DIY Smart Home HUB + Home Assistant

[@cooperised]

I'm subscribed to a fair few "smart home" channels, but as an engineer this is far and away my favourite. Can't believe you don't have more subs!

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thank you very much! You made me a day! :) As I'm an engineer myself, I really appreciate such kind words from a fellow engineer :)

[@BenReese]

Well I'm convinced.... This is my first time coming across this channel so I'll subscribe.

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

@@BenReese Thanks, I appreciate it! :)

[@generelspaz]

I need to make every new dev watch this. Great explanation and examples of scope creep and YAGNI(you ain’t going to need it) and how to iterate as well as planning for maintenance! What ever your job is they don’t pay you enough. Subbed and rang that bell!!!!

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks for such an awesome comment!! I'm glad you like my video. I didn't know the word YAGNI, but I love it! I'll definitely use it from now on :)

[@LooseOrangeJuice]

Holy crap. You do it right, man. I hope this channel gets a lot more popular. This is super interesting and informative stuff.

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

I appreciate that!

[@ronaldronald8819]

Fantastic that i found your channel. I am busy wiring up a newly self build smart home. I also made the choice to take the same centralized approach but separated out the controllers R.Pi's and esp32's into a different cabinet. Ran into the same latency issue with Home Assistant. I do the switching directly with a esp32 that controls a relay the test's work fast and reliable. For now i am still in the wiring phase. Cheers i am gone follow your channel with interest!

[@shahidmustafa7768]

Video appeared in my timeline today and its worth watching. The amount of time, effort, thinking behind the concept is phenomenal.. you deserve a subscription.. keep it up.

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Wow, thank you!

[@cpyandy]

I love to know more details about your smart home architecture~

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Do you mean this version from the video or the next (future) one?

[@cpyandy]

@@SmartSolutionsForHome Both if you can share

[@sundersquare]

super interesting to hear about the process and your decision making along the way. much more info that way and still entertaining

[@TradieTrev]

She's a flash one your old setup. Following a few folks designs how they've wired up their setups up with ELV switches, I opted for a more traditional method so any electrician could service such a system. The biggest challenge I've found in creating an automation system is making it serviceable, mostly for others not just yourself!

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

I agree, that's why solid documentation is essential in these kinds of systems.

[@MrElofix]

I dont know where you come from but in my country this cable mess is not conform to electrical wirering rules. I suggest also to use a much bigger box to fit all the components and fuses, terminals ect. I also suggest to choose a box at least 1/3rd bigger then needed to have some space left for further improofements and expansions ;)

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

In the video, I tried to explain myself a bit about this mess. I was supposed to put it in order, but the two years flew by so quickly that I missed it ;) In the second revision it'll be neat :)

[@saurabhmehra2753]

very nice 👌, look forward to the second version. also interested in preordering one for my flat.

[@amateurwizard]

This was recommended to me, I love it. I'm going to do something similar, keep up the great work.

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks! Will do!

[@Dr.paardekuth]

Nice overview and always helpful to hear what wasn't used or didn't work so well! I am also pretty obsessed with 'fallback' mainly for lights but decided on a decentralised approach because of that (and because it is simpler). I think a sensible check to make before you add any automation hardware is to think what impact it has if the automation is not available or doesn't work properly. If the result is worse than it is without the smart hardware, or if bringing it up to the same level takes a lot of work, then I have a pretty strict rule that it is probably dumb and I shouldn't do it. The result is that my house isn't super 'smart' but my wife and visitors consistently find the automations that do exist very useful. I say this while these instances are super rare so it isn't really necessary, but it appears to also keep the automations 'sane'.

[@Fine_i_set_the_handle]

I use ge enbrighten smart switches, no extra wiring 100% standalone unit doesn't need coms, internet, wifi or anything to manually switch on and off. Unfortunately it does sacrifice rgbccw control, but i fixed that by setting up secondary colored lights

[@andrewlhoover]

I too am quite guilty of over engineering a solution when simpler is better. I look forward to what comes next.

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

I think it's a popular "attribute" of the engineering mindset :)

[@jashmaniar]

I noticed ur esp home has a "coffee maker " can u make a video on that

[@CraigHissett]

This is a fantastic bit of kit! I have a Homeassistant instance running on a Pi4 at the moment, but isn't in a location I can run cables to to set up something as fantastic as this with SSRs. I'm looking at using NodeRed or MQTT as a link between a microcontroller (something like an arduino Mega with an ESP32 for WiFi communication) to communicate with HA. Nice an easy to get data into HA and you can build dashboard elements from the NodeRed devices.

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

In that case, you'll definitely like the second version of my HUB :) It'll be very close to what you described.

[@CraigHissett]

@@SmartSolutionsForHome I'm excited, ha ha ha! I'm very keen to make use of those protocols to bring together my smart network. I have them both installed now but don't make use of them just yet.

