Home Automation - The Better Way
A Custom Home Automation System Compatible with Everything
March 1, 2021
I built my own home automation system using a Raspberry Pi, Home Assistant, some cheap smart lights, wireless buttons, remotes, motion sensors and door sensors.
While there are many off-the-shelf home automation solutions available, they usually don't play together nicely. On top of that, they mostly rely on voice commands and apps for control rather than motion sensors and buttons. I find these interfaces too slow and inconvenient.
My initial goal was to be able to turn off the lights in my room without having to get up out of my bed. The phone apps and voice assistants to be too slow and cumbersome. I wanted physical, wireless switches that I could put in convenient locations (on my nightstands). I also opted for smart bulbs over smart light switches as I was living in a rental apartment.
Current System
Capabilities
- Turn on/off lights with wireless switches, door sensors or motion sensors
- Dim lights in certain areas
- Rainbow mode effect
- Network Ad Blocker
- Speak Alerts over the Speakers
This project is still in progress as I am improving on it regularly.
Components
This is the list of components:
- Raspberry Pi 4 (4G😎
- Case and Power Supply
- 32GB SD card
- Mue Home Daylight Lights
- Mue Home RGB Lights
- Sonoff Bridge 433MHz
- 10 Button Wireless Switches
- 1/2/3 Position Wireless Switches - Optional
- Door Sensors - Optional
- Motion Sensors - Optional
How To Guide
I split my setup into multiple parts.
1 - Setting Up Light Bulbs - Coming Soon
2 - Setting Up Home Assistant - In Progress
3 - Setting up Wireless Switches with Home Assistant - In Progress
4 - Setting up Network Level Ad Blocker - In Progress