Home Assistant GREEN - A Smart Home Hub for Beginners!

[@rayshobbyfarm.1019]

FIRST video about explaining and starting out with smarthome I finished watching. Love your way of explaining things without assuming we are all tech nerds. Your relaxed way of speaking and explaining made me watch all the way to the end. Job well done. You have one more subscriber !! 👍

[@makeitworktech]

Wow, high praise! Thanks!! 🙏

[@YouTubedarek]

This is the first of your videos that I’ve seen and my HA green and sky connect arrive today! Great explanation and you make it sound pretty easy. Time to check out those dashboard videos of yours. Subscribed!

[@makeitworktech]

Thanks!! Working on more dashboard videos!

[@Lili-The-Chihuahua]

Hi. Thank you for the very good content! I have one question. I'm new to this and i don't use home assisttant allready. I will buy the green one. So the question is, I'm planning on getting solar panels installed. I was wondering if i would need a specific kind of smart solar inverter to use with home assistant or does he only require wifi? We allready have a digital power meter installed wich can be upgraded with a kind of wifi dongle. I don't want to buy a batterij for the moment so in stead i would like to use some automations to organise the solar power output with airconditioning or electric heating for the winter.... Thanks in advance Mario from Lili The Chihuahua Channel

[@nostoscruises264]

if I use Home Assistant GREEN which has no WiFi on board I could control also my sonoff WiFi wall switch locally or I have to buy a Wifi dongle for the GREEN? Thank you for your help

[@apl3x285]

If you need a external zigbee/z-wave dongle, what is then the difference between this device and a raspberry pi?

[@minskwatcher]

Comes with a power supply, has internal eMMC, doesn't need a microSD, case and/or fan. Seems quite convincing for me. I migrated from pi4 to the green today.

[@nev0076]

Just go for Yellow model. This one doens’t have Zigbee, extra space for M.2 etc which means you are going to buy twice of these stuffs.

[@andrewandhamster]

Hi there! If l plug a zigbee dongle could i connect for example some Philips hue light directly to home assistant without the hue bridge?

[@jmills3785]

@@andrewandhamster correct

[@chrisc_1012]

Yes, but IIRC zigbee devices creates its own mesh network. Therefore, the more zigbee devices you have, the better coverage each of those devices will have Removing the Philips hub, could be removing a key part of your zigbee mesh network and all devices may suffer as a result

[@rodrigoruiz976]

If I connect everything via HomeKit and Aqara hubs, do I still need the zigbee and zwave dongles? The main reason I’m asking is due to distance. Let’s say I have the HA hardware at my living room, but I’ll have devices in my bedroom. The HA signal won’t reach there, but my mesh system via Eero will (and it’s already configured via HomeKit). Can I still add HA to the system?

[@Moonchilling]

Thank you from a green around the gills user. I just started looking into home assistant this past week

[@makeitworktech]

Glad I could help! HA is even easier to use since I posted that video!

[@jhkim8972]

Thank you for the detailed review!! :) I would like to control BLE Mesh devices through Home Assistant using this Green Hub. Is there a BLE dongle supported by this Green Hub?

[@makeitworktech]

Unfortunately BLE mesh devices aren't typically supported (at least from my understanding). You can connect BLE devices using this one: www.amazon.com/dp/B00DJ83070/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_apa_gl_i_Y7B5VSBR6FFM2HVNTNQ7?linkCode=ml2&tag=makeitworktec-20

[@Leonvolt28]

Is it just me or is the home assistant blue a better choice. If it was still available. But old laptops are the best and cheapest way to start out. It doesn't even matter if the display is cracked or thre hidges are broken.

[@makeitworktech]

Blue is no longer available, but you can get an Odroid N2+ (same thing) and a bare metal case. Price is higher than a Green though. Blue is my favorite for sure

[@sharone.9389]

Does this thing have to be connected to a computer all the time to work? I have a Mac I don’t always have open. I’m just curious if I have to somehow set that up that is always connected.

[@makeitworktech]

Not a computer, but it has to be connected to a smart phone to set up. There are manual controls on the base station though, and as long as it's connected to the Internet it will work

[@dk-uj4yd]

so where does fully kiosk browser fit into all this?

