Now that I’ve set up and configured a Raspberry Pi to run the open-source Home Assistant software, I decided to take a closer look at the device integrations and remote access of the system.
Since this is a DIY solution, you don’t just get remote smart home access like you would with a Samsung SmartThings or Wink Hub.
Instead, you have to pay $5 per month for it because the cloud component to use it isn’t free for the Home Assistant team. The other option is to poke holes in your home router firewall or use some other technical solution, but I’d rather go with the official one for simplicity and security.
I’m signed up for a free 30 day trial through Nabu Casa, the official Home Assistant cloud service and although I can’t leave home much for testing right now, it does work quickly over my phone’s LTE connection. I’m using the official Home Assistant mobile app on my iPhone; it’s also available for Android. Even over LTE, tapping a virtual switch on a light in the app takes less than a second before I see the light turn on or off. And using Google Assistant on my home network was fast too; I did have to add the Home Assistant skill to my Assistant first though.
One interesting note if you’re used to using a different hub or app for your lights: Dimming and brightness in my testing didn’t happen gradually. Instead, the light immediately changed to the new brightness setting which was jarring at first.
I wasn’t too keen on the monthly subscription at first but let’s face it: Remote access to control and monitor a smart home are key features. And the fee also adds support for Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands. So if you want those, you’ll need the subscription anyway.
Armed with remote access and voice command support, I dug deeper into the Home Assistant device integrations. And there are a ton of them, far more than Wink offers and at least as many as you’ll find with SmartThings, if not more.
And for the most part, I’ve found them easy to install and configure. But not all of them.
For example, I searched for supported video doorbells but didn’t find my Nest Hello. Instead, I saw Ring, August, Doorbird, and Skybell. A search for Nest did yield results but there’s a catch or two.
The Nest integration only supports cameras (video stream, not live), sensors, and thermostats. Even worse is that to configure the Nest integration for Home Assistant, you need a developer account for Nest, which you can’t currently get due to Google sunsetting the Works with Nest Program. That’s not the fault of the Home Assistant project, of course. And then you have to do some manual file configuration; well, if you have a developer account, that is:
And I know Stacey loves her Lutron Caseta switches, which are supported. However, to integrate them, she would have to do the following:
[Y]ou must first log in to your Lutron account and generate a certificate that allows Home Assistant to connect to your bridge. This can be accomplished by downloading and executing get_lutron_cert.py, which will generate three files: caseta.ke[Y]ou must first log in to your Lutron account and generate a certificate that allows Home Assistant to connect to your bridge. This can be accomplished by downloading and executing get_lutron_cert.py, which will generate three files: caseta.key, caseta.crt, caseta-bridge.crt when you run it. See the instructions at the top of the script for more information.y, caseta.crt, caseta-bridge.crt when you run it. See the instructions at the top of the script for more information.
I spoke with Stacey and asked if she would follow those steps. I got a resounding “no”.
And that further emphasizes what I was wondering about when starting my Home Assistant setup: Is it easy and capable enough for mainstream consumers to choose over a store-bought system?
I think it can be for those willing to push beyond their comfort zone. And it’s surely a powerful brain for the smart home given what I’ve seen so far. My gut says that most people would rather deal with an off-the-shelf solution instead, which is a shame: Home Assistant is among the best solutions for keeping your smart home data inside your home.
The integration with a DSC/Eyezon alarm panel is very useful since it makes all of the motion sensors readable in the main app. I also use the Insteon/Universal devices integration.
Other things I have integrated…
Prolyphix thermostats
Espon projector
Ring
Xbox
Roku
Receivers – Onkyo
Router
Chromecast
Airplay
I have not bothered with the remote access fee. I don’t really use HA to control things, I use it to automate things. For example you can catch a button press from a key on an Insteon keypad. Now you can do anything you want in a script triggered by that button.
I will say you need to be moderately experience to use HA. It is not for beginners.
Sorry, had to reply in the end, this article has been irritatingly bouncing around in my sub-concious since its release. FYI, I have no association with HA, I’m just an enthusiastic user. I also get your intent for this article to have a positive flavour, overall but I just have some points I wanted to make in retort.
“Since this is a DIY solution, you don’t just get remote smart home access like you would with a Samsung SmartThings or Wink Hub.”
– You haven’t just paid £90 for a hardware hub either (you could argue on the cost of the pi but that’s a door-stop you can use anyway you like)
“Instead, you have to pay $5 per month for it because the cloud component to use it isn’t free for the Home Assistant team. ”
– You don’t have to pay it, you are offered a choice. I feel you could have focused on explaining the value here rather than your upset on ‘having’ to pay $5. This fee is instrumental in helping the project grow.
“I wasn’t too keen on the monthly subscription at first ”
– Clearly!
“Dimming and brightness in my testing didn’t happen gradually.”
– I think this was addressed in recent releases, maybe test this again.
“And for the most part, I’ve found them easy to install and configure. But not all of them.”
– No one said it was perfect and this is where more responsibly written articles from influencers in the industry might help sway manufacturers to see the value in supporting and interacting with platforms other than Google, Apple & Amazon.
“However, to integrate them, she would have to do the following:”
– Double check the instructions here, you have part of it duplicated/triplicated, it boils down to downloading a file, running it and copying the results to Lutron hub. I’m sorry but even “normals” and “the mainstream” are capable of that.
“I think it can be for those willing to push beyond their comfort zone. And it’s surely a powerful brain for the smart home given what I’ve seen so far. My gut says that most people would rather deal with an off-the-shelf solution instead, which is a shame: Home Assistant is among the best solutions for keeping your smart home data inside your home.”
Two points here:
– Actually what tends to happen is once people start to use HomeAssistant it becomes more of an “encouraged opportunity, to push beyond their comfort zone”.
– This is a technically complex problem trying to be solved and you seem a little contrasted by the solution offered by Homeassistant. I’m wondering whether we should hear less from your gut and more from your actual experience or at the very least maybe it’s time for you to re-evaluate what “normals” and “the mainstream” are willing/capable to try, the HA forums are littered with new members who are trying new and exciting things through HomeAssistant.
My recommendation is to dig into the intent and focus of the project. I would love to hear you do an interview with Paulus(@balloob) … I was going to say ” at the end of your journey with HomeAssistant” but not many of us have found the end yet, so maybe just … ‘sometime soon’.
All the best.
Hey,
Thanks for the post. I wish you had more on setting up Lutron. I can log into the device login at Lutron device login website but I have no idea on how to run the py script to generate the file. Any pointers would be very appreciated. PS I can’t find a tutorial on this anywhere.