Install Home Assistant on an Intel NUC

We are going to install a fresh installation of Home Assistant Supervised on an Intel NUC with Home Assistant OS. The end result will be a super fast and reliable base installation to build your home automation on, the device will be very much like an appliance
00:00 - Why use a NUC and parts required
01:00 - Method of installation with Drive Dock
01:33 - Get Home Assistant and flash the drive with Balena Etcher
03:31 - About updating intel bios on NUC
04:47 - Install components in NUC once drive is flashed
06:15 - Set OS to linux in bios and startup system
07:22 - Connect to system on your network
08:54 - Summary and alternatives SFF PC i7 and Core Duo
The system uses an
Intel BOXNUC7JYH4 NUC - (Celeron)
DDR4 SODIMM memory 4 GB
240 GB Kingston SSD HD
INTEL BIOS INSTRUCTIONS
www.intel.com.au/content/www/...

[@florianleduc-biava4069]

Finally a simple and great video, tested it and everything ok ! Cheers

[@Grogster2]

Hey Jimmy, great video. Very informative. Looking forward to the next one!

[@frogeye22]

Great video - I like the look of your outdoor office space!!

[@MrPSummerfield]

Yay, the same way as I installed mine. I totally agree with you, super quick, easy, and reliable.

[@petrkuncik1449]

Hi, after looong trying of other methods I made it like you showed and finally it works. Thanks! Just a little tip: @ 7:21 you put an IP address, but for fresh installation and dhcp server it was "unknown" for me. What you need is to login to HA on NUC (after login: prompt type root) and then type nmcli - it is something like ipconfig on Windows. You can get IP of NUC there very easy. Much faster then go to your router and check DHCP table list etc.

[@garryw1159]

Great video. I think I'll go with the NUC as well. Tanks James

[@eduardocruz3797]

greets from Argentina. You encourage me to do it !! Very good video!

[@cyclonic7134]

Thank you!! I have been running this on a VM on a tower and i want to shrink it down. I was stuck between a Rpi or a NUC and went with nuc. I pick it up today! I am so stoked!

[@SparkyJames]

Nice, definitely a good way to go

[@markheatherington8367]

Clear and to the point, thanks Jimmy!

[@andrewlhoover]

Exactly the method I used. I grabbed a used celeron Intel NUC 5th gen with 8gb ram and 250gb ssd and it runs like a champ. - $80 us on eBay.

[@SparkyJames]

That’s a good price. They are really hard to find second hand where I am.

[@RACETOY101]

Yes ...Let see it on the SFF i7

[@praveenmadhavan8479]

Hi Jimmy - Thank you for the great video. Do you mind sharing the configuration of the Intel NUC please? I'm having trouble finding the appropriate configuration since there are so many options available.

[@pad8941]

Hi Jimmy, thanks for your informative video. How you configure your network after installation? I can't find my SSD after flashing it using Balena on my dekstop?

[@SparkyJames]

Yes, it's not readable by most desktop systems after it is flashed. You can change network settings within Home Assistant GUI under supervisor/system(tab at top)/under HOST click on CHANGE next to the IP address to setup wifi if you wish or change wired settings

[@hpgurgel]

Awesome work mate, thanks heaps. Where do you source your NUCs from? Do they all come without memory and HD? What sort of specs would you recommend for a home with around 50 smart devices? What zigbee and zwave sticks would you recommend too? I'm currently using ST and recently bought a HE but I'm looking to eventually fully transition to a mix of HA and HE. P. S. I used to live in Burswood which is near you hah.. Cheers.

[@theattorney6072]

Hello, youbNever got a reply, i have the same questions as you. Did you find out ?

[@danielgillen9435]

Great video, with this install option will the built-in Bluetooth work from within Home Assistant?

[@DannyMoses]

I have a NUC8i5BEH and I dont have the option for OS Selection. I have updated the firmware but still not have that option. Any ideas what else I could check or should check in the BIOS? Thanks

[@KmanAust]

You need to check out the new DETA dimmers. By far the best dimmer I have tried. Zero cross detector and PWM driven TRIACS on active and neutral lines. Dims my LEDS to almost zero. Very impressive.

[@spawnterror]

Do they integrate with HASSIO?

[@KmanAust]

@@spawnterror Yes with the TUYA integration.

[@LiamApilado]

Can u buy a nuc with everything ready to go? Ram and ssd and windows installed?

[@JamesEggleston]

I'm sure that there would be computer shops local to you that would sell you one assembled, and if you asked them to with Home Assistant image flashed on the drive. I do sell them assembled to people ,but only here in Perth.

[@4sayken]

Hi Jimmy, Are you installing HA for clients and configuring for them?

[@SparkyJames]

Yes, I think HA is quite user friendly now and will continue to improve , I’m just starting to recommend it to people that I already work for.

[@notrocketscience96]

I had a problem with SSD not being detected in the BIOS and tried all updates and tricks. Turned out I hadn't plugged the SSD into the slot properly, after which the installation was super quick. Had to disable "Secure Boot" too

[@ausguy4385]

So how do you do it with out the drive writer? I have NUC (second hand currently has Windows installed.) And a laptop....

[@JamesEggleston]

You could use a live linux USB on the NUC, then use balena etcher from there to flash Home assistant image to the HHD on the NUC. Then shut down remove the USB then it should start up to home assistant on the NUCs drive.

[@swooosh83]

Did you ever make a video for home assistant on those PC's?

[@sonicloud3149]

Can you please do a video on how you’d change an existing Home Assistant instant on a Raspberry Pi to a NUC. Great video by the way A+

[@shaunwhiteley3544]

Would have been interesting to see what the power draw was of your nuc, running 24/7 it does add up! Cheers

[@SparkyJames]

Yes your right it does, I’ll measure it and let you know.

[@SparkyJames]

It uses about 10w, which is 87 Kwhr per year, where I live that is $22 a year compared to a RPI 13 Kwhr per year or $3.25.

[@shaunwhiteley3544]

@@SparkyJames Thanks, ouch on the unit cost! It's average of 0.15 pence here. No thoughts on solar? I'm running a Dell R710 24/7 running various vm's but at approximately 180 watts it costing a fortune. I've got solar but no battery and winter here so solar not saving me much at the moment😥

[@mikimik5973]

i don't have UEFI Boot/ OS Slection: Windows/Linux ....... what to do ?

[@SparkyJames]

Sorry and think some system don't have that setting, but if you do have it and you don't change it, it can cause problems.

[@seeufx]

帅哥👍

[@thefridge1000]

Would an older NUC work without an SSD and just a regular HD ?

[@JamesEggleston]

Yes , any x86 computer would work.

[@pablofiscella5016]

Hello. In Argentina everything is very expensive. Is a Celeron nuc worth it to replace a raspberry pi 4? Thank you

[@SparkyJames]

For me going from the RPI to NUC was night and day, so very much better, but that was a while ago when we continuously had to restart home asistant, the developers have made heaps of improvement so I don't have to do restarts much now and that was where a NUC would save me a lot of time in restarting, it sort of comes down to how much your trying to do with your system for example I have around 100 devices, 6 cameras, lots of automation and pretty much everything in my house uses home assiatnt in someway, so for me it was definately worth the cost.

[@pablofiscella5016]

@@SparkyJames Thank you very much for replying. he had doubts if it is really worth it for more than being a Celeron. hug and thank you very much for everything

[@johnnytsanggti]

anyway to do this with a nuc that has an m sata? I got one but I dont know what to do with an M sata or can I boot this up from usb?

[@SparkyJames]

If you mean M.2 sata you can get usb converters for them, or for NUC with built in drive you can start it with a live Linux USB and load it from that using Balena Etcher Linux version.

[@ajayassani9413]

Hi Great video thank you. Could you please help 🙏. Is this the same method using a mini pc like beelink? Thank you in advance

[@SparkyJames]

Hi Ajay, I do plan on making that video, HA will run on any computer that Linux will run on, the only issue to be aware of is it will most likely come with problems you will need to figure out, and various hardware compatibility issues that will vary from device to device.

[@ajayassani9413]

Thank you very much

[@ajayassani9413]

Hi Jimmy sorry one more question. Does this nuc have to be an official nuc or can it be ok with third party manufacturers.

