each of the entities listed.

www.home-assistant.io

Same as all the other cards to add, just change the values to suit (think it'll default to 24hrs, just change that to 7d)

There's obviously more complex and useful approaches, but I'm trying to break you noobs in gently.....

 

[Azza]

I've got some Shelly's that sit in the backbox - they're basically just a smart relay.

I've got a few aqara motion sensors (I think they're a Xiaomi sub brand) a lot cheaper and have actually been very good.

Sooo newb time. I assume the Shelly relay can be configured to ignore the state of the switch and still provide power to a bulb?

e.g. if the switch is off then the relay doesn't turn off meaning that bulb can still be controlled by the relay and run scenes etc or say a motion sensor can still trigger the bulb as it'll have power even if it is off from the switch?

Sorry, am an idiot - I think I had the screen cropped and thought you said hue bulbs.

No argument from me about that.

 

[danb21t]

Sooo newb time. I assume the Shelly relay can be configured to ignore the state of the switch and still provide power to a bulb?

e.g. if the switch is off then the relay doesn't turn off meaning that bulb can still be controlled by the relay and run scenes etc or say a motion sensor can still trigger the bulb as it'll have power.

Yup, there are a few options within the relay interface on how it handles switch input states.

But yes, the live feed goes into the Shelly and is always active and online.

 

[Semple]

Super happy with this:



Is there an ELI5 to graph my energy cost data over the past 7 days?


Do you need to rewire your lights for these to work? A 3rd wire or something? I forget, long time since I looked.

Have a look at the utility meter function, I'll try and remember to grab a screenshot of mine later.

As for the Shelly's, no only the switch. IIRC you have one live wire in (to power it), you then use the same live wire as the input to the relay, you'd then have a live out that goes to the lights, then finally a wire from the switch to the relay so it knows the switch state.

Edit: I remember posting these earlier https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/how-smart-has-your-home-gone.18819830/post-35951922

If you look at the second image, I've got utility meter tracking the daily/weekly/monthly/yearly energy. I then have a card under that which works out the cost. I have a single entity used for number input, so this stores the per unit rate.

 

[ShivP]

Hi guys, I have some 'nooie' smart plugs I can't seem to show in HA. Guessing it just won't support them right?

 

[Bluecube]

Hi guys, I have some 'nooie' smart plugs I can't seem to show in HA. Guessing it just won't support them right?

Not heard of them before so had a quick Google. They rely on Nooie's own app so I don't think they're supported by HA. If you're buying smart plugs then look for ones that support Zigbee (these are best but you need a Zigbee adapter for HA), the Smart Life app or are Tuya supported. HA supports these out of the box.

 

[ShivP]

Not heard of them before so had a quick Google. They rely on Nooie's own app so I don't think they're supported by HA. If you're buying smart plugs then look for ones that support Zigbee (these are best but you need a Zigbee adapter for HA), the Smart Life app or are Tuya supported. HA supports these out of the box.

Cool, I got them for free so was worth a shot !

 

[katie279]

Cool, I got them for free so was worth a shot !

Again never heard of them, but they appear Google Assistant/Alexa compatible, so you'll be able to control them using HA's integrations for that.

Also they look suspiciously like some tuya ones that you can flash and upgrade using esphome, so could be worth having a good Google/asking in HA discord/forums?