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Smart Home smart home

What does Dankeju’s smart home system look like? – Smart Home Smart Home EP 0

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Neil
Neil

Starting with the end in mind, let me first introduce our current smart home (Smart Home) configuration so that everyone can have a concept and imagination. In the future, I will introduce step by step how I got to where I am now.

If you are still vague about the concept of smart home, you can refer to this concept introduction:What is a smart home? How to start a smart home? Three essential elements for a smart home. The degree of laziness determines the degree of intelligence of the home🤣 – Smart Home EP 1

Daily use functions

The picture above shows several daily use screens of our Home Assistant. From left to right they are:

  • Dashboard: briefly displays several basic information (Ashan and I’s conditions at home, weather, temperature, humidity, air quality) and two commonly used scenarios (Scenes).
  • Visual control interface: Use the floor plan as a basis and place each device in the corresponding position. Compared with the common grid arrangement of Homekit and Google Home, using the floor plan can quickly find the lights, air conditioners or other devices you want to control. .
  • Sweeping robot control: Integrating the functions of Roborock S7 MaxV sweeping robot, you can perform most common operations.
  • Automated settings: The most important part of a smart home is basically a brain-like existence, and it is also the most fulfilling part in the evolution of smart homes.

Basic information of family members

Before building a smart home, you need to take stock of the basic attributes of family members so that you can have a basis for choosing various configurations in the future.

  • Members: Me, Ashan, Fat Brother (Cat)
  • Commonly used devices and operating systems:
    • Mobile phone: My Android, Ashan iOS
    • Computer: Mixed use of Windows and Mac
    • TV: Google Chromecast with Google TV
  • Main activity areas: living room, dining room

Summary of smart home related configurations

Here are some brief explanations. In the future, we will introduce the selection process of various configurations and the advantages and disadvantages of different solutions in separate articles in the future (this is how we will have traffic! You are right?).

  • Network configuration: The network configuration has a very important relationship with the size of the space and the condition of the partitions. Our home is about 25 to 30 square meters, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The weak current cabinet is probably in the middle of the entire space. I only use one. ASUS TUF-AX5400 is currently usable, but the WiFi signal is weak in only a few locations (eg. master bedroom bathroom, back balcony), and according to the inventory of "Family Member Basic Information", the activity areas are mainly concentrated in the living room and dining room. It can be used. If necessary in the future, you can add other routers through ASUS's AiMesh.
  • Smart device connection method: In principle, I choose Zigbee as much as possible, and if I don’t have a choice, I will use WiFi.
  • Central system: Home Assistant integrates all devices, liberating the constraints of various APPs, and the automated settings are more flexible. You can move it as you want; based on the inventory of "family member basic information", Homekit is directly excluded from the plan, because Android loves Users like me cannot use XDD

I hope the above will give you a preliminary concept and imagination of smart home construction. We will introduce each link in detail later. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a message below for discussion!

17 COMMENTS

  2. I purchased some smart light bulbs for my newly decorated home. After installing them, I realized that I needed a messenger (gateway), Wi-Fi, and Zigbee. After reading the article that Neil carefully shared, I had a little idea. Although I read It seems that some passages are still alien to me, but I believe I will understand them all in the future (make fist).
    Oh ~ I just left a message to express, thank you for selflessly sharing your profound wisdom👍🏻

  3. Hi Neyo, if you use other brands of smart devices to access Home Assistant, do you need to add another gateway of that brand? Or can it be paired with just the Home Assistant device?

    • Hi Willson, it depends on how your smart device is connected. Matter can directly connect to HA, and Zigbee can use Z2M gateway to access HA. If it is WiFi or Bluetooth, you basically need the brand gateway. The recommended device selection sequence is: Zigbee > Matter > WiFi > Others