[@SingularJohn]

How many watts does it use? My Orange Pi 5 with HA about 1,8-2,1W. Thank you.

[@SolarizeYourLife]

I just learned ha can work with enocean devices!!! That is way cool...too bad thread is not integrated yet...

[@gerryf7015]

Nice job Aaron. Thanks for the reminder on the dashboard videos.

[@makeitworktech]

Thanks! You bet!

[@guidorobben6259]

It is not clear to me, does it support zigbee OOTB? Some part of the doc says yes, the other no. What it is? I want to connect some lights to it.

[@makeitworktech]

No it does not The HA Yellow does!

[@flywheeldk]

Hmmmmm - I'm wondering could one use the Milk-V Mars CM with the HA Yellow ?

[@raportarucristian3275]

So,what is the difference between this or an raspberry or also an intel nuc mini pc,is this more stable?

[@makeitworktech]

Hardware that will always be supported HA devs. Better for beginners who want to try out HA I wouldn't say more stable necessarily

[@Hawkins1]

So I've watched man of your videos and appreciate the time and help. Been a huge part of my HA set up. That being said, I am intrigued about your "Family" icons on the dashboard? Are those location tracking? How did you get your "pictures" there? Could you do a vid about those?

[@makeitworktech]

Glad they help! I did do a livestream where I showed how they work, but I could consider a dedicated video. kzbin.infoR0_eQt158bs?si=5RcftBLoJ5wIbDtu&t=2582

[@MrTubertub]

Would you advise starting with HA with a Green or Yellow over Synology NAS?

[@makeitworktech]

I have never used Synology NAS, so I'm not too sure, but I would pick a standalone hub over a NAS setup

[@MrTubertub]

@@makeitworktech Thank you for the feedback. Then I think I would prefer installing HA on an old pc/nuc for better speeds then the Green or Yellow. What dongles etc. do I need for a pc setup? I see local voice assistant is available now for HA. This is something I'm very interested to start with.

[@boceboce]

Hi, what about Matter + Thread ? ..... btw, thx for the excellent video 🙂

[@MrMarco7ify]

Is the yellow still plug and play like the green?

[@makeitworktech]

Yes, if you plug it in you can get started right awat

[@Ybalis]

short and on point, thanks man!

[@makeitworktech]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@redtees1]

So sad. I have spent all day trying to connect. the :8123 link does not connect for me. I even purchased an Ethernet hub because i only had one port on my netgear router/modem. Still no success. When i run command prompt ipconfig looks like I am using a wireless adapter instead of a local. Not sure how to change that HELP

[@makeitworktech]

Can you find the IP of the green on your router?

[@redtees1]

@@makeitworktechyes

[@redtees1]

Yes found the IP address:8123 and even reserved it. Is there phone support for the device?@@makeitworktech

[@redtees1]

@@makeitworktech Yes. I have it but it still does not load

[@makeitworktech]

@@redtees1 do a hard reset using the button?

[@madonemt]

great video, thanks.

[@makeitworktech]

Glad you liked it!

[@ivvatchvideos]

Why does it not ship with ZWave or Zigbee modules!? That’s a no brainer.

[@makeitworktech]

that would make it a lot more expensive

[@darknessblades]

For the Micro-SD card, i would suggest a WD-PURPLE 256gb This one is essentially made for nonstop writing. so with HASS its logging issues that it destroys micro-SD cards. it would be a perfect solution

[@makeitworktech]

I was under the impression that the SD card slot was only for recovery, not for continuous use

[@michaelhorton6881]

I am not a Home Assistant user, yet, but interested in it. For me the Green appears to be appealing to new users/ converts. The learning curve seems to be flattened by the way it is presented. For me the appeal is the power usage which adds up when running this 7x24, in the Uk assuming a mini pc uses 30Wh more than the Green, that is a savings of about £80 a year, not much but I would rather be £80 richer than poorer. The other thing is I like the device segregation, at the moment I have a lot of things all running on a Mac Mini M1, it all works and the Mac Mini is OP for the tasks, but is froglets with power. But if one of the other tasks has a big issue, it means taking home automation offline too. So I understand why some would not see this as attractive I do see merit for this for others.

[@darknessblades]

@@michaelhorton6881 I use a Minisforum UN100C [default underclock]. and it uses at most 9W of power. with peaks of 12W when updating addons I did swap the SSD to a 2TB WD Red one as this one is more suitable for 24/7 usage

[@BeardedTinker]

Great video Aaron!!!

[@makeitworktech]

Thanks BT! When will yours come out?!

[@BeardedTinker]

@@makeitworktech Not so soon. I'll start pushing two videos per week as I have huge backlog and semi finished videos 😂

[@abstyle001]

Great video, I already reserved my unit. But I have a question, does it have integrated Bluetooth?

[@makeitworktech]

No, it does not have integrated Bluetooth, so you'd need a Bluetooth USB radio, or Bluetooth proxy

[@abstyle001]

@@makeitworktechAny recommendation?

[@VideoPajaa]

What is the battery slot for?

[@makeitworktech]

I honestly have no idea!

[@bryonhulcher851]

you're in scranton ? Im in milford lol

[@makeitworktech]

Yooo small world! Actually up closer to clarks summit now

[@bryonhulcher851]

@@makeitworktech haha crazy ..know it well lol

[@halemotors4084]

Best and most informative video I've seen so far.

[@makeitworktech]

Hey thanks!

[@jimmymcguinn2885]

I regret buying one

[@makeitworktech]

Why?

[@jimmymcguinn2885]

@@makeitworktechToo many uncertainties, No integrations for the products I can buy. I just wanted to replace my Drayton miGenie system/service which is going in March but I'm thinking now, I should just fork out the money and replace with a similar service which could be discontinued in a couple of Months (or weeks)

[@jimmymcguinn2885]

Too much hassle, unless you're looking for a hobby @@makeitworktech

[@lanetter01]

Me too...

[@lanetter01]

@@makeitworktech I find it very difficult to bring my existing Apple Home devices into HA. Im only 14 days in, but it's not looking good for me and I am a nerd that likes to tinker.

[@Europhile]

What's up?

[@makeitworktech]

The sky

[@Europhile]

I'm finding the videos very useful, thank you.@@makeitworktech

[@reznikovpaul6217]

I buy raspberry pi

[@Bigglare]

Great video. HA wasted development time on another cloud based under equipped computer with will need a subscription and cloud services (nabu casa) rather than implementing Matter bridging in Home Assistant.

[@makeitworktech]

I'm confused - How is it cloud-based?

[@Joseph-ko2kl]

Not really impressed with this offering, the green not your video! Honestly other than supporting Nabu Casa and possibly future dev, Why would I get this when for the same cost, maybe a little more I could get a mini PC or even a PI and get the same if not more? I have the yellow and while I do like it TBT% the PI I was using was more than doing the job and I have 100+ devices. My 2c.

[@makeitworktech]

Thanks for the 2c! Yeah, I agree for most people using HA there's no need to switch, but the HA Blue wasn't necessary, but they both are a great machine for someone who's never tried HA. No need to install the OS yourself, just plug it in

[@ParcoUpchurch]

@@makeitworktech I'm new and newbie to all this so I just ordered the green. Seems to be a good start. I have a full wifi home using Google Home no Zib or Zwave. My main frustration is to get other devices to talk so I can have more automation control since Goolge Home will not tie them all together. My HOPE is the Green does all this for me as I next watch your Dashboard view to learn more.... If I can tell a motion sensor in a hallway to turn on the Kasa light in the kitchen when my wife gets water at 2am and turn off after she passes back simple items like this be huge if I can make them all work together is my hope with the Green. Wifi is cool with me I have Unifi and Unifi APs in my home ceiling I do not know what Zibi and Zwave are about totally happy with Wifi everything works great just need cross support so I can automate more. Will Green allow me to do that with wifi?

[@MrMarco7ify]

I’m actually very impressed! I get to dive into the HA system without having to set up and configure anything. Just plug and play 😃

[@Lili-The-Chihuahua]

​@@MrMarco7ifyindeed