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Home Automation with Home Assistant - Complete Guide

Home Assistant dashboard with smart home control on tablet and mobile devices

Home Assistant is an open-source platform for smart home control that gives complete control over your devices. Compared to commercial solutions, it offers unlimited automation possibilities, support for nearly all IoT devices, and runs locally without cloud.

What is Home Assistant and Why Use It?

Home Assistant (HA) is a Python application that serves as a central control unit for all smart devices in your home. Key advantages:

Advantages Over Commercial Solutions

  • Local operation - no cloud dependency
  • Open source - transparency and security
  • Unlimited integration - support for 2000+ components
  • No monthly fees - buy hardware once
  • Full control - you own your data

Device Support

  • Zigbee/Z-Wave (via USB dongle)
  • WiFi IoT (ESP8266/ESP32)
  • Brands: Shelly, Sonoff, Tasmota, ESPHome
  • Systems: Philips Hue, IKEA, Xiaomi
  • Media: Chromecast, Spotify, Plex

Home Assistant Installation

Option 1: Home Assistant OS (Recommended)

Hardware Requirements:

  • Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB RAM minimum)
  • MicroSD card 32GB (Class 10)
  • Power adapter 5V/3A
  • USB dongles (Zigbee/Z-Wave)

Installation:

  1. Download Image:

  2. Flash to SD Card:

    # Linux/Mac
sudo dd if=haos_rpi4-64.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M

# Windows - use Raspberry Pi Imager

  3. First Boot:

    • Insert SD card into Pi
    • Connect LAN cable
    • Connect power
    • Wait 5-10 minutes for boot

  4. Web Interface:

    • Open http://IP_ADDRESS:8123
    • Create admin account
    • Name your home

Option 2: Docker on PC/NAS

# Docker Compose
version: '3'
services:
  homeassistant:
    container_name: homeassistant
    image: ghcr.io/home-assistant/home-assistant:stable
    volumes:
      - ./config:/config
      - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
    restart: unless-stopped
    privileged: true
    network_mode: host

Option 3: Home Assistant Green

Official HA hardware:

  • Price: ~$100
  • Plug & play solution
  • Integrated Zigbee
  • SkyConnect USB support

Basic Configuration

Initial Setup

  1. Location Settings:

    # configuration.yaml
homeassistant:
  name: Home
  latitude: 40.7128
  longitude: -74.0060
  elevation: 10
  unit_system: imperial
  time_zone: America/New_York
  currency: USD
  country: US

  2. Users and Access:

    • Settings → People
    • Create family accounts
    • Set permissions

  3. Areas:

    • Living room, bedroom, kitchen
    • Assign devices to them
    • Used for automations

Important Integrations

Weather:

# configuration.yaml
weather:
  - platform: openweathermap
    api_key: YOUR_API_KEY
    name: New York

Mobile App:

mobile_app:

notify:
  - name: mobile
    platform: group
    services:
      - service: mobile_app_phone

Adding Devices

WiFi Devices (Shelly, Sonoff)

Automatic Detection:

  1. Settings → Devices & Services
  2. Click "Add Integration"
  3. HA automatically finds network devices

Manual Addition:

# configuration.yaml
switch:
  - platform: shelly
    host: 192.168.1.100
    name: "Living Room Light"

Zigbee Devices

Required Hardware:

  • ConBee II USB stick ($60)
  • Or Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB ($32)

Adding Devices:

  1. Settings → Integrations
  2. Add Zigbee Home Automation
  3. Select USB port dongle
  4. Put device in pairing mode

ESPHome Devices

ESPHome is addon for custom ESP devices:

# example-device.yaml
esphome:
  name: kitchen-light
  platform: ESP8266
  board: d1_mini

wifi:
  ssid: "YourWiFi"
  password: "YourPassword"

api:
  password: "api-password"

ota:
  password: "ota-password"

switch:
  - platform: gpio
    pin: GPIO5
    name: "Kitchen Light"
    id: kitchen_light

sensor:
  - platform: dht
    pin: GPIO4
    temperature:
      name: "Kitchen Temperature"
    humidity:
      name: "Kitchen Humidity"
    update_interval: 60s

Creating Automations

Basic Automations

Example 1: Turn on lights when arriving home

automation:
  - alias: "Lights on arrival"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: person.john
        from: "not_home"
        to: "home"
    condition:
      - condition: sun
        after: sunset
    action:
      - service: light.turn_on
        entity_id: light.entryway
        data:
          brightness: 200
      - service: switch.turn_on
        entity_id: switch.living_room_light

Example 2: Night light in bathroom

automation:
  - alias: "Bathroom night light"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.bathroom_motion
        to: "on"
    condition:
      - condition: time
        after: "22:00:00"
        before: "06:00:00"
    action:
      - service: light.turn_on
        entity_id: light.bathroom
        data:
          brightness: 50
          color_name: red
      - delay: "00:02:00"
      - service: light.turn_off
        entity_id: light.bathroom

Advanced Automations

Example: Vacation presence simulation

automation:
  - alias: "Vacation simulation"
    trigger:
      - platform: sun
        event: sunset
        offset: "-00:30:00"
    condition:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: input_boolean.vacation_mode
        state: "on"
    action:
      - repeat:
          count: 3
          sequence:
            - service: light.turn_on
              entity_id: light.living_room
              data:
                brightness: !lambda "return random.randint(150, 255)"
            - delay: !lambda "return random.randint(1800, 3600)"
            - service: light.turn_off
              entity_id: light.living_room
            - delay: !lambda "return random.randint(600, 1800)"

Example: Smart thermostat by presence

automation:
  - alias: "Heating by presence"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: group.family
        to: "not_home"
        for: "00:30:00"
    action:
      - service: climate.set_temperature
        entity_id: climate.thermostat
        data:
          temperature: 65
          
  - alias: "Heating on return"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: group.family
        from: "not_home"
        to: "home"
    action:
      - service: climate.set_temperature
        entity_id: climate.thermostat
        data:
          temperature: 72

Dashboards and Visualization

Lovelace UI

Basic Card:

# ui-lovelace.yaml
views:
  - title: Home
    icon: mdi:home
    cards:
      - type: entities
        title: Lighting
        entities:
          - light.living_room
          - light.kitchen
          - light.bedroom
          
      - type: thermostat
        entity: climate.living_room_thermostat
        
      - type: weather-forecast
        entity: weather.home

Advanced Cards:

# Card with graphs
- type: history-graph
  title: Temperature 24h
  entities:
    - sensor.living_room_temperature
    - sensor.bedroom_temperature
  hours_to_show: 24

# Floor plan card
- type: picture-elements
  image: /local/floor-plan.png
  elements:
    - type: state-icon
      entity: light.living_room
      style:
        top: 50%
        left: 30%
    - type: state-label
      entity: sensor.living_room_temperature
      style:
        top: 70%
        left: 30%

Mobile App

Installation:

  • Google Play / App Store: "Home Assistant"
  • Configuration: Settings → Integrations → Mobile App

Features:

  • Push notifications
  • GPS tracking
  • Quick actions
  • Camera on lock screen

Popular Device Integration

Shelly Devices

# Automatic detection via mDNS
# Or manually:
switch:
  - platform: shelly
    host: 192.168.1.50
    name: Shelly Plug

# For Shelly Plus series:
# Settings → Integrations → Shelly

Philips Hue

# Automatically detected
# Or:
hue:
  bridges:
    - host: 192.168.1.2
      allow_hue_groups: false
      allow_unreachable: true

Sonoff Devices (Tasmota)

# MQTT integration
mqtt:
  broker: 192.168.1.100
  username: mqtt_user
  password: mqtt_pass

switch:
  - platform: mqtt
    name: "Sonoff Basic"
    state_topic: "stat/sonoff1/POWER"
    command_topic: "cmnd/sonoff1/POWER"
    payload_on: "ON"
    payload_off: "OFF"

Xiaomi Gateway

xiaomi_aqara:
  discovery_retry: 5
  gateways:
    - key: GATEWAY_KEY
      host: 192.168.1.30

Security and Remote Access

HTTPS and SSL Certificates

# configuration.yaml
http:
  ssl_certificate: /ssl/fullchain.pem
  ssl_key: /ssl/privkey.pem
  server_port: 8123

Let's Encrypt Certificate:

  1. Add-ons → Let's Encrypt
  2. Configuration with your domain
  3. Start addon

Remote Access

Method 1: Nabu Casa (Paid)

  • $5/month
  • Simple configuration
  • Supports HA development

Method 2: DuckDNS + Port forwarding

# DuckDNS Add-on
{
  "lets_encrypt": {
    "accept_terms": true,
    "certfile": "fullchain.pem",
    "keyfile": "privkey.pem"
  },
  "token": "your-duckdns-token",
  "domains": ["yourdomain.duckdns.org"]
}

