Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


freakalad

231 posts

Master Geek


#243696 26-Dec-2018 15:49
Send private message

Kia ora,

 

I'm looking at purchasing (aka importing) a "simple" kit to get started on my Home Automation journey.

 

For a controller/hub, I'm looking at probably running Home Assistant on a RasPi with an appropriate shield - I'm guessing Zigbee may be my best bet, since Z-wave may be problematic due to local legal spectrum issues. Consider other appropriate stacks/standards in-scope (such as Sonoff).

 

I'm sure this has been covered elsewhere, but info is either dated or overwhelming/conflicting, so I'm really looking for a TL;RD here light on the snark, please.

 

Attributes I'm looking for include:

 

  • complaint with local regulations, standards & practices
  • *some* consideration has actually been given to security & privacy (i.e. patchable, etc)
  • plays nice my wireless network(s)
  • simple to install & use

     

    • some sort of fail-safe, ability to use without app. don't want my home to be dead if my network or internet is down.
  • strong bias towards open source, open standards. don't really like the idea of "magic sauce" phoning home without my permission

     

    • offline use - if I drop the gear in a segregated network separate from my other stuff & close it off from outside, it should still be functional

Rather than running around & picking out bits (that'll come later), is there a semi-decent kit I can buy/import that I can use to get the ball rolling, to learn the ins&outs of this tech? (requesting links)

 

Chur in advance





FLOSS'er, aspiring Maker


Create new topic
davidcole
6029 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2150821 26-Dec-2018 19:46
Send private message

Z wave is fine if you buy it here. Active automation sell a razberry pi shield with local frequencies. But tbh I like the Usb sticks means if you want to switch to a bigger machine later on, you’ve not wasted money.




Previously known as psycik

Home Assistant: Gigabyte AMD A8 Brix, Home Assistant with Aeotech ZWave Controller, Raspberry PI, Wemos D1 Mini, Zwave, Shelly Humidity and Temperature sensors
Media:Chromecast v2, ATV4 4k, ATV4, HDHomeRun Dual
Server
Host Plex Server 3x3TB, 4x4TB using MergerFS, Samsung 850 evo 512 GB SSD, Proxmox Server with 1xW10, 2xUbuntu 22.04 LTS, Backblaze Backups, usenetprime.com fastmail.com Sharesies Trakt.TV Sharesight 




hairy1
3332 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2150827 26-Dec-2018 19:57
Send private message

Agreed on the USB stick. I started off with a Raspberry Pi but got sick of waiting for it to reboot and upgrade so migrated it to a Ubuntu VM which is a lot faster. The Pi was fine and did the job but I was looking for something a bit snappier.





My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.


kobiak
1615 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2150858 26-Dec-2018 21:16
Send private message

i'd say xiaomi hub + sonoff devices. for cheap and more or less out of the box solution. I have the same set-up and doing some automotions. 5 temperature sensors, front door sensor, motion sensor in garage and motion activate camera + smart bulbs, vacuum, smart switch and power sockets. some of the devices controlled by google home too. I'm yet to hook up google home to home assistant as I need static IP.

 

So far automated alarm triggers when no-one at home as concept. I also want to get konnected alarm. big project for summer :) 





helping others at evgenyk.nz




hairy1
3332 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2150868 26-Dec-2018 21:50
Send private message

Duckdns is your friend if you can't get a static ip




My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.


Nzengsaif
34 posts

Geek

Fusion Automation

  #2150870 26-Dec-2018 21:55
Send private message

Also check out our online store fusionautomation.co.nz for a full range of Z-Wave products with NZ frequencies :)

kobiak
1615 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #2150948 27-Dec-2018 09:14
Send private message

hairy1: Duckdns is your friend if you can't get a static ip

 

yeah I'm behind CGNAT at the moment.





helping others at evgenyk.nz


Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.