Hi,
I started home automation in 2013 and using Vera controllers from the start. When Reactor plugin became available (super plugin of @toggledbits !!) I transferred all scenes to Reactor.
I must say everything here works still okay and I have a lot of devices, plugins and Reactors. But I fear at some point my Vera's will stop working.
I recognize many of your names here from the Vera forum. I also was banned a couple of years ago.
Recently I decided to switch to Home Assistant. I already transferred some of my zwave devices from Vera to HA and made some new automations.
I must say HA is great and with huge amount of integrations, add-ons, the HACS store and many examples (like blueprints) the opportunites to increase home automation are huge.
HA will be for sure my central system (incl UI)
But... the learning curve is quite steap (YAML is completely different from Lua/luup).
So for the time being I will keep my most complex Reactor automations.
I already found how I can connect/integrate Vera for binairy sensors via webhooks (as an example: changes in my home modes are directly send from Vera to HA).
Now I also want to use some data like sensors or Reactor variables automatically to HA via https requests (put those in Reactor).
I know I can create virtual sensors in HA via templates.
As an example: I have my own PWS with a rainmeter. In Reactor I compare the amount of rain (in mm) in the actual year with historical figures (past 15 years) and calculate the difference actual vs history in % Every day at 0.00h these figures are updated. I defined variables in Reactor and use Multistring plugin (Variable container) to show the data.
I know several specialists in coding with experience in both Vera and HA are active here on this forum.
Who can help me with this ?
I've been using Vera Plus for nearly 10 years now but it's time to move on. On top of that we've moved from the previous house whereupon I took all the Z-wave door sensors, locks and switches with me and reverted the pool to manual control, grabbing the Autelis which I won't use now since the new pool we built has Pentair IntelliCenter.
I have the Vera Plus connected and have it controlling a couple of Honeywell Z-Wave thermostats and a couple of lights but It seems to just be slower and slower as it ages. I have an intel i3 NUC that is probably 6 years old but figure it's probably powerful enough to control HA going forward. I also dabbled with HomeSeer but it seems to cost a fortune for plugins. I have HS4 and a G3 Z-Wave Plus dongle from them.
How do I get started? I'm thinking I'll just unpair all my devices from the Vera Plus and add them to HA and then set up Reactor to do the logic but is there a way to migrate? Should I use Open LUA instead?
Lots of questions but I'm ready to get started an any help would be appreciated.
I have set up HA in a VM Box Virtual Machine and am progressing along.
I got new Kwikset Connect 620 door locks and got one connected to HA via Z-Wave JS and automated via Keymaster which is quite convoluted but I got it done.
I went to install the second lock and got it connected to HA via Z-Wave JS but am not being successful getting it to work properly in Keymaster.
Screenshot 2024-08-28 084902.png
Screenshot above is the second lock for the laundry room. It shows it is set up but the codes don't seem to be working.
I have not installed the lock yet and have not set the handing either. Maybe this is the issue but IDK.
Anyone have experience setting up locks in HA using Keymaster that can help would be great!
As our family grows and life gets busier, I've been thinking about upgrading to smart door locks. With kids often forgetting keys and elderly parents needing easier access, the idea of fingerprint and facial recognition seems like the perfect solution. I also love the idea of being able to lock and unlock the doors remotely, especially when we're away. Has anyone else implemented smart locks in a similar situation? How has it impacted your daily routine and overall home security?
Hi
Bought a new ZB device, an EV charger.
I was aware that there would one manufacturer specific cluster that wouldn't work out of the box, but several other clusters I hoped would work from start does not. Or at least there isn't any enteties for them.
So I have tried to study how to write a local quirk, but it is a bit overwhelming for mt brain.
Usually I can manage do get stuff moving with intense googling, finding guides or different solutions that I can start from, but here I find nothing that I can wrap my head around.
My latest try was to chat with Gemini AI 😰 (programmers, rest assured that your job will be safe for the foreseeable future 😁 )
I have gathered my device Diagnostic Info.
I have manufacturers ZB documentation.
A device support request is created on zigpy github (no response the last weeks)
For now there is just two entities for my device, on/off switch and energy sensors.
All non manufacture attributes and commands seems to be recognized in ZHA "Manage this Device"
It would be great if I could get some entities out of them.
For example the entity for manage charging power is expected to be presented as a dimmer slider.
But why isn't there any entity created??
The manufacture specific cluster is more of nice-to-have and could maybe be solved another day.
Any help would be much appreciated. 🙏
I just wanted to post how impressed I am with both HA and MSR. I really don't see that Ezlo have a chance in hell.
I noticed that my Virtual HA instance was killing my machine's performance, so decided that my project for the weekend would be a stand alone Raspberry Pi instance. Less than an hour to install, restore and configure both HA and MSR and it all just works. Thanks to everyone that contributes to these fabulous projects. Especially our own @toggledbits for the amazing work that is the new Reactor!
C
Very impressed by Harmony hub on HA. Seems to suck all of my network goodness in 🙂
One thing I'm not clear on is how to send individual commands. Specifically I'd like to send volume commands to my TV via MSR. I've got as far as:
<edit?> There should be a screen capture here, but I'm getting a Parse error 😞
@DesT ....
Suggestions for values to turn the volume down on my TV, or pointers as to where to look?
TIA
C
Domoticz (used for zigbee integration) have been bothering me so much that i've been looking at HomeAssistant to replace it. Now that Z-way is moving in with an integration, its even more tempting..
But i don't like the idea of having it as an OS that I can't use for other things, and running the HASS Core in a docker seems to be somewhat reduced in terms of addons?
I realize that HASSOS is using docker for integrations or addons, but can I still use docker compose to set up my own dockers (i.e z-way, influx, grafana) there as well?
I guess i'm getting old, change is difficult! 😉
I've just started to look at HASS UI, and have seen enough to see that it has an infinite number of ways to show enitites and devices in all forms and shapes.. But for starters i'd like to have something familiar, so how do i go about getting a sidebar for rooms like in openluup?
I know i can put them in the actual left sidebar, but i'd prefer to keep that for configuration pages..
on each room page i'd like to sort the lights, the heaters, the sensors together, and i saw somewhere that HASS will do that for you if you play your cards (pun) right.. can't find it again now..
Any pointers to a beginner?
Relates to Vera integration in Home Assistant
Just for you to be aware.
If you are using plugs (or whatever) in Vera to measure energy for your appliances this is deprecated in 2022.4.0 since the HA integration to Vera is not updated and maintained anymore.
2022.3.8:
Skärmavbild 2022-04-14 kl. 19.54.47.png
2022.4.3:
Skärmavbild 2022-04-14 kl. 20.48.06.png
Time to move away from Vera for z-wave ...
Link to HA thread:
Yes, it can truly be a hard time to keep up with all the changes and sadly that no one maintains Vera no more. The REST sensor can make it live a bit longer at least for now… sensor: - platform: rest name: "ender_kwh" resource: http://IP_OF_VERA:3480...
I've integrated Reactor and Z-Way Expert panel in my HA UI, but as it is iFrame, it will not work if I log in from the outside.
It would be great to access these in case my wife finds an automation flaw while I'm elsewhere, which seems to be the rule of thumb..
If I understand this right, all the dockers(reactor, z-way) host their own web server on the port, so it should be possible to get this throuh the HA "tunnel"(VPN or whatever its called)?
I noticed that my Octoprint camera is integrated differently, and can be seen on external connection as well even if i only give it a local address in setup?
(Not sure it's the right HA bridge but....)
I have a selection of HA bridge devices to enable Alexa integration. They all work perfectly except one that has just (48 hours) started saying that it's un responsive with Alexa. If I go to the HA bridge and test on / test off it works absolutely perfectly.
I've deleted and renamed from the Alexa App but no change. Simply says 'Device Un-responsive'
Any thoughts?
TIA
C
Hello,
I am currently running Home Assistant and Vera at the same time. I have installed a couple of ZEN32 5 button controllers but having issues getting the additional buttons to control my Vera devices. Am using the ZEN32 (Z-wave JS) blueprint which works well for devices on HASS. In developer tools I can use the Light:Toggle service and toggle my kitchen light through Vera. If I create the same action through the ZEN blueprint it doesn't work.
Anyone have any thoughts?
Roger
Hi!
Since a couple of days, I'm not able to use the TTS in MSR (HA). I haven't done anything else but updated HA. Don't know if that's the source of the problem. Have this happened to anyone else, or is it just me?
When I searched in the HA community, there seems to be a croud of people having this issue - but they often refers to Alexa, so they may not have my problems.
I took a snapshot of a MSR instance, where it shows that the TTS is missing. I use to have 4 different TTS engines to choose from - now I have none. Am I alone in this?
a10dde36-e301-4013-9146-02f2b18c20ed-image.png
Opening a thread to discuss updates to my home assistant fork.
