David Bann

Yes I did mean Home Assistant Thanks for the advice - will see what I can get my hands on!

Hey everyone I like the look of Home Automate and want to start procuring what is required to set this up. I like the idea of running on a Raspberry Pi due to it being a small low-power device, and will be purpose built - hopefully less admin than if I ran on a PC. That being said I know very little about the topic, and I am looking for advice on the suggested setup. So, some questions: Should I use Raspberry Pi, or rather something else? If I do go with Raspberry Pi, any advice on where I go to purchase one, along with any required components? (I live in Durban area, so ideally something near or online) Is there a "How To" guide or video somewhere that can show me what needs to be done, meaning the full setup from scratch? (I don't mean all the device connections, but just the base setup) Is there anything else I should be considering or purchasing? Thanks so much David

Thanks - shame that things aren't more universal and open yet. Seems to be heading that way (hopefully), but I like the sound of Home Assistant as it seems to cater for a mix and match of whatever devices are available - seems more future proof since I would only have to switch out individual devices if needed, and not throw out the whole bunch if a certain brand lags behind.

Awesome - I will definitely have a look at this - thanks!

Wow this is some great info! Thanks so much for taking the time to respond in such detail with screenshots - looks really impressive! Now I'm getting quite excited to get a setup like this in my new home

Hey everyone - I am planning to implement home automation in a new home I'm moving into. I want to make sure I start off in the right direction, but it seems there is so much to consider. I am trying to figure out which smart system I should go with (Alexa, Google, etc), and other considerations I should keep in mind. For context, I have the following items I would ideally like to link up to the system: I use Android mobile devices, and my wife uses Apple. We have Android TV's / media sticks running Google TV (Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, YouTube Music) Will have a solar system with a Daiwa inverter - WiFi enabled EZVIZ wireless outdoor security cameras with NVR (I am looking at expanding this, so now is the time to change if that makes sense) I plan to get WiFi Universal IR Remote/s to control the older non-smart devices like non-smart TV's, home theater, and aircons. I have "piped speakers" throughout the new house - it currently has a media connection point in main bedroom to plug an old HiFi into, which then plays the sound to all rooms with ceiling speakers. Each room has its own switch to control volume. I would like to connect a smart device to this so that I can start playing music by voice command anywhere in the house rather than going all the way to the bedroom to start it up. Individual rooms can still be controlled by the manual switches though. I was thinking of hooking up a smart speaker like Google Nest Mini there, but seems it doesn't have a media output - maybe an Echo is better for this? I plan to install Sonoff or other smart devices like light switches, power switches, geyser switches, curtain automation, etc. There seems to be a lot being said about "Matter" being the new "thing" to consider for universal device connections in the future, so I'm guessing I need to take that into consideration too. My objective is to start with a few things and build up over time, so anything I do now must be as future proof as possible. I want the experience to be as seamless as possible - i..e no constant technical troubleshooting or glitches. While I am technically inclined, I want anyone to be able to use the system including my very non-technical wife and my children. I'm also trying to understand why I would put multiple smart speakers around the house rather than just using a phone with Google Home on it to control things? I mean obviously the convenience is a factor but is there more to it? Any suggestions on way forward - things to consider, brands to avoid or give preference to, lessons learnt, etc? Much appreciated! David