For Home Assistant, you first need a platform on which the system can run. For many, this is the Raspberry Pi. This compact single-board computer was the first choice for many, mainly because of its low price. However, astronomical prices are now being charged for the small computer, if it’s even available at all, and in other respects the Raspberry is not the ideal platform for stable and long-term operation.
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If you only operate it with micro SD cards, sooner or later you’ll have the problem that they fail. You can counteract this with regular backups or an SSD with USB3 adapter , but the effort is relatively high. Alternatives are mini PCs with built-in SSDs, proper cases and significantly more computing power. But it doesn’t have to be an expensive Intel NUC , rather…
1. Used thin clients and mini PCs as an affordable Home Assistant base
For a few euros (often well under 100 euros), you can get a used mini PC, such as a DELL Optiplex 3020 with Intel i5 CPU and 8 GB RAM or the Lenovo M700 tiny .
This gives you a significantly more powerful base for Home Assistant than a Raspberry Pi would be, and one that is almost equally energy-efficient. Not an unimportant argument these days for a system that runs 24/7. However, make sure you get a model with USB3 ports if you want to use an external SSD as a NAS or for backups.
I tested my extensive Home Assistant installation on such a system and was even able to run 4 surveillance cameras with Frigate FrigateAI-based surveillance camera software with object detection (people, animals, vehicles). Runs completely locally and can be used as a Home Assistant integration stably on it.
At used PC specialists like Harlander , you can also get newer models at quite affordable prices.
An old notebook can also be a good base for Home Assistant, as it brings several advantages: you have a display and keyboard if you ever need to access the Home Assistant console directly, and if the battery is still in good condition, you practically have a built-in uninterruptible power supply (UPS).
2. Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for power outages
Speaking of UPS: with the energy crisis, the risk of power outages has also increased. Depending on the operating mode of your Home Assistant installation, it’s important that the system shuts down cleanly to avoid data loss or even problems with the installation.
A UPS helps here and - depending on the size and connected hardware - ensures that your system runs long enough to bridge a short power outage or at least shut down cleanly if it lasts longer.
To determine the right capacity for your UPS, take the power of all connected devices in watts x 1.6. This gives you the capacity in VA (volts x amps) that you should at least purchase. 20-30 percent headroom is always sensible.
If you have a server with 60 watts, your Fritz!Box with 10 watts and a PoE switch with e.g. 3 cameras at 50 watts connected (120 watts total), calculate 120 watts * 1.6 = 192 VA. With 30% reserve, you get to 250 VA. This means you only need a fairly small model, which is available for well under 100 euros . However, you should make sure that the UPS has a USB interface for monitoring and control.
With the UPS Tools integration (NUT) , you can connect the UPS to Home Assistant, monitor its status and have your system shut down cleanly during a longer power outage.
Even if you use a Raspberry Pi as a platform for Home Assistant, a simple UPS is often much cheaper than the special UPS boