Home Assistant

poker--addict · 16-08-2023 11:42pm

I can't get my way around a Pc and Mac but I have zero programming or coding knowledge, with a busy job of bias towards simplicity, and happy to pay a little for that, but equally don't want to waste money.

emaherx · 17-08-2023 7:36am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120988225#Comment_120988225

I doubt setting up a Pi is less complicated, but plugging a USB drive into a Pi hardly adds a complication either.

I like the Raspberry Pi 4 option as it is more energy efficient than even a tiny form factor PC and is well capable of running HA with maybe video AI being an exception. Tiny Form factor PC may be the way to go if planning on running a few other services on the same hardware though.

Jonathan · 17-08-2023 9:39am

Start with the RPi, but don't be surprised if you find yourself getting hooked and moving to a micro desktop form factor PC in a couple of months.

poker--addict · 17-08-2023 10:23am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989337#Comment_120989337

Haha. Fair. it is web based right so easy to flip over to a micro desktop later and it's not a case of duplicating hours of time?

10-10-20 · 17-08-2023 10:26am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989549#Comment_120989549

I pulled my config/yaml files off my main server and had about 90% of the config working in minutes, so yes, it's transportable that way.

Jonathan · 17-08-2023 7:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989549#Comment_120989549

I moved my installation lock stock and barrel using the native HA backup and restore functionality. Worked perfectly.

10-10-20 · 17-08-2023 8:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120992218#Comment_120992218

Ah yes, that came in April 2022... just after I tested the manual process.

https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/backup/

17-08-2023 8:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120988987#Comment_120988987

12w vs 4w - yes accept it's 3x the idle power consumption as the pi but even at 50c per kWh you'd need to be running for 8 years to have saved money on the €100 outlay of the Pi vs the €60/€80 of the tiny form factor machine.

There's nothing HA could throw at that tiny that it couldn't handle - even with room for some media services to also run alongside it. Same is not true of a RPi. I have both - am not **** on the Pi - just suggesting that the more powerful machine is actually a better long term play here - in terms of capacity, performance, cost etc - and find it strange that it would be controversial to suggest it.

17-08-2023 8:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120988250#Comment_120988250

the exact same process is available on the tiny?

However by installing proxmox (with a similar setup as the above) on the tiny first, you add the ability to have a machine that can do so much more than "just" home assistant without a huge amount of effort.

emaherx · 17-08-2023 8:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120992449#Comment_120992449

I think most tiny form factor PCs use more than 12W. But regardless power savings are worth considering if you are going to fill your house full of IOT/Smart devices as they all add up.

I've 2 raspberry pi 4's connected using WireGaurd and Remote HA between house and farm yard on separate broadband connections. There are 16 video feeds between them with security cams and calving cams apart from introducing video AI I can't think of what extra power I would need. I've setup a lot of monitoring and automation between the house and farm including remote out farms using pi zeros as IOT gateways running off solar.

poker--addict · 03-09-2023 3:37pm

starting my HA journey. Is there a handy YouTube channel or position to start with absolute basics?

initial priority is probably using sun/solar forecast to inform and drive solar/battery/EV management.

Then dashboard of some thermometers which may later drive blinds or curtains.

poker--addict · 03-09-2023 3:39pm

Electric gates currently driven by an old fob, or unrelated new hikvision doorbell/opener.

is there a way to have HA help me automate gate opening as I come within range of house eg 300metres, or pass a local point, or other trigger?

10-10-20 · 03-09-2023 7:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121063753#Comment_121063753

Yes there is, there is a good video on this page too:

https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/proximity/

I have not played with it, but the one thing that it depends on is the HA companion app being installed on your phone.

10-10-20 · 03-09-2023 7:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121063740#Comment_121063740

The world and their wives have made HA beginners videos, I'm not sure which is the best though. Best have a click around.

The install guide for RPi seems fine to get you up and running.

https://www.home-assistant.io/installation/raspberrypi/

One piece of advise that I can offer to a noob is to take your time to read about YAML and how it works in HA as that's the most confusing part if you're not au-fait with that structure of configuration. My configuraton.yaml is 700 lines long, but I should really have used the sub-files such as sensor.yaml and binary_sensor.yaml a bit better to make it all easier to read.

Best get VSCode working and use that to edit the files directly.

https://community.home-assistant.io/t/home-assistant-community-add-on-visual-studio-code/107863

paulbok · 04-09-2023 7:19pm

Stick to the installation/ beginner videos from the last 12 months. The process was a different animal once you start going back a few years (and there have been many great beginner videos over the years), but it's a far simpler process than it used to be. I'm not sure I use my yaml files except for adding login 'secrets' for a few devices.

Everything Smartphone, Bearded Tinker, Smart Home Junkie, Home Automation Guy, Digiblur Not Enough Tech, Mark Watt Tech are all great channels to look at for different topics as you need them.

Whatever route you go, after installation, get your head around backups and be religious about making them after every session. Mistakes will get made and you'll bedamn glad to roll back to the last working state.