[@SparkyJames]

Hi Ajay, relatively recently, the HA img for NUC is now a generic x86-64 so any 64bit x86 should work with the img on HA install site, using the method in this video, I’ve tried it on a generic system and it works fine.

[@MrSanketthakur]

Hey Awesome video, i have disabled to Bluetooth and WIFI during the installation. how do i turn them back on ?? i want to use that. i tried connecting a keyboard and display to my NUC at a later stage to try and enable the Bluetooth, but its asking for login and password. the one that i have is not letting me in. some help will be appreciated.

[@ChristianLaufs]

Looks like the Intel NUC image section is removed for the HA homepage. Do you know why?

[@SparkyJames]

It’s no longer Intel NUC specific, it’s generic to any 64bit x86 pc

[@ChristianLaufs]

@@SparkyJames ok, but I only find VM downloads for a PC

[@oleg_go]

Hi, does it work with Conbee 2 USB?

[@danielgillen9435]

Did you understand if the NUC works with the Conbee 2?

[@picotrain5078]

Great video, I am about to move from a VM to a dedicated NUC. Question, I assume as I am already running VM i would be able to follow your steps and then simply restore from a home assistant snapshot without too many issues, I will of course give the NUC the same IP, but other than that I assume no other issues to worry about?

[@mouthpiec]

when using HAOS, is it possible to use SFTP to transfer files?

[@SparkyJames]

Yes, but you need a ssh server add on setup. I have done it ages go. But there are probably easier ways to transfer file, I now use vs code addon or samba.

[@mouthpiec]

@@SparkyJames good point ... i forgot about add-ons. will give it a try.

[@edeunm9681]

Hello how to deport the on / off switch button of the intel nuc please

[@SparkyJames]

If you mean, remotely operate the NUC on/off? You can set power settings in BOIS to start the NUC when power is restored to it, there is also the possibility of using IR remote which is built into NUCs and maybe an extender of some sort.

[@dablet]

a NUC is expensive. can i just use a laptop? wipe the SSD clean n flash it with the image file you used?

[@SparkyJames]

I probably wouldn't use a laptop, but if you did you would need to install Debian and then use the home assistant installation script to install home assistant supervised. It's not something I would suggest unless you want to spend hours messing with settings and problems.

[@BallsworthBallsbury]

@@SparkyJames Hey mate, thanks for the great video! You earned a subscriber :) But I'm a bit confused by your response to dablet's question here. Why wouldn't you use a laptop? If it's an x86 machine flashed with HAOS and supervisor, isn't that the same thing as what you've done in this video? The only difference between a laptop and a NUC at that point is the laptop has a monitor (and battery for backup) built in. Or am I missing something?

[@SparkyJames]

@@BallsworthBallsbury That comment is no longer valid I will delete it now, at the time the image was for a NUC only they have changed it to x86 and I've tried it with lots of different x86 with plenty of success, but I've not tried it with a laptop, but I sure it would work, the only thing is what happens if you shut it, does it sleep, I'm not sure as I've not tried it.

[@BallsworthBallsbury]

@@SparkyJames ah that makes sense. Thanks for the reply! Cheers friend!

[@kyle2055]

Could you just do this on a regular computer instead of a nuc or couldn’t you use a thin client

[@SparkyJames]

Yes you can, any x86 system. The image on Home Assistant download page is actually now just called the x86 install instead of NUC image. I’ve tested a few and no problems. I’ve not tried a thin client yet, but if you can flash the drive in it, it should work.

[@kyle2055]

@@SparkyJames oh great!

[@shaunwhiteley3544]

Cheers for that, couple of questions please, does HA resize the ssd automatically? Can you add a snapshot to the ssd after using Etcher so it’s local to restore it? Would love a video, tutorial on how to set up https if you don’t mind? 😀 Cheers

[@JaapH]

Home assistant has a lot of plugins and brings you DuckDNS so you can enable https using Let's Encrypt. With the documentation it is a breeze to set up!

[@yoerim360]

it makes a lot of useless partitions? not formatted

[@yoerim360]

also seems the supervised version runs on a linux pre installed system?

[@yoerim360]

anyway, etcher didn't work on 250gb ssd so ahd to use other program for that part