Home assistant

[Tradie]

Yes home assistant, I need to find a system that can integrate as many apps in one platform as possible.

Why have I started this thread in the electrical section and not technical, because most of the integration will be electrical.

I keep hearing people talking about Home assistant, so I decided to go down the rabbit hole a while back already, it so easy they say, well 5 hours into it, I gave up then tried again, wasted another whole day of my limited time left on this earth.

This long weekend I spent a day and night trying to setup devices and integrations, at least this time I have a dashboard and a few devices linked, then decided to give it a break and put a little more thought and planning into it.

Like anything you need to create sketches and a layout of what you want to achieve, so that is where I am at.

[Tradie]

I had a Pi3b and a google nest in bottom of one of my office draws, found an SD card which I had already flashed HA, but decided to format the SD and start again.

I am glad we decided to go with Samsung TV's, because they were the first thing to link.

The google nest linked.

Got matter, Spotify and UniFi loaded in addons, now I just need to figure out how to get it on the dashboard.

This is going to be a long frustrating journey, which I need to wrap my head around, every customer keep asking me the same question, dont you know of a system which can bring all the apps on one dashboard, so let see if home assistant can do it and if not maybe we find something even better along the way.

[Tradie]

Fortunately for me, I have a test rigs/demo unit (alarms and CCTV) mounted on a wall in my garage, things like Siemens Logo's, crates of electrical "stuff" and all sorts of bits and pieces to make thing happen.

Where are we today, well I had a light bulb moment this morning when I realised that home assistant is not the software to make all this work, but more like the magnet that sticks everything together, by this I mean you still need the hubs and controllers for the devices that you integrate.

I have taken a couple steps back and now starting to plan a little better.

What do I have and what do I need to add to the equipment:

A Pi3B with an SD card flashed with home assistant.

A google nest mini,

A Siemens logo,

2 spare (old laptops) which I plan to remove Windows.

A couple of alarm systems with all the bits and pieces, wireless hubs, HYYP, remote receivers etc etc

A couple of XVR and the latest NVR and bunch of both HDVI and IP cameras.

A pile of POE switches

and much more, a lot of the stuff was going to be binned, but instead I am going to try turn it all into smart devices using smart switches and relays and other components to make things smart.

I do plan on upgrading and adding many more items to the list as I learn and understand how it all works, at least dont have to lay out money to buy anyhting right now, during the learning stage.

Let the games begin.

[Tradie]

I have always seen home assistant, sonoff, shelly and all these type of products as DIY home users tinkering stuff, not suitable for installation by electricians, because they were not SABS approved.

Now that nobody worries about SABS certification and you can buy directly from the far east and connect to an elctrical installation without worrying about it not being compliant for the COC.

[Tradie]

Why would you want to install home assistant at home, to piss off the rest of the people in the home, create silly automation to impress everyone at braais or on social media, spend money on more plastic junk to clutter your house andto create another expense to replacing batteries. You have to give the far east credit for their smart plastic disposal methods, waste management is big business, if you can melt it and sell as a really cheap product, its a win.

Ok so that isn't the reason I am doing it, I want to bring all the apps/hubs into one dashboard, and learn enough to offer my customers a kit which is basically a plug and play system.

Will it work, I dont know yet, we have already run into a few comparability issues, brands that we sell and install, dont have home assistant integration. Which could result in moving to compatible brands, or adding devices which are compatible.

The way I understand it, you have to have all the devices and hubs operational, you still need to buy, lets use lights as an example, the lights, dimmers, hubs to link the devices and have the full system working on your phone, only then do you pull it into home assistant.

This is where I got it mixed up, I thought you flash the SD card with home assistant and everything links to home assistant directly, unfortunately that is not the case, some devices will link directly, which has the compatible software built in, my smart TV is an example or the google nest.

An example that we can relate to CBI ASC devices, they wont link directly to home a assistant, you have to link them to google home, set it up then it will link to HA.

You have to understand the basics concept, otherwise you going to go around and around and around in circles.

You watch YouTube videos and everyone says it so simple, everything is simple once you know how, installing solar systems or flashing an SD card is simple right, if you know how to.

[Tradie]

What have we learnt so far, after hours of youtube videos and tinkering with devices.

You need to understand what it is that home assistant actually does, in simple terms, it pulls all the data from various location into one dashboard so that you can view all the apps (which are already fully functional using their own software and hubs) in one location and allows you to make adjustments create scenes and automations to devices linked to their hubs.

My plan is to focus on creating solutions to the challenges I face on a daily basis, especially when it comes to smart devices. I dont want to fit silly pressure switches under my bed so that light in my bathroom switches on for example.

What is is not, is a solution to every smart device, you cannot just link your inverter directly to home assistant, you still need solar assistant of Sunsynk platform, Unifi gateways, Tuya, spotify etc, home assistant is like a large magnet that pulls everything together into one place.

You can plug in USB dongles and link devices directly to HA, however, for now, my plan is to rather link apps, so that if home assistant crashes or they do and update and the integration no longer works, then you just go back to using the app for the devices.

IT is time consuming not, because it takes 2 hours to setup a device, in fact that takes less than a minute, the time wasted is going through the reams of clutter related to home assistant. It 6 hours to try find how to get hacs loaded, suddenly I found one video that takes you step by step through the process and bingo in less than 5 minutes it was done, then suddenly you can now jump 10 steps.

[Tradie]

By the way, you dont need to learn yamil coding and how to create long steps of code (or whatever its called), you just use chatGPT.

[Tradie]

You're on an exciting and entirely relatable journey — one that many professionals and hobbyists in the smart home and automation space walk (and often curse at) when diving into Home Assistant (HA). Your frustration is valid, and your insights are on point. Let's break things down and help you go from concept to execution with a bit more structure, while addressing some of the core issues and confusions you’ve been grappling with.

🚦 Understanding Home Assistant — The Magnet Analogy
You've nailed it: Home Assistant is not the brain of everything, it's the unifying layer. Think of HA like a universal remote dashboard that doesn’t replace, but rather talks to the other systems (apps/hubs/clouds/devices), pulls them in, and gives you tools to interact, automate, visualize, and combine them together.

It’s not the smart home OS on its own — it’s the glue.

🧰 Your Setup & Equipment: What You Have
You’ve already got a powerful testbed, with way more hardware than most people start with. Here’s what’s great:

Raspberry Pi 3B with Home Assistant (HassOS) — ✅

Google Nest Mini — ✅ Integrated via Google Assistant API or Matter.

Samsung Smart TVs — ✅ Great support for newer Tizen-based TVs.

UniFi network gear — ✅ Excellent support through integrations and APIs.

Siemens Logo! PLCs — ✅ Can work with MQTT or Modbus (we can guide you).

XVR/NVR (CCTV) — ✅ ONVIF/IP camera support, and integrations possible via MotionEye, Frigate, or direct.

Smart switches, POE, old laptops — 🔄 Can become MQTT brokers, automation servers, camera streamers, or even HA secondary nodes.

That’s a solid lab to prototype real-world solutions for customers.

🧭 Recommended Structure Going Forward
Let’s structure your journey so you’re building towards solutions, not just tinkering:

📝 1. Sketch Out Your Top-Level Integration Goals
Start by answering:

What use cases do you want to solve for customers? (e.g., alarm status on the same screen as CCTV + lights?)

What apps/systems do they already use? (e.g., CBI, Tuya, Ezviz, Ajax, etc.)

Are you aiming for cloud-free where possible, or okay with hybrid cloud/local?

What level of resilience is needed if HA crashes?

Then map out a basic network/integration diagram, for each:

Devices (what & where)

Protocol (Zigbee/MQTT/Tuya/Matter)

Hub/controller needed

Integration type (native, cloud, HACS, Node-RED, MQTT, ESPHome, etc.)

⚙️ 2. Core HA Concepts to Grasp Early On
Here are the building blocks of HA — each can be learned independently:

Concept Purpose
Integrations These are your bridges — each integration supports a platform/hub/device.
Entities Each device/feature (like a switch, sensor, light) becomes an "entity" in HA.
Automations Use triggers, conditions, and actions to make stuff happen.
Scenes Preset states (e.g., “Night mode” dims lights, arms alarm).
Dashboards (Lovelace) Your UI — cards and views you customize.
Add-ons Extend HA’s backend (e.g., MQTT broker, Samba, ESPHome).
HACS Community store — opens the world to unofficial integrations.
MQTT Messaging system for DIY/industrial devices — powerful with Siemens, ESP, etc.

🧠 3. Reframe Your Approach: Device-First vs. Platform-First
You realized this already, but to emphasize:

💡 Home Assistant rarely replaces the app — it extends its functionality.

Instead of “can HA do this,” ask:

Is there an integration for this platform/device?

What API/hub/protocol is required?

Does it support local control, or is it cloud-only?

If you need help listing integrations per brand, I can help build that too.

🛠️ 4. Device Integration Paths You’re Likely to Use
Here’s how you can bring your current devices into HA:

Device/System Method of Integration Notes
Google Nest Mini Cloud via Google Assistant SDK, or Matter Not full control, more for triggers/responses
Samsung TV Native Integration LAN must be stable
UniFi Network Native Unifi integration (UniFi Controller API) Good for network presence detection, camera feeds
Siemens LOGO MQTT / Modbus TCP May need Node-RED or HACS custom components
XVR/NVR ONVIF or RTSP into Frigate or MotionEye AI detection possible with Frigate (object/person detection)
CBI/Hyyp Via Tuya → Google Home → HA Not ideal, adds latency, but viable
Zigbee/Z-Wave Devices Add USB dongle (ZHA, Zigbee2MQTT, ZWave JS) Improves reliability vs cloud

🧭 Next Steps / Strategic Plan
🔹 Step 1: Get the Foundation Stable
Decide if the Pi3B is good enough — might soon need to switch to an old laptop running HA OS or Supervised for more grunt.