ECO_Mental · 04-09-2023 10:36pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065076#Comment_121065076

I have my HA up and running for a year and half on a Pi4b and never once did I have to mess with the YAML files (bar the initial user name and password) with the UI you can do practically anything

10-10-20 · 04-09-2023 10:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121070059#Comment_121070059

OK, maybe it's just me then, but I'm in the yaml daily! I prefer to code my helpers and such, but I know that the interface has improved hugely in the last while in that respect.

poker--addict · 10-09-2023 11:41pm

Want to open a gate automatically when approaching. for example automation to "when iPhone comes within 300m of home, and is connected to car Bluetooth, activate open gate/garage button once". New to HA so basic guidance appreciated.

Jonathan · 11-09-2023 12:09am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121095192#Comment_121095192

In terms of automation, it is pretty simple. You need a zone trigger to fire when a person (device_tracker) enters a zone (Home), trigger the gate. You can get fancier and set up a second larger zone outside your house and enable high accuracy location when entering this zone to make the timing more accurate.

You'll need external access set up to Home Assistant for this to work as your phone needs to be able to trigger the location update once it enters the zone. Do you have this set up?

Also, HA has an Android Auto mode and you can trigger switches/entries from the dashboard. Not sure if there is something similar for Apple CarPlay.

theintern · 11-09-2023 10:38am

You haven't mentioned how you'll trigger the actual gate. You'll need some way to get Home Assistant to be able to actually send the signal to the gate which depends on how your gate works. You might be able to use a relay wired into the gates power supply (Sonoff or Shelly do good ones), or you might be able to use some sort of RF repeater that will send the same signal as your fob.

poker--addict · 11-09-2023 10:48am

I have an Meross gate/garage door switch, so i can trigger that in HA (can already see it and play with it via HA).

I also have a hikvision doorbell/gate opener which also works on the gate, - but i need to reset/unlock the doorbell as cant get into admin settings at moment (forgot password details). In time I imagine hikvision will be the best way to manage it.

I have setup a zone around my house, 300 metres. What I want to get right is the instruction so the gate is not constantly trying to open when i enter the zone, or is not trying to open the gate as I exit the zone. So only "hitting unlock" once, when i am entering the zone.

It seems a smart way to manage high accuracy, is to turn on high accuracy when phone is connected to car bluetooth....now back to youtube to figure that out.

theintern · 11-09-2023 2:10pm

Automations in HA should make this pretty easy. The state of your person tracker will change when you enter the zone, so you'll want the automation trigger to be a change in state of your person entity, from away, to home. That should just trigger once.

When you exit the state change will be from home to away, so it wouldn't trigger in that case.

poker--addict · 11-09-2023 9:25pm

id: '1694451677077'

alias: Gate Triggered by entering 300m zone

description: ''

trigger:

- platform: zone

entity_id: person.firstname_secondname

zone: zone.approaching_home_300m

event: enter

- platform: zone

entity_id: person.firstname_secondname

zone: zone.approaching_home_300m

event: enter

condition: []

action:

- device_id: 0bb4fba9e328ab3175225d08df63c2c8

domain: cover

entity_id: 2200e482835d7893bd5adcf23f039402

type: open

mode: single

Any obvious errors in this automation. It has not worked. The device at end is Meross gate/garage opener. The logic is when both people/trackers enter a 300m radius of home, triggers gate to open.

HA is setup for remote access.

Owntracks and iphone tracking is linked to people profiles

Jonathan · 11-09-2023 9:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121098893#Comment_121098893

Looks fine. If you have remote access set up, I'd suggest just using the location tracking within the Companion App rather than OwnTracks. It syncs any HA zones to the app so the phone can locally determine if it has entered/exited a zone and force an update.

poker--addict · 11-09-2023 10:22pm

Happy to get rid of Owntracks, enough tracking going on! will HA app update location frequently enough Jonathan? Given the radius I am using is about 300m, if it is not updating every 30 seconds then Im going to be at the gate waiting....?

Was also wondering how likely the tracker in cars are updating?

Jonathan · 11-09-2023 10:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121099087#Comment_121099087

You can do all sorts of smarts like turning on high accuracy mode on entering a zone. This is on Android. Not sure if same exists on iPhone.

poker--addict · 11-09-2023 10:59pm

I read somewhere iPhone is a bit funny about this,

unrelated, anyone managed to get HomeSecure Alarm into HA?

Nelbert · 12-09-2023 7:07am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121099231#Comment_121099231

I ripped mine out once it became obvious their z wave openness talk was marketing and they hadn't an actual clue about it.

Got a Ring alarm which is fine for HA integration via an add on but I'm considering just connecting all the sensors directly via z wave and being rid of the ring base station.

poker--addict · 12-09-2023 1:05pm

My gates are now opening with HA when person/device tracker enters a zone. Win! It can be slow though, which introduces some luck. If the zone is 300 metres, and a GPS update has happened at 310metres, the car will need to sit at the gate waiting for another GPS push. At least this is what I am interpreting is going on. I think apple doesn't facilitate rapid location updates by default, but android might. Suspect this is why some people are using OwnTracks and other apps, to try to drive more frequent pushing of location to HA server.

What might work is apple shortcuts, and an automation to send location when entering same zone, albeit I am not sure if that app will be monitoring location live either, or if it also has delays between updates?

theintern · 12-09-2023 4:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121099656#Comment_121099656

Aren't the HomeSecure alarms Ajax systems? Or perhaps yours was an older version?

Home Assistant

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