Method 3: Cloudflare Tunnel

  • No port forwarding
  • Free
  • Higher security

Backup

Automatic Backups:

# Google Drive Backup add-on
{
  "days_to_retain": 7,
  "backup_time": "03:00",
  "backup_name": "HA-{date}",
  "exclude_folders": ["media", "tts"],
  "exclude_addons": []
}

Advanced Features

Node-RED Automations

Installation: Add-ons → Node-RED

Advantages:

  • Visual programming
  • Complex logic
  • Debug capabilities

AppDaemon for Python

# apps/hello.py
import appdaemon.plugins.hass.hassapi as hass

class HelloWorld(hass.Hass):
    def initialize(self):
        self.listen_state(self.motion_detected, "binary_sensor.motion")
        
    def motion_detected(self, entity, attribute, old, new, kwargs):
        if new == "on":
            self.turn_on("light.hall")
            self.run_in(self.turn_off_light, 300)
            
    def turn_off_light(self, kwargs):
        self.turn_off("light.hall")

Template Sensors

sensor:
  - platform: template
    sensors:
      power_cost_today:
        friendly_name: "Today's energy cost"
        unit_of_measurement: "USD"
        value_template: >-
          {{ (states('sensor.daily_energy')|float * 0.12)|round(2) }}
          
      home_occupancy:
        friendly_name: "Home presence"
        value_template: >-
          {% set people = [
            states('person.john'),
            states('person.jane')
          ] %}
          {{ 'home' if people|select('eq', 'home')|list|length > 0 else 'away' }}

Debugging and Problem Solving

Logs and Diagnostics

# configuration.yaml
logger:
  default: info
  logs:
    homeassistant.components.shelly: debug
    homeassistant.components.mqtt: debug

Access logs:

  • Developer Tools → Logs
  • SSH addon → ha logs

Common Problems

Device disconnects:

  1. Check WiFi signal strength
  2. Router reboot
  3. Reserve IP address

Automation not working:

  1. Template tools for testing
  2. Check YAML syntax
  3. Trace automation

High RAM usage:

  • Recorder configuration
  • Limit history
  • Database cleanup

Useful Add-ons

Basic Add-ons

  • File editor - configuration editing
  • Terminal & SSH - system access
  • Samba share - folder sharing
  • Mosquitto MQTT - MQTT broker

Advanced Add-ons

  • Node-RED - visual automation
  • Grafana - advanced graphs
  • InfluxDB - time series database
  • Frigate - AI camera detection

Complete Automation Examples

Smart Alarm

# Input helper
input_boolean:
  alarm_home:
    name: Home alarm
    icon: mdi:shield-home

automation:
  - alias: "Alarm - activation"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: group.family
        to: "not_home"
        for: "00:05:00"
    action:
      - service: input_boolean.turn_on
        entity_id: input_boolean.alarm_home
      - service: notify.mobile_app_phone
        data:
          title: "Alarm activated"
          message: "Home alarm was automatically turned on"
          
  - alias: "Alarm - breach"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.door_sensor
        to: "on"
    condition:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: input_boolean.alarm_home
        state: "on"
    action:
      - service: light.turn_on
        entity_id: all
        data:
          brightness: 255
      - service: notify.mobile_app_phone
        data:
          title: "🚨 ALARM!"
          message: "Door opening detected!"
      - service: media_player.play_media
        entity_id: media_player.google_home
        data:
          media_content_id: "alarm_sound.mp3"
          media_content_type: "music"

Energy Optimization

automation:
  - alias: "Turn off standby appliances"
    trigger:
      - platform: time
        at: "23:00:00"
    action:
      - service: switch.turn_off
        entity_id:
          - switch.tv_outlet
          - switch.pc_outlet
          - switch.printer_outlet
          
  - alias: "EV charging at night"
    trigger:
      - platform: time
        at: "01:00:00"
    condition:
      - condition: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.car_battery
        below: 80
    action:
      - service: switch.turn_on
        entity_id: switch.ev_charger
      - delay: "06:00:00"
      - service: switch.turn_off
        entity_id: switch.ev_charger

Conclusion

Home Assistant is a powerful tool for anyone who wants full control over their smart home. Yes, it has a learning curve, but the result is worth it. Start with simple automations and gradually expand according to your needs.

Getting started recommendations:

  1. Raspberry Pi 4 with Home Assistant OS
  2. Several Shelly outlets/switches
  3. Mobile app
  4. First simple automations

Investment of ~$200 gives you a foundation you can expand for years.

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