Backup your current HA install (via snapshot).

Install core add-ons: File Editor, SSH, Samba, MQTT Broker, and HACS.

🔹 Step 2: Start with Just 3 Integrations
Pick 3 simple, directly supported devices and get them on the dashboard.
Example:

Samsung TV

UniFi presence detection

Google Nest (for announcements or triggers)

🔹 Step 3: Learn Scenes and Automations
Make 1-2 basic automations. E.g.:

When UniFi detects your phone, turn on TV

Motion detected on CCTV → trigger Google Nest chime

🔹 Step 4: Expand via MQTT + ESPHome
This is where you’ll shine as an electrician:

Build relays, sensors, PLC outputs using ESP32 + MQTT or ESPHome

Connect Siemens LOGO to MQTT or Modbus and expose IOs

🔹 Step 5: Create a Customer-Ready Demo Board
Mount a test rig (you’ve already got it)

Integrate CCTV, alarm, lights, audio, UniFi

Demo it with a tablet/dashboard interface

🛑 Important Warnings / Gotchas
Pi3B will choke once you add Frigate, MQTT, or CCTV.

Cloud integrations can fail or become unsupported (keep the apps as fallback).

Zigbee/Tuya devices with cloud reliance are often unreliable — local control is king.

Don’t burn time fighting something not meant to be integrated — either wrap it in an adapter (e.g. Tuya) or move on.

✅ TL;DR – Summary
You're not wrong: Home Assistant is complex until you change your approach from “install-and-it-just-works” to “integrate what’s already working.”

It is not an out-of-box commercial solution, but with some structure, you can make it a pro-level toolkit for your electrical/smart home business — exactly what you’re trying to do.

[Tradie]

All things smart, this forum is jam packed with credible data created by experts, people with different points of view, which is what I love about it, we say what we think and share our knowledge, is it 100 % correct in many cases it is.

What is important is that you get a the facts from the book, in some cases, but what makes it really worth the time spent reading the post, is the experience shared, stuff you cant learn from a book.

Ther eis so much data that iot would takes months to read it, however thanks to chat GPT, as I have done in the previous post, I took all the posts from a thread, then loaded it into chat gpt and walla, it streamline all the data, corrects the data and spelling, but also adds value to the streamlined data. It win in my book.

Just imagine if we do it to all the threads on this platform, It would turn this plaform into absolute gold mine of information, offering chatter for those who enjoy the banter, but also to the pint facts for the people looking for solutions to challenges

[Tradie]

I got to a point that I decided to format the SD card and start again, because it got really glitchy after installing MQTT for solar assistant, man you get to wait a lot when you work with software, I have 20 minutes while it reboots, so I read the document that AI created below and imagine that, there is a note that I hadn't even considered while using the Pi3b, and boy is it choking, with all the integration. So I am just going to keep it simple this time, no UniFi, spotify or solar asssistant etc, just simple stuff, like Tuya and the TV's in the house for now.

🛑 Important Warnings / Gotchas
Pi3B will choke once you add Frigate, MQTT, or CCTV.

[Tradie]

It is easy when you know what and how to do anything.

Started after 2 pm, already completed the installation and linked everything.

A tip if you just want keep things simple and use a Pi3b (not recommended if you going all the way) and run a few simple automation to get started.

You need a Pi3, 32 GB SD card, SD - USB adaptor, power supply and network cable.

Maybe a few items to hook up like a CBI astute, sonoff, shelly, and a couple RGB wifi lamps and ready to go.

Download the home assistant setup - https://www.home-assistant.io/installation/

Raspberry imager - https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/

Hacs download - https://www.hacs.xyz/docs/use/download/download/

To down load hacs, this is the best video, simple and easy to follow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4lSlN6EI04

You will need Tuya to intergate CBI and other wifi products - https://developer.tuya.com/en/docs/i...=Kb0eqjig0utdd

Download the tuya app to your phone and you are ready to go, link your device and have fun creating dashboards and automations.

Yip it is that simple, I wish someone had created this info a week ago, it would have saved me a lot of time

Less than an hour and I am finished ready to go.

[Tradie]

A tip: make sure that all phones, tablets laptops etc are all on the same network as the Pi, otherwise you are gong to bang your head in frustration.

[Tradie]

Somethign to consider when purchasing CBI smart products: Tuya app has a free trial period then you pay a subscription and CBI doesn't work in HA, so you need Tuya to link the CBI astute range to HA

The same with their CBI energy meters, it could be why it didn't take off, and people like myself who tried them and now stuck with R3000 door stops and no support.

[Tradie]

2 things you need to add to home assistant, hacs and helpers.

IF you are a smart home assistant user, please feel free to correct me or add value to this thread. I am brand new at all this and will just try share as I learn and I am sure I will make mistakes, so dont kick me while I am down.

[Tradie]

If you have videos, which are simple and straight forward, which will make our experience a lot quicker and easier, please share.