  4. Hello Neil:
    Before the construction, all my family members used iOS systems. Since I didn’t know much about the relevant knowledge, I had no doubts about using Homekit when I considered building a smart home. All my devices are mainly based on VIZO’s Zigbee, and I use VIZO’s gateway. After joining HK, currently the Vizo APP for light switches, door and window sensors, and some basic automation is combined with HK. It is generally OK and very simple to use. Recently I want to further study automation, such as turning on the lights when I walk into the kitchen and turning off the lights when I leave, the same goes for the toilet; voice control or automatic start of the air conditioner. These are things that cannot be accomplished with the above-mentioned devices alone, so I came up with the idea of using HA. After reading your article, I purchased Shumei Pie (still on the way). I would like to ask you about my current thoughts whether it is feasible:
    1. VIZO equipment is connected to its own gateway, and then the gateway is connected to HA. The HA manages and controls VIZO equipment in a unified manner. I don’t know if this is feasible, or should I simply not use the VIZO gateway and connect each VIZO device directly to the HA?
    2. My air conditioner is an international RX series, and the DYSON air purifier itself has a WIFI module, which is directly connected to the HA.
    3. Buy a human body presence sensor and connect it to HA, and all subsequent newly purchased equipment will go directly to HA.
    The above device uses Homebridge to connect to HK, so that it can also be controlled by HK. In the end, HK should only have voice control function... I wonder if this is feasible? Do I need a Z2m gateway to integrate these things for me? Thank you very much for your generous reply~

    • Hi Richard,

      1. If Vizo is a zigbee device, Z2M can be directly connected to HA (Z2M gateway is required). Vizo gateway can be sold🤣
      2. You should be able to find plug-ins developed by experts to access HA.
      3. Putting all the automation in HA is the best, leaving HomeKit for voice control is fine

  6. Our house will be handed over next year, and the indoor area is about 30 square meters. We have already bought a NAS and installed a HomeAsistant. I would like to ask Neil, if we will also use Zigbee in the future, what specifications do we need to buy for the router?

    Please give me some advice, thanks.

    • If you want to buy a NAS, you must have storage needs, right? If so, I suggest just sticking to the standard, the transmission speed will be faster. If there are not many compartments at 30 square meters, the whole family can eat it if the router is placed in the middle. If you are worried about poor signal in the corners, you can consider getting a Mesh router.

  7. I also use the aqara system but I use it with HomeKit. Although I haven’t used the home assistant yet, I may need it in the future.
    Your content is great, very complete and thoughtful. I benefited from it. Thank you.

  8. YT who just finished watching Bullet Shell House came over quickly!
    My home is being renovated and I want to go HA in the future. Your article is very useful to me!!