[@gringoire986]

Would you describe better in a video how you deal with smart lights and physical switches? In your setup how does a physical switch control a smart light without cutting the power to the light?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

I don't use smart light in my system. I use dumb switches and dumb lights :) And it's thanks to this HUB + Home Assistant it'll become "smart".

[@gringoire986]

@@SmartSolutionsForHome i understand now. Thank you very much for answering. :)

[@MichaRutkowskiEngineering]

nice, i am also doing stuff myself but i have much more networked / distributed approach based on off the shelf components mostly

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Completely opposite approach to mine, but I think both are ok :)

[@MichaRutkowskiEngineering]

@@SmartSolutionsForHome I have been renovating old house so it was impossible at the time to make a central hub

[@pangit9999]

Really good, looking forward to more details of the new one. More videos of interim updates would be great!

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thank you, Sean!

[@nativeme2143]

Hey! Perfect job! I've faced a lot of similar problems when I've built my system. I had also concerns about that "how that will be maintained or modified if I would decide to sell the house?". Due to that I decided to minimalize usage of DIY solutions and make it as much "reversable" to classic installation as possible. So I decided to partly abandon the idea of centralized point. That lead to reduction of cabling that is hard to organize in one place. I also thought about that "My family and friends are mostly not IT people" so when something will fuck up and i would not be around there will be major problem. So again - decentralized everything a little bit in that way that if something is broken I loose control only on that one device and usually I don't have to open fuse box to take care of the problem. Thanks for four time making these video's! Your channel i very undervalued. I'd like to see some PCB making tutorial from you! It's clear that you are doing it professionally. 🙂

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks!! So far I wasn't worried about "what will happen if I sell the house", but of course you are right! This is a very valid question! I also tried to make my system "reversible", that's why my "smart" installations are parallel to the classic one. I've two sets of cables in the socket boxes :) If something happens to me, any electrician will be able to restore the installation to its default state before my integrations. Thank you for your fantastic comment and kind words! :) As for the "PCB making tutorial", I'm gonna do something like this for a long time. I'm trying to figure out what format it should be.

[@vmoutsop]

If you take the led's off the board and you have to perform diagnostics or figure out a problem and your remote system isn't communicating, how are you supposed to know if a relay, breaker, switch or whatever is even working or errored out?

[@timderks5960]

Great video. If I can request one thing: Could you please increase the volume? Your video is a lot quieter than most videos on KZbin. For the haters that'll say "jUsT iNcReAsE yOuR vOlUmE": It's not about that, it's about consistency. For this video I needed my volume at 100%, for others it's at 40%. It's annoying and unnecessary to have to keep adjusting your volume.

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks for comment! Of course, you are absolutely right! The audio is definitely too quiet :( I was in a rush to render this video and forgot to check the audio level. My bad, but I promise to improve for the future :)

[@timderks5960]

@@SmartSolutionsForHome No worries, mistakes happen. You already gained a subscriber, even with the low audio levels.

[@ToPProjectsCompilation]

Hey, your projects are amazing. We want to feature them on our channel (no money involved). If it sounds good, then kindly reply.

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

I replied to your e-mail. And of course you can use any of my projects in your videos :)

[@Blueshiftent]

I lead a software engineering team and have used that Elon video numerous times. Excited to see how your project progresses mate!

[@sayanee]

Love your work, Sebastian! I have been following all your projects and there are lots of things to learn from you :) 4:03 It seems like this HUB is able to monitor the states (something like a digital twin) of the switches E.g. on or off, but not actually program it via HA to set up some automation. Or am I missing something? Thanks for the clarification 😊

[@ivancorrea5110]

Great job as always! Can't wait to see more about the new version!!

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Coming soon :)

[@82levy5]

Very impressive. But the costs are huge. There are very good and stable wireless solutions with a lot of benefits (simple installation, no wires, easy adaptation to existing infrastructure).

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks. I know there are good wireless solutions, but they will never be as solid as the wired ones :)

[@82levy5]

@@SmartSolutionsForHome Maybe. I have wireless devices working for years without any issues. So wireless solutions are solid too and more flexible.

[@zht9]

Can't wait to see this commercialised!!

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

If you mean the second revision, it should be here on the channel pretty soon :)

[@tanel.vakker]

This looks very complex - I wish I had the skills to build something like this. This is why I use KNX for my new house. I have subscribed and eager to see how you did yours.

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

KNX is a very good choice. I bet it'll serve you well for years to come :)

[@sjamesparsonsjr]

At 4:19 is that an accurate model of your home or a placeholder?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

It's an accurate model of my home. I made it in "Sweet Home 3D". It's super simple and free :)

[@JinxProLuhut]

How do you wire that wall switch ? Do you switch the dc or the ac ? If the dc what voltage you switch it with ?. I want to make my own smart home hub. My concern with wall switch is the distance from the hub (voltage drop over the wire). If I give it a 5v to switch, im affraid it will come back far below 5v let just say 3v.

