A few years ago I started a project to automate my house and have finally settled on a solution which works for me that uses Home Assistant. Details below.
Before I get started I want to call out a few concepts I used in my setup:
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Keep communication local to the network. While SmartThings and similar hubs are easy to set up they typically achieve that by routing their traffic through the open internet to their servers. This can cause a lag in responsiveness, but more importantly, it means those servers get your data and can understand your home usage patterns. No thanks.
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Devices should look and behave like a normal device. More of a personal preference here, but I want my light switches to look and behave like normal light switches. That applies to every household device. I shouldn't be required to use my phone to turn something on and vistors shouldn't notice that anything is out of the ordinary.
1 – My home network is controlled by Home Assistant. Other options were explored like SmartThings, HABmin, and Domoticz, but this is the one which worked for me. It has a vibrant open source community, frequent updates, is highly customizable, and a good looking design for it's apps.
2 – Home Assistant is running in a Docker container on a Synology NAS DS716+II. The NAS is not externally accessible from the internet and if you wish to connect to it remotely you need to VPN into the local network. Internal to the local network all traffic is served over SSL.
3, 6 – The majority of my home network communicates over Z-Wave through an Aoetec Z-Stick that's plugged into the Synology NAS. Z-Wave devices are low power and help me stick to the principle of communication on my local network. Plus, they tend to look and feel like normal devices.
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Light Switches: All light switches are wired up with GE Smart Dimmer Z-Wave Switches. The dimmer switches are a little more flexible than standard switches and can be customized through the Z-Wave parameters to either not dim or dim slower/faster. Make sure to get the newer "Plus" versions of them as they will report state changes faster.
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House Fan: The house fan is controlled using a GE Z-Wave Receptacle Outlet. Instant on / off capability.
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Garage Door Sensors:
The door sensors are using Ecolink Z-Wave Sensors. I'm a little obsessive about if I left my garage door open so these help a lot, but can be a little flakey sometimes and report open. I need to fix their placement.The door sensors have been replaced with Z-Wave Garage Door Tilt Sensors which are more reliable. -
Doorbell: I'm using an Aoetec Dry Contact Sensor with a magnetic relay switch that's connected to my existing doorbell magnet. This causes it to trigger a Z-Wave event when rung that I can tie into my automations.
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Energy Monitoring: For fun I have a Aeotec Home Energy Meter connected to my main circuit breaker box so that I can monitor my home's energy consumption and solar production.
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Landscaping: I'm using a few GE Z-Wave Plus Smart Outdoor Module to control my outside landscape lighting and fountain. They are supposed to be weather-proof so I'm okay having them exposed.
4, 5 – The remainder of the devices communicate over some form of HTTP/TCP/MQTT.
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Media Center: If you're in the market for a smart remote then the Logitech Harmony Hub is great. Plus, it can be controlled locally through Home Assistant.
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IP Cameras: I have both Foscom and Amcrest cameras tied into my automations. If you do an action like ring my doorbell then an automation will take a picture of you and send it to my phone.
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Thermostat: I opted to go with a Ecobee 3 Smart Thermostat since it can use occupancy and room sensors.
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Voice Input: Amazon Echo Dot is connected into the system and able to control all of the devices.
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Weather: Dark Sky is used for outside weather and tied into automations.
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Alarm: Abode is connected as my home security system.
7 – Plex is used to stream movies locally and as an OTA DVR.
The benefit of home automation is getting to automate repetitive or convenient things and make your life easier. Here's some of what I have my house configured to do:
Convenience
- Turn on lights if I come home after the sun has set
- Turn on a light scene for the morning and disable the alarm
- Turn on a light scene when we're watching a movie and the sun starts to go down
- Turn off all lights at night and arm the alarm
- Notify me if I left a garage door open
- Notify me if someone is at my front door
Security
- Turns on all lights and sends me pictures if the alarm is triggered
- Turns on the inside lights if the alarm is set to away and the sun goes down
- Remind me if I left the house and didn't arm the alarm
- Tells alexa to speak the status of my home alarm when it changes
Climate
- Disable the HVAC if the house fan is turned on
- Notify me if the AC is on, but outside is cooler than inside
Outside
- Run a scene for the landcape lights
- Toggle the fountain based on sun