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recent discussions
  • Jerry 2025/04/14Thank you very much Neil for your selfless sharing. The websites you provided are of great help to me. I will save it first and digest it slowly^^ I also look forward to Neil's industry news and teaching articles in the futureHome Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
  • Neil 2025/04/13Hi Jerry, I usually get information about HA from these places: Website: – Home Assistant official Release notes – Automata – Home Automation Community – Weijia Home Intelligence FB Group: – Taiwan Home Assistant enthusiasts exchange – Home Assistant YouTube channel: – Smart Home Solver – Everything Smart Home – Home Assistant Programming language: Strictly speaking, YAML is not really a programming language (let me make this clear in case some people mind 🤣), but if we include these data formats or style languages that “look like” programming languages, and sort them by depth of use in HA (the deeper the bottom, the deeper the bottom): – YAML (data format): a language for configuration files used in many places in the HA environment. – CSS (style language): used to adjust the interface style (font size, color, image, position, etc.). – JSON (data format): If you use Node-RED, you will probably come across it. – Jinja2 (Python template syntax): You may encounter it when you explore automation or Dashboard in depth. ※ But in fact, even if HA does not know the above, it can still make a smart home complete. You don’t have to put so much pressure on yourself, but if you are interested, it is also good to know more. It is actually difficult to generalize about the support of devices. Now, even if the home appliances themselves do not support it, there are still many different ways to connect traditional home appliances to HA. In addition, cases like Haier do require in-depth research. What I usually do is to crawl a lot of information on the Internet, and usually find attempts made by others. It just so happens that when I was looking up other information recently, I saw someone sharing how Haier water heaters were connected to HA. But it is indeed like what you said, if you get involved for a while, you will understand these details more and more. 🤣Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
  • Jerry 2025/04/10Hello Neil: After observing for 1 or 2 days, everything seems to be normal. Maybe it’s because the system was not stable during the initial setup period!? The more I play, the deeper I feel. I also find that I still have many shortcomings. I wonder if Neil can share and teach everyone how to fish? For example, recommend good websites, forums, FB groups, youtube videos, or give some guidance. In addition to the YAML language, would it be helpful to know some CSS syntax? Do I need to know other languages? I can even start a new teaching direction. When I see non-big-name products that claim to support APP (such as products from mainland China), I can teach everyone how to identify whether they can be connected to HA and how to ask customer service? Where can I see supported articles or platforms? This kind of experience sharing, I think, will be very helpful to everyone. I am currently looking to buy a heat pump water heater from Haier. Haier is a big manufacturer in the world and has its own APP. I have also found Haier's kit from HACS, but it does not seem to support heat pump water heaters. Does that mean it cannot be connected to HA? Or is there any channel to check it? There are also many flat panel lights and fan function lamps on the other side of the strait, which also claim to support APP connection, but they are all small manufacturers and it is difficult to tell whether they can be connected to HA. These are the problems I am facing now. If the home appliances I buy are different from what Neil shared, I don’t know where to start. Maybe I'm still too inexperienced. If I play for a few more months, maybe the above problems won't be a problem anymore, haha^^Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
  • Neil 2025/04/09Hi Jerry, I tested it myself and it was fine, but please note that because it is controlled through the cloud, there is an extra layer of brand mediation, so it is not suitable for fast switching. I tested it myself and it took about 1 second to complete the synchronization after clicking. Remember to put the entity in entities, otherwise the status display may have problemsHome Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
  • Jerry 2025/04/07Thanks Neil for clarifying this. I tested it later and found that when using the "button panel" to control the switch of the Electrolux air conditioner (the same model as Neil), the device will respond to turning on or off in about 1 second, but the "status icon" for turning on is much slower, and it takes about 30 seconds. The "status icon" for turning off is normal, and the "status icons" of other negative ion switches and the "status icons" of the monitoring light switch are also normal, which made me think there was a problem with the synchronization. I'll test it again, maybe it's caused by the wrong setting.Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
  • Neil 2025/04/07Hi Jerry, 1. This method is through cloud integration, which is actually using HA to call Xiaomi/Electrolux to control the device. 2. It is not normal. If this happens, you may need to check whether the entity you display on the floor plan can truly represent the status of the device. If not, you may need to try other entities of the same device.Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
  • Jerry 2025/04/07The problem is solved. Thanks again to Neil for his help^^ I have two more questions about concepts. Neil, do I have any misunderstandings? 1. I connected Xiaomi and Electrolux devices to HA through HACS. Is it still connected through WiFi? Before connecting, you need to obtain API key and Access Token from the official. This means that the communication between HA and the device still needs to go through the official. It’s just that the official APP can be replaced and all integrated into the HA APP for control? 2. After testing, when controlling the device through physical operation or the original official APP, the HA app cannot know the status of the device synchronously, but it can know the opposite. Is this normal? For example, the Xiaomi electric fan at home was turned on by someone physically before going out, but when the person is outside, he cannot know through the HA app that the device was forgotten to be turned off. He has to connect to the Xiaomi app to know!?Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
  • Jerry 2025/04/07Xiaomi Home can be used in Singapore by selecting the countryHome Assistant must-install HACS plug-in installation steps detailed explanation – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 17
  • Ghost 2025/04/07Xiaomi Home currently does not support Taiwan. For now, you can only use Xiaomi Miot Auto. As for Xiaomi Cloud Map Extractor, I currently have a 2FA problem. There seems to be no simple solution. I haven’t tried it successfully yet.Home Assistant must-install HACS plug-in installation steps detailed explanation – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 17
  • Neil 2025/04/07Jerry, it seems that the click action cannot penetrate the part where the picture changes because of the overlapping pictures. Try adding pointer-events: none to the style.Home Assistant Floor plan A new experience in smart home control with visual floor plan! – Home Assistant step-by-step tutorial EP 6
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