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Your concern about voltage drop is perfectly legitimate. I use 12VDC and I think that is the absolute minimum. 5V can be very unreliable. If possible, use 12 or even 24V.

[@tonywebb9909]

Yes, start with an absolute basic bare bones program, then slowly introduce complexity through automation. Label everything.

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thank you for your comment. I'll do my best to introduce every detailed aspect of the new project.

[@parisiadrian]

Hi men great project! Where are you from and why do you use to drink mate? Regards from Argentina

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Hi! I'm form Poland, and my favorite mate (Amanda) is from your country :)

[@RaphaelAguirre]

instant sub. Amazing stuff, looking forward to see V2 :)

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Welcome aboard! I'm working on V2. Hope to post the video as soon as possible.

[@maksimmuruev423]

If you already have PI why you still need STM32 ?

[@CelsiusAray]

Is amazing your work man 👍

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks a lot!

[@alpdemirel]

Very imressive love watching your videos. Especially the engineering aspect of it.

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@farmaforpresident8138]

This is very impressive, thank you for sharing! What model of RPI are you using? Do you run it from a micro SD?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thank you! I'm using RPI 3B+. And unfortunately, I'm using an SD card. But for the second revision, I'm gonna use an SSD.

[@tincanpete]

Great video, interesting and helpful. Thank you!

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

My pleasure! :)

[@ONWOTE]

any chance to work with you? we can sponsor a security camera to you to review it

[@erikcramer]

Why didn't you opt for the compute module?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

What do you mean? What "compute module"?

[@slack0ne]

This sounds really interesting, looking forward to the follow up.

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks. I'l try to deliver the follow up it as soon as possible

[@burger2205]

Ile to kosztowało tak mniej więcej?

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Naprawdę ciężko to oszacować. Najdroższe z tego wszystkiego były SSRy - jakieś 350 - 400 zł. Łącznie z Raspberry Pi pewnie coś koło 1k zł. Ale pamiętaj, że to było jeszcze przed pandemią. Teraz pewnie ze 2 razy tyle musiałbym na to wydać.

[@nikhuge6580]

Great work

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks!

[@flaginto]

Very Very interesting

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Glad you think so!

[@SiBex_ovh]

In IT outsourcing I have a todo way in order, by me: 1) Documentation (to know how recover, where are passwords etc.) 2) Backup (in more then 2 place xD ) 3) Monitoring (any NMS) 4) Client requests :) (force client to use any RequestTicket ) Pozdro ! xDˣᴰ

[@sumedhburbure4173]

Wow!

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks! :)

[@ei23de]

Great stuff as always Sebastian! Elon also said "best part is no part" This is why I do nothing anymore :D Just a joke ;-)

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Thanks, Felix! "best part is no part" is the ultimate optimization! You can't do better :) If it's not a secret, what are you working on now?

[@mailwash]

Mooore moooore :)

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

I'm on it! Ps. dzięki za komentarz :)

[@1over137]

I don't mean to contradict Sir Elon but he is missing very important steps. 2.5 Make it work. 2.6 Prove it works. and 5.1 Prove it still works.

[@1over137]

On this though. Step 1 and Step 2 are often done far too late in development or not at all. In my heating setup, I spent a LOT of time going through the requirements and removing everything I didn't need, forcing simplification. For example. State machines. "If it's ON, toggle = off" etc. Shun them, push them as close to the actual device as possible. Remove any need to actually hold ANY state. Run everything off the message bus, stateless. If your automation needs to know if a radiator or boiler is on, it can ask it. No assumptions. I also removed the whole "right side" of the state machine problem. "When do you turn it off?", "How can you manage mulitple demands for a device to be on, when only one of them asks for it to be turned off?". The solution is, don't turn anything off. Make every request for it to be on timeout. Have devices repeat requests. If anything dies or crashes, stuff turns off naturally and by default. All of that through 1000s of lines of state machine code in the bin and 1000s more not having to manage them at all.

[@jamess1787]

No GPIO access!? "Nooooo HA! Don't do this!"

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

There's a workaround for this. You have to use HACKS. So it isn't a perfect solution, but better than none :)

[@HansHampel7018]

USA NJ kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWLYYpaKmrt6grs

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

What's this?

[@ronniepaulinc]

takes so much effort trying to understand you as you chew on the english language

[@SmartSolutionsForHome]

Sorry to hear that. I'm trying my best to be understandable, but I'm still learning English. Maybe someday it'll be easier for you to understand me. In the meantime, you can just skip my videos :)

[@bestyav5529]

The channel showed up to my list today. after watching I directly subscribed and it's really worth it . Any whatsapp number for fast communication please? I thought a lot about such a system in houses I'll be installing from now on.