Home Assistant beginners

[Semple]

This might overlap with some of the recent discussions ITT, so I'm sorry if that's the case, but I'm just starting my home automation journey, and some of it is going over my head.

I've just got a couple of Hue bulbs, a Hue Bridge, and a Hue dimmer switch for my kitchen. My plan is to upgrade all the bulbs throughout the house slowly, but that's a long-term project.

I have a more immediate need for a smart plug or two — I saw the four-gang Tapo strip that @Feek put in the 'Images of items I have purchased' thread, and they look perfect for what I'm after.

However, I would like to be able to turn the whole strip on/off with a single button like the Tapo S200B. I know I can do it from the phone, but I also want to make this wife-proof.

Am I right in thinking that I would also need a Tapo Bridge to go with my Hue Bridge?

It starts to get a bit overkill, so I was thinking I could just get a Hue smart plug and plug a dumb 4-gang extension into it. I'd miss out on the energy usage data and the ability to control each gang separately, but it would be considerably cheaper. Although once I've got the Tapo plug(s), switch(es) and bridge, I would be future-proofing for future additions.

Is that all correct? What would you do?

Is there a 'universal bridge' that could replace the current Hue bridge and the Tapo bridge (and any other devices further down the line?

I'm Mac-based, so any solution that's Mac-friendly would be appreciated.

Thanks all.

I imagine the Tapo is WiFi so depending how complicated your home network is, HA may well auto discover it.

The "bridges" so-to-speak (we actually call these coordinators) are just the way zigbee or zwave protocols communicate with devices (similarly to the way your router at home works).

The hue bridge is a zigbee coordinator and allows you to connect zigbee devices to it. I don't believe it's completely open though - so you may only be able to connect things that work with hue. You can get much better coordinators that work with almost any zigbee device. Also depending on how overboard you go (early warning that this can soon become an addiction) you may start hitting device limits on the hue bridge which is quite old, whereas newer coordinators can support significantly more devices.

 

[f666]

Hello!
I am looking at using HA for the first time. Intention is to have an alternative to mySigen solar system app, as well as have some logging of usage (primary objective right now).

Wondering whether to go:

1. HA Green box
2. HA Yellow box
3. Raspberrry PI 5 starter kit or a custom kit

thanks!

 

[The Angry Welshman]

Hello!
I am looking at using HA for the first time. Intention is to have an alternative to mySigen solar system app, as well as have some logging of usage (primary objective right now).

Wondering whether to go:

1. HA Green box
2. HA Yellow box
3. Raspberrry PI 5 starter kit or a custom kit

thanks!

i use a Pi4 and it works great for me

 

[Bluecube]

Hello!
I am looking at using HA for the first time. Intention is to have an alternative to mySigen solar system app, as well as have some logging of usage (primary objective right now).

Wondering whether to go:

1. HA Green box
2. HA Yellow box
3. Raspberrry PI 5 starter kit or a custom kit

thanks!

If your main intention is logging then get an SSD with the RPi. Extensive logging to SD Cards will cause them to fail long before you expect them to.

Have a wee think about what you wish to use HA for in the future. If you think you'll expand usage then have a look at a mini PC (second hand corporate stock is fine) and go from there.

 

[f666]

If your main intention is logging then get an SSD with the RPi. Extensive logging to SD Cards will cause them to fail long before you expect them to.

Have a wee think about what you wish to use HA for in the future. If you think you'll expand usage then have a look at a mini PC (second hand corporate stock is fine) and go from there.

Thank you, maybe I will add other things, so I think option 3 would be fun, or maybe an odroid.
Alternatively perhaps a docker container on an existing NUC12 and with debian. Will delve more, thanks.

 

[Bluecube]

Thank you, maybe I will add other things, so I think option 3 would be fun, or maybe an odroid.
Alternatively perhaps a docker container on an existing NUC12 and with debian. Will delve more, thanks.

If you have a NUC and already use Docker then it's a no brainer - try HA that way first. If your set up outgrows the docker then it's easy enough to backup and restore to a more capable machine

 

[b0rn2sk8]

HA in docker is not great as it does not place nicely with add-ons. Run it in a VM instead.