Three Hubs. One Automation. Hubitat vs Homey Pro vs. Home Assistant

[@ironcrafter54]

Ok so as I home assistant Addict I thought I might simplify your setup, first instead of using the local calendar and adding all your own custom dates for your holidays you should instead use the holiday calendar which will grab all the holidays for your region. Then instead of manually creating a bunch of action calls for each of your lights, you can create scenes, which are a lot faster to set up. While not perfect this will significantly reduce that amount of time needed to create your automation in home assistant.

[@lmorgan1509]

This is the way. What he did in this video was completely a user error and the lack of knowledge behind the power of scenes in Home Assistant.

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

I hear ya about scenes. They take about the same amount of time to set up. If you are using them for more than one automation it makes sense, otherwise it's kind of a push. Homey and Hubitat also have scenes, but I didn't want to complicate the video more than it already was

[@andrewtfluck]

Agreed here. Especially with scenes. I would never automate devices individually like that if they're supposed to be coordinated together. Scenes are the way.

[@coasterfest]

I've not used the other two, just Home Assistant, but I've had no problems finding a way to automate absolutely anything I want to, and I'm definitely no dev. I picked up YAML very quickly though, and so just use YAML or the UI to create automations. If you like the flow system, why not just install Node Red on HASS? I haven't tried it, but I hear good things. The strength of HASS is that it's an open platform, with it's own docker, that can be built on and added to, in order to meet the unique needs of each individual. So adding node red, for somebody who feels they need the flow system, would be a simple, once and done, way of making it work for that person.

[@DGBQ_ME]

What?! You forgot Webcore for Hubitat and Node-RED for Home Assistant? That’s like showing up to a potluck with just a fork-what are we supposed to do, admire the Tupperware? 😄

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

I definitely didn’t forget about webcore 😉. And I gave node red a look but that’s going to take some time to figure out. Would be a good comparison with the homey pro flows in another video.

[@WillDS_YT]

@@DIYSmartHomeGuy1 Node-Red is definitely a worth the time. I can't imagine going back to anything else at this point.

[@owenashcroft8167]

@@DIYSmartHomeGuy1node red does make it less painful, but the way to make some stuff work is still a massive pain in the backside that makes me want to scream and I am a software developer. Ended up having to yaml up an average of two temperature sensors because the integrations used slightly different representations for the units of measurement and so the inbuilt option throws a hissy fit. ITS TWO NUMBERS JUST GIVE ME A ****ING AVERAGE ALREADY!

[@nielsruiter0009]

Great video! By the way, you could have also used ‘Moods’ in Homey to create your Holiday-presets. Would have saved you quite some cards in the Advanced Flow.

[@mikedam6119]

Also forgot the "Visual Rules Builder" that was added to Hubitat this year...

[@holmesphillip]

I haven't tried this myself, but you can create a scene in the Hue app, and it will come over to Home Assistant. Then depending on the day, you can activate that scene or activate the default scene and you won't need to configure an automation for each light.

[@tankthebear]

I'm a hubitat guy ... was on Smartthings for several years till they messed that all up - would be "fun" seeing someone do programming now on ST. I also have Home Assistant. I had an old raspberry pi laying around so thought I would play with it last winter when I was locked inside! I use it for some devices that don't work directly with HE ... and have two integrations going. I try to do all my automations in Hubitat just for the reasons you've shown. I had to laugh Pete cause I have BEEN down the bunny holes you showed with Home Assistant, YAML etc. Good video - AND entertaining.

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

Thanks! Try to keep things as simple as possible

[@ChristianWietholt]

Coincidentally, I have been working on a very similar automation for my outdoor lighting. While I agree that the basic automation engine in HA is a bit limited when you are trying to do more complex things, Node Red, which can be easily added to HA is in no way inferior to Homey Pro's graphical UI, especially when you take community nodes in account. I was able to create my entire holiday calendar, with just 3 nodes. 1. Event state node to trigger the automation at sunset, 2. Special Date Node that contains my entire list of holidays, it can handle single dates or date ranges 3. The action node that modifies the light.

[@Tony-on-tech]

Great video! I’ve been on the fence about Homey. I finally pulled the trigger. It should be fun.

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

It’s a pleasant experience, as long as you don’t look at your credit card bill.