GitHub - rafale77/core: :house_with_garden: Open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first GitHub - rafale77/core: :house_with_garden: Open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first:house_with_garden: Open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first - rafale77/core
I am trying to keep it on par with the official one but have made quite a few tweaks focused on video handling and processing. Home Assistant being developed on python is a great base for integration of machine learning and deep learning models into smarthomes because it is one of the most common languages used in the field.
As of today, I updated the readme file and the version to match the latest official release.
Most of my spoken commands to Alexa go something like this:
"Alexa, time for bed"at which point she executes a pre-planned Routine (triggered by that spoken phrase). The routine may turn On a virtual switch (named, say, "VS: Time for Bed" on my Vera Plus, but known to the Alexa Smart Home skill as "Time for Bed" just to keep my sanity).
The VS is a child device of Switchboard plug-in (by @toggledbits ) and acts as a binary (On/Off) light switch. Typically, I'll instruct Reactor to turn the switch back off -- or, more commonly, have it set to turn itself back off after NN seconds in the Switchboard UI. In other words, it's just a brief Trigger for a Reactor routine or Vera scene.
Now, here's my question: In order to avoid creating dozens of virtual switches -- one for each Routine / Scene -- has anyone tried using a DIMMER instead?
Seems to me that a dimming device, since it can be set to 100 different "brightness levels", could trigger 100 different responses in Reactor. But I'm hesitant to try this arrangement until I know others have had success, and that the faux "dimming" process won't inadvertently trigger intermediate values (e.g. "ramping") along the way.
Eager to hear if this alternative workflow makes sense and is practical, insofar as "Binary" and "Dimmer" seem to be the only switch types that Vera allows Alexa to "see" on Discovery.
Thanks! - Libra
Considering changing to HA - but what installation method?
-
Domoticz (used for zigbee integration) have been bothering me so much that i've been looking at HomeAssistant to replace it. Now that Z-way is moving in with an integration, its even more tempting..
But i don't like the idea of having it as an OS that I can't use for other things, and running the HASS Core in a docker seems to be somewhat reduced in terms of addons?
I realize that HASSOS is using docker for integrations or addons, but can I still use docker compose to set up my own dockers (i.e z-way, influx, grafana) there as well?
I guess i'm getting old, change is difficult!
-
Like @therealdb , I run HA in a docker container. I have HACS installed, and don't have any issue getting the add-ons I need installed. I have several other containers running on the same host, as you might imagine.
-
It depends... use docker as host or a hypervisor such as proxmox or esxi. On top of which you can also run an os with docker. I use both... esxi with homeassistant os (which usedls docker under the hood) because of backup options qith synology active backup for business - snapshot backup). And another with proxmox with vms and lxc container with docker inside that (easy to restart and not to run docker on proxmoxx directly). It all runs very wel for years. I would advise if not very knowledgeable with docker to run homeassistant os in a vm on a hypervisor.
-
@perh said in Considering changing to HA - but what installation method?:
Domoticz (used for zigbee integration) have been bothering me so much that i've been looking at HomeAssistant to replace it. Now that Z-way is moving in with an integration, its even more tempting..
But i don't like the idea of having it as an OS that I can't use for other things, and running the HASS Core in a docker seems to be somewhat reduced in terms of addons?
I realize that HASSOS is using docker for integrations or addons, but can I still use docker compose to set up my own dockers (i.e z-way, influx, grafana) there as well?
I guess i'm getting old, change is difficult!
Z-way with an integration? Where did you find that?
-
I run HA inside Docker on my Synology NAS along with MSR, Grafana and InfluxDB without any issues. Also have a few integrations such as HACS, Vera Plus (Z-Wave Devices), Rachio and MyQ running without major problems. Having all the CPU and memory the NAS can offer and how (Synology) Docker manages the resources made it easy for me to go that route.
-
@sender said in Considering changing to HA - but what installation method?:
Z-way with an integration? Where did you find that?
Add support of Z-Wave.Me Z-Way and RaZberry server by PoltoS · Pull Request #61182 · home-assistant/core
Breaking change Proposed change Type of change Dependency upgrade Bugfix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue) New integration (thank you!) New feature (which adds functionality to an ...
The first integration step is done as far as I can see, so i guess its in line for the next HASS version?
After some tinkering i've gotten a docker up with HASS core on my "production" unit, and connected it to MSR.
I also added the Configurator/file editor docker so I can edit HASS and Reactor config from the web UI without firing up Putty.
