Starting from nothing

[solid apex]

Hi All,

I have recently become interested in setting up smart home devices and I am looking to keep everything as local and opensource as possible. In doing some reading it looks like z-wave would be the best to focus on in this area however I am struggling to find good resources on where to start.

Ideally I'd be wanting to start with lighting, I am in an apartment so I don't have much need for security cameras / door sensors etc. Looking for 6 downlights, and 5 E27 bulbs. I also have a couple of DC fans with their own large LED lights that I'm unsure if there are "smart" options for if I'd be better off attempting to smartify the remotes.

Currently I have a Google Nest Audio that I got for free a few years ago, I assume this will work fine with anything HA related, however if there is an option for my to load an OpenSource OS on the Nest hardware / replace it with something I can use an OpenSource voice assistant I'd be interested in that too.

I will be getting a device to run OPNSense, though I would love recommendations in the open source firewall space.

As for the HA controller, ideally I'd be using either a Raspberry Pi or some sort of Tiny form factor PC to run a Linux distro and then run HA (among other things) in Docker.

I'm no stranger to coding / Linux / networking etc, been working as an IT consultant for over a decade now.

If anyone has any recommendations for the above such as hardware that won't break the bank, avoiding cloud requirements, and OpenSource software to look into to accommodate all of this that would be great.

Cheers

[woven mirage]

hi there, welcome to the community.
its best to include your country when looking for hardware recommendations as options can vary

I wouldn't personally use z-wave, there are less options and i dont trust companies to release there are different and non-compatable zwave freqencies so devices cant nessasarily be shipped internationally etc... but if it works for you then it works for you.

for lights you want to decide smart bulb vs smart switch(or both) for your setup. plenty of wifi/zigbee (avoid "TUYA" at all costs its cheap for a reason).

I cant speak for the nest audio in regard to exact supported functionality but can at least say that it wont work work as a direct voice assistant interface directly to HA.

OPNSense is great and I recommend it.

I have a write up on HA server Hardware HERE
dont use a rpi. I suggest not running container install as you loose the ability for native updating and native addon support. you are better off running HAOS either directly on the device or virtualized (Proxmox for example as described in my write up) if you want to run other stuff alongside it (in another vm/LXC)

n100 based mini pc's are great for running HA (and some other stuff alongside) but if you plan on running fully local VA with LLM then you are going to need something with more power to do it. (NB: these harder taks can be offloaded to a seperate machine as needed to keep your HA install system more basic)

the most important thing is to realise that this is a process and you should enjoy it, and enjoy the small wins as you get things working. if you try and do everything at once then you will struggle and burn out. take things one step at a time.

[solid apex]

Thanks Michael, I'm in Australia

Thanks for your advice

Is there any specific benefits of smart bulb versus smart switch? I currently have just like cheap LED downlights / E27 lights in various lumens / warmness

Yeah I do understand taking it slow, I do a lot of automation work in my job which has been years of iteration.

Proxmox is a good idea, I'll take a look at the N100 mini PC. It sounds like the LLM VA will be a future project but definitely something I'd be interested in

Do you have any suggestion for hardware to run OpnSense?

[woven mirage]

i tend to use smartbulbs for lamps and smart switches/relays for the "big light" (as we would call it in the UK).
the issue with smart bulbs if you retain a normal light switch is that if someone turns off the light switch then you cant automatically turn it back on because its offline. however havign a fallback pysical switch is definetly nice. and keeps other people happy.
so theres pros and cons to both methods and in general i find a blend of stuff seems to work best for me. you just need to spend some time thinking about the usual use cases and work out whats best for you. you can always change it down the road if you dont get on with it.

I have a rack under the stairs and one of my proxmox servers runs opnsense... HOWEVER i probably wouldnt recomend that. to be honest, unless you need something specific i would probably look at something n100 based for this too. theres plenty of options with 2 ethernet ports but theres also some stuff with more if you want extra ports for it. although 2 and a switch is probably a better option IMO. if you find something and are not sure i am happy to give thoughts on it.

[solid apex]

@woven mirage
I think considering the amount of traffic I actually use in my household running it virtual from Proxmox will probably be fine. A separate device may be overengineering it at this stage, but I'll see how I go. Thanks for all your help, the lamp v big light part makes sense too, you've given me a lot to think about

[woven mirage]

awesome, glad I could push you in the right direction. sometimes we all just a starting point 🙂