[@Tony-on-tech]

@ 😆

[@xamucas]

Amazing video! Super clear and well explained. Thanks, keep going with this Hub vs hub it's super needed!

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

thanks!

[@aidanbazan7769]

I’d choose homey pro if it went for the price tag. Also home assistant is so powerful. Is it as easy as the others? In many ways, no. But I can bring in whatever I want, and export it out to HomeKit too.

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

There is definitely a market for all three of these hubs, depending on budget and willingness to tinker

[@JohnHagan13]

The more comparisons I see, the more I’m convinced to stay with Hubitat. Thanks for this video Pete.

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

Happy to help!

[@surgehawk3]

Why wasn't Node Red an option for HA? Homey automation building is basically Node Red. I have 3 HE hubs and only use one of them at this time. I just trow everything into HA and make all the magic happen in HA. He is just antennas for a remote location on my property now. HA with Node Red is what I use for many automations. The HA GUI for automations has gotten so much better that I have started to move some over. And now that LG owns Homey... I see them going the same way as SmartThings.

[@sen-sai1342]

Bold statements you make when knowing not even half of stuff? Homey is basically node red... So? Node red is basically JavaScript.. so I think that statement is kinda weird. And don't forget, Athom still owns over half of Homey.. going to go SmartThings way? Don't think so. Also, the Homey Pro is NOT going into LG, they utilize the software. Homey Pro is not part of the deal.

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

A node red vid may be on the way. Stay tuned.

[@001marselle]

Yes please do more comparison hub videos

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

will do!

[@StoryboardMindset]

A butcher knife and a live chicken…. Good luck. Subscribed.

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

Thanks!

[@BrandonDoyleMN]

Interesting comparison

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

me too!

[@xraargu6212]

I've been using home assistant for over a year now. And though I have no issue with it I would not give it to a less than technical friend. Easy test is, "What does YAML stand for". If they can't answer that question, home assisitant is not for them.

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

Probably a good litmus test

[@Trig007n]

Easier to create lighting options in Homey Pro as moods then get it to trigger the moods (or scenes) easier & quicker

[@PhilBlancett]

At my house I have all but the Homey hubs, and while I was the same way about HA and Yaml, I've learned a new love for how crazy and complex I can get my automations just by writing the correct prompts in ChatGPT. It's really way more powerful once you can go thru a programming brain like ChatGPT. The holiday light thing I have done in HA, I have a Jellyfish controller. I also was able to adjust my Rachio controllers with dates easier than Hubitat on HA. And of course, controlling the pool is just not possible on Hubitat with Intellicenter easily, but HA it is. Hue lights integration is better on HA too. And You can always use both Hubitat and HA for Smart Home using Maker API on it. Also Unifi networking and cameras are way better on HA. If you really want the best setup you will have both, and learn to use them both. It's just alot easier to go to one or the other if there is a roadblock. But lately, for me, its mostly HA. I use Hubitat hubs to reach out the zwave and zigbee networks on the house.

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

Hubitat has pretty good radios for those wanting to add zigbee or z-wave to home assistant

[@youmightliketoknow]

$400 for the Homey Pro?!? - Nope

[@IJayJayI]

Dude ive been messing with HA and I already do yaml but it's such a HA (headache), no pun intended. I think I might just go with something to simplify and migrate over to homey.

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

HA = headache. Not bad.

[@rhettbaldwin8320]

8:57 You could also have just installed node red and done it very similar to how you did it in Homey.

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

I may have a video on this. They are similar in function, worlds apart in ease of use.

[@assumptionsoup]

The problem with yaml is it's not a programming language. It's a configuration language. So you're not programming home assistant so much as constantly trying to figure out it's obscenely obscure configuration parameters.

[@mikedam6119]

What about the "visual rules builder" in Hubitat? It's new-ish (this year?) and built in (not user/custom).

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

I like a lot of the improvements Hubitat has made recently and they have some really nice things on the way, but the visual rule builder is not one of them. It is terrible.

[@rhettbaldwin8320]

6:48 Tahiti, it's a magical place.

[@Sivarion]

I'm not sure, but I have this strange feeling that you are not a fan of Home Assistant ;) I guess this is what you end with when devs can design something mostly for themselves. Honestly, as I software engineer I think the YAML is way superior to any GUI mess you could design. Nice, tidy and easy to read. But my perspective is definitely biased, as I deal with things like this every day.

