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Getting Started with Home Assistant

Your take-home guide · Dallas Makerspace

What it is: Home Assistant puts every smart device in your house, whatever protocol it speaks, into one app that runs locally. Your data never leaves home and there is no subscription. It's free and open source, backed by the non-profit Open Home Foundation.

Run It On

  • HA Green: official plug-and-play box, easiest start (HAOS)
  • Raspberry Pi: popular and well-documented
  • Mini PC or old laptop: needs 6th-gen Intel or newer (a laptop works even with no screen). Lenovo M910q, or a new N100/N150 mini PC off Amazon.

Integrations to Explore

  • UniFi / UniFi Protect: network presence detection plus your cameras
  • WLED: addressable LEDs; runs on LED controllers and certain smart bulbs
  • Z-Wave: bring your Z-Wave gear into HA
  • ESPHome: your own DIY sensors and devices into HA
  • Alarmo: a full alarm system, free
  • BTHome: local Bluetooth sensors, no cloud
  • Frigate: local AI camera and object detection
  • HomeKit Device: pair Wi-Fi devices into HA via the HomeKit protocol
  • HomeKit Bridge: push HA devices out to Apple Home for Siri control
  • Plex: play media on your TVs as part of morning and night routines
  • Team Tracker: flash the lights when your team scores; pair with a HUB75 LED matrix for a DIY scoreboard

Protocols at a Glance

Protocol Good for What you need
Z-Wave Very reliable, less congested. Great for door locks & critical sensors. A controller: Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2
Zigbee Huge, cheap device selection. Self-healing mesh. A coordinator: Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 (ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT)
Wi-Fi / Ethernet Simple, no hub. Cameras, Shelly relays, ESP devices. Just your network
Bluetooth / BLE Cheap room sensors, presence detection. A BLE proxy (e.g. an ESP device) for range
Thread / Matter The future, but still maturing (firmware/reliability). Wait if you're just starting out

Bulbs vs. Switches vs. Relays

This is the buying decision beginners get wrong most often, so get it right before you spend money:

  • Smart bulbs: per-bulb color & dimming, but if someone flips the wall switch the bulb loses power.
  • Smart switches: replace the wall switch, keep normal bulbs, the wall still works for everyone.
  • In-wall relays (Zooz or Shelly): hide behind your existing switch; best for retrofits and dumb fixtures.

Rule of thumb: switches & relays keep the wall working for family and guests; bulbs are for color everywhere.

Gear Worth Buying

  • Z-Wave controller: Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2 (the best, by far)
  • Zigbee coordinator: Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2
  • Zigbee devices: Philips Hue bulbs (pair straight to Zigbee2MQTT, no Hue bridge), Aqara (T1M, door/window sensors, Magic Cube), Third Reality
  • In-wall relays: Zooz (Z-Wave) or Shelly (Wi-Fi); Shelly is the popular pick
  • LEDs: WLED (on bulbs or LED controllers); a HUB75 matrix for DIY scoreboards
  • Voice: Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition (local, but takes setup to rival Alexa/Google today)

From the Live Demo

  • Companion app (iOS/Android): your phone becomes a presence tracker and gets the notifications. Install it early, it makes everything else better.
  • HACS: the community store for custom dashboard cards, themes, and integrations. Third-party, so install sparingly.

Cool Things You Can Build

  • Automations run themselves: when X happens, do Y. Example: the mailbox opens, a camera grabs a snapshot, your phone gets the photo, and "You've got mail" plays on the speakers.
  • Leaving home: lock doors, arm the alarm, turn off lights, sleep the PC, all automatically.
  • Scripts are routines you trigger on demand: a "Wake Up" or "Goodnight" button, voice command, or dashboard tap.

Go Further

  • ESPHome: turn cheap ESP32 chips into your own HA sensors with simple YAML. (An ESPHome class is coming, watch for it.)
  • Wall tablets + Fully Kiosk: a cheap tablet as a wall dashboard that wakes on motion.
  • Claude Code + the HA MCP: an AI agent that builds dashboards and automations for you, just by asking.

Where to Learn More

Support the Volunteers

Almost every integration talks to your devices through small open-source libraries (like aiohttp) that volunteers maintain for free. If HA saves you money, consider chipping in: https://opencollective.com/aio-libs

Presented by Brandon Harvey (SmartHomeSellout) · https://smarthomesellout.com