MSR, Z-Way and File editor is added as iFrames, so now i can remove some bookmarks from my browser.
Tibber and Xiaomi MI integration dropped right in at first attempt.Have to say that this looks very promising!
-
I am running HA Supervised in a Docker container on Debian on a small i5 Lenovo. Installed HACS without any problems, there are a few guides on how to do it.
It has been stable so far anyway.The only concern I have is that it seems as if the HA developers want to push users away from the Docker way of running HA over to the HA OS way.
What this means is that the requirement now is more or less a vanilla Debian with only HA in Docker. If you do not stick to this the installation becomes "unsupported".
My installation was "supported" but now I can see that it has become "unsupported" due to the Portainer installation.
My idea was to add e.g. MSR in Docker at some point in time, but maybe the Docker route will be a dead end for HA?It could be so that a HA OS installation on a VM, e.g. in Proxmox is the better choice in the longer run. The other option to only install HA OS on e.g. a fairly modern NUC seems a waste of resources to me since you cannot use it for anything else then.
I tested Proxmox and it seemed quite nice, the problem was that the old Athom PC I used was too old for the combination Proxmox/HA. So if I will go down that route I need to reinstall my i5 from scratch. Hmm.
To be honest I think it is a bit annoying that HA has complicated the setup/installation so much, not sure why they did that.
-
I saw the problem HA is solving with dockers in Domoticz.. plugins that require different versions of packages can't co-exist and tears the system down.. To me it still seems weird to move to the "OS with nothing else on it" route though..
I run it in a docker now next to several other dockers, works well.
-
Same as @PerH for me. I’ll not install anything bare metal until I’m forced too. This is a better plan from recovery and migration point for views, too. I’m regularly doing a backup of configuration to my nas (hourly and daily) and in case of a disaster I’m sure I’ll be up quickly.
-
Just for fun I decided to test and setup Home Assistant OS on two virtual machines.
The first is a HA OS VM on a Windows 10 i5 NUC with VirtualBox. Quite easy to setup, some information can be found on the HA website, I also looked at this guide.
The second VM I installed on an old Core2 PC. I installed Proxmox and then HA OS in a VM. A bit more complicated to setup but there is a good guide here. The Core2 seems ok for this setup, in comparison with the old Athom PC that did not do the job.
Both installations seem to work ok. I will test them later on with a backup of my production setup to see if that changes anything.
The Windows installation got corrupted when I had to hard reset the PC. As expected HA OS did not like that, however quite easy just to delete the VM and set it up again. I only had a test installation of HA on the VM, but as always a backup of HA is a good idea.I have not tested any USB devices (e.g. Zwave stick) since I do not use it. As far as I have understood it both should work with USB devices.
What to use? The plan is to stay with my current Debian/Docker setup since it has so far been very stable. If the HA devs continues to move away from the Docker installation I may need to reconsider this.
The other VM's could be an option for test rigs I think.
I like the Proxmox setup, it feels quite solid and is built for VM. The Windows setup feels a bit more uncertain with the MS Windows 10 automatic updates etc. -
A year later, I find this thread, and wanted to report that I too have installed HA under Docker on my Synology NAS, and the process was like butter!! Seems with every revision "they" make HA easier to install and maintain. It's like having your own candy store! Can't wait to give it a serious trial.
-
@ArcherS said in Considering changing to HA - but what installation method?:
I have not tested any USB devices (e.g. Zwave stick) since I do not use it. As far as I have understood it both should work with USB devices.
From all I can find on the Web, it seems that getting ZW/ZB dongles to work with the Docker version of HA remains problematic in 2023, particularly if Docker is running on something like a Synology NAS (on DSM7+), where topics like "USB Drivers" and/or "TTY Passthrough" rear their ugly head.
It sounds doable, but not nearly as straightforward as the OS or VM installs. So be mindful of this potential roadblock if you aim to attach USB sticks. Breadcrumbs I've discovered along the way: Add 'packages.synocommunity.com' as a source in Package Center so that your Syn NAS can install various DSM-specific 3rd party apps. Specifically, the SynoKernel USB Drivers.
-
HA is a very big piece of software. The current stable branch docker image is 1.6GB. I chose to run it on dedicated hardware; that just seems too large to saddle the NAS with. This makes the USB issue almost moot. I run ZWaveJS UI in a separate docker container, and use the recommended serial port aliasing (through
/dev/serial/by-id/...). Both run underdocker-compose. It's sane. No issues.
