Foxon's Home Automation Hardware List

Hello, people of the smart home!

Home automation is one of my most loved hobbies. It would be fun to share where we are at - let's steal each other's ideas and push things further!

There is probably more going on in my house than should be put in a single post, so it's probably best to start with the list of hardware involved

Google Home Screen x 3
Google Home Audio x 3
Nest Hello Doorbell

WiFi Plugs x 2 (flashed firmware to control via MQTT)

Home Theater PC

Raspberry Pi running Openhabian

Hue Hub
Hue White Ambience Bulb x 4
Hue White and Color Color Bulbs x 3
Hue Remote Control

Bluetooth Bulb (it needs to go away)

ZWave Motion/Humidity/Brightness Sensor x 3
ZWave Wall Dimmer x 5
ZWave Wall Plug

Wish List:
ZWave thermostat
ZWave sprinkler controller
ZWave wall switches (yes, more)
ZWave Wall Plugs
Garage Door Monitoring and control (probably a blend of protocols, not straight zwave)

So there's the hardware! ZWave is by far my preferred radio/protocol, but that might change as 802.11ax (WiFi 6) picks up steam. It's incredibly consistent and interoperates very well. Zigbee has too many standards within that consortium. It's true I could make up for most of that with the Pi, but ZWave doesn't need any mucking with. Hopefully ZWave continues to open its hardware further

Hue is in there despite its Zigbeeness because it's beautiful. Most smart home seems to creep people out a bit, but the wow factor with Hue is strong and OpenHAB monitors/controls the Hue hub well (it can even emulate a Hue hub)

OpenHAB is my current server preference, but that might change in the future. Local control is a must. Cloud services are used for some of the Google/Nest things. The fam loves those. We know the privacy implications and accept them, but I refuse to lose my automation because a company shutdown or the internet goes out

There is a real and critical distinction between "Smart Home" and "Home Automation". Not everyone will agree with that statement, but the usage will be consistent when it's coming from me

• Smart Home: Controlling the lights and whatnot around the house by interacting with a connected device (ie, smart phone, smart speaker, in wall panel)

• Home Automation: Lights and whatnot around the house responding to the normal activities of the inhabitants

These terms tend to breakdown along other usability lines, but there is certainly overlap as well

Next time, I plan to cover the sleep/wake routines. They are complicated enough to warrant their own post. Everything else will probably fit in one other post, but we'll see how that goes down the road

Looking forward to hearing where you are at in your smart home journey!
I would like to know from you - does anything on that list sound strange and need further explanation, or are you already familiar with these things?