[@TheRiehlThing42]

I tried liking Home Assistant, but I found the Homey Pro flow system is just so much nicer and easier for me to put together.

[@venkatgangadharan6880]

Could you share how to do this on hubitat a bit slower or be able to copy this forward to our system?

[@DrFiero]

HoooOOOOOooome Assistant! {hip thrust, hip thrust}.

[@ToddHolter]

🤣🤣🤣💯

[@tankthebear]

Ha ... was just thinking that ...

[@ToddHolter]

@@tankthebear FYI, Paul has a new video out.😉

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

If you buy home assistant green, be sure to get it from amazon. Bezos needs more yachts.

[@DrFiero]

@@DIYSmartHomeGuy1 - I just chucked 8gb of ram into an old 2011 Mac MIni I had laying around, and am doing testing with it now to make in an HA box. Mint is working perfectly on it! I'll glue the Hubitat to the top of it, they'll make a cute pair. ;)

[@Hearrok]

Broo... node-red in HA 😂

[@LookatBowen]

None of those automation looked fun, especially Homey. What happens in Homey if something needs to be changed or the line needs to go else where. I can see moving lines and flows to be a pain in the arse. Habitat kind of looked okay, but quite messy when there are loads of IF then ELSE. I am a home assistant guy, and frankly YAML is the best solution, considering ChatGPT or Gemini is your coding friend, and it works most of the time. One can make it as complicated as you choose. Plus once written in YAML, you've got access to the GUI as well. It works both ways. Home Assistant can also be run on just about any device, where you'll find the other two devices are limited, not to mentioned limited in their device capabilities. And of course there are all the plugins, HACS, and integrations that HA offer. Node Red comes to mind, very much like Homey interface. That is the beauty of Home Assistant.

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

Are you kidding? Homey Pro has its faults, but it is BY FAR the easiest platform to make changes in. You can add cards wherever and whenever you want and just delete and draw new lines. My kids, my parents, anybody can figure it out. I'm not trying to convince anyone to switch to Homey if they have a handle on Home Assistant, but it is light years easier to figure out for someone who is new to both platforms (also way more expensive)

[@xraargu6212]

Is that node-red?

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

those are Homey Pro flows. Similar in structure to node red but significantly more intuitive

[@Juanito23384]

Homey Pro clear winner.

[@lmorgan1509]

That automation you did for Home Assistant is way simpler to do than what you showed. This is only because you don't know how to use scenes and use either a schedule, local calendar, or the holiday calendar in home assistant. I can make this automation without any code and i am far from a developer.

[@michaelmaliga815]

The problem is the fact that you have to learn scenes, or templates, or whatever to do VERY simple things with Home Assistant in the first place. Why are they so stubborn about not putting basic things in the GUI like calendar conditions; like count up timers to track total run time of an entity; like being able to insert entity states or values into a TTS message without resorting to templating? All they ever do is update the dashboards and avoid moving the most basic of fuctions into the GUI event engine.

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

I used local calendar in the end. Lots of ways to do things in HA and none of them are particularly intuitive or easy.

[@HeCareth]

Why not just use Node Red?

[@n3m3f3]

Why not cover Homeseer?

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

I'm just one man. I can only do so much. My apologies to the 8 Homeseer users who feel left out.

[@n3m3f3]

Now now. :) 8 Homeseer users.

[@Farmboy1927]

I'm techy and home assistant still scares me

[@magicmanchloe]

Yeah, it’s very intimidating. I stayed away from it for years because of that. Eventually, I figured out it was the only option for one of the things I needed to do. And honestly, I’ve fallen in love with it. It is overwhelming at first. But there’s a lot of really good resources out there. Plus all the basics and even several fairly advanced things do not require you to use any code.

[@IJayJayI]

omg yeah. i know yaml and run proxmox and docker etc. but man HA is a headache (HA). like the Video OP I just want things to be simple. so I'm switching to homey.

[@Farmboy1927]

@@IJayJayI I have smartthings and hubitat, that's enough for me, but homey looks good!

[@DIYSmartHomeGuy1]

It can definitely do things others can't, but at what cost to your mental well being?

[@magicmanchloe]

@ maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment but I enjoy the challenge