Ask HN: DIY Smart Home Resources | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: DIY Smart Home Resources

1 pointRangerScience6 comments

I've just recently bought my first house. Nerd that I am, I want to smart home it. But I don't want to use existing solutions, either because of (perceived) lock-in (google, amazon) or because of "internet of shitty things" / privacy concerns (ADT, "Unauthorized Bread"). So I'm looking for resources (code, tutorials & articles, and hardware) to make this happen.

Main categories are:

- Lighting: Both cool (colors!) and functional (remote on/off). I hear Nanoleaf makes some cool stuff. - Gardening. The existing automation for watering is good, if not everywhere, but it's old and I want to measure soil health, moisture, etc. - Security. I want to know which doors and windows are open, and then from there, determine security rules. - HVAC. Ties in with the above - get more granular control over which rooms gets what, as well as, say, turning off HVAC to rooms while windows are open. - Modeling. It'd be super cool to have everything displayed on a 3D model of the house. Plus, there's all the old dreams of augmented-reality diagrams, plans, and etc.

I appreciate any advice and links folks want to toss my way!

It really depends on the level of technical skill you have and/or wish to develop. I have similar objectives to yours. I especially prefer to build my own instead of buying complicated and often overly expensive consumer oriented products.

WS2812 LED strips are the bomb! Easy to stick onto a variety of surfaces and easy to drive with an Arduino. BUT watch the power consumption. I use heavy duty 5V power supplies to drive long chains.

Most commercial products have been hacked. For example, WiFi controlled power points/strips. Don't fiddle with mains power unless you really know what you are doing. It actually is not legal in some locales.

HomeAssistant is neat if you don't want to do it all yourself. I prefer to DIY all the way.

Configure a totally separate WiFi network, totally air-gapped from the internet to control all the devices.

ESP8266 & ESP32 based boards with microPython are super easy to configure. Just remember it's all 3.3V I/O, so use suitable level-shifters or opto-isolation for physical world connections.

There are lots of folks like yourself. I find focused internet searches yield answers to most questions and problems. Most consumer products have been reverse-engineered.

Thanks!

I've already got a solid base (or more) on the technical end (Burning Man LED art, and then full stack web dev). I was already thinking of using an isolated network.

Thanks for the pointer on which boards! Do you have a recommended level-shifter?

Level-shifter is absolutely necessary for transitioning between 3.3V to 5V logics. Although there are several pre-built products. I use the circuit: https://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/mosfet-voltage-level-converte... when I only need one conversion, e.g. driving WS2812 string from a ESP8266.

check home-assistant.io out

this!!

Oh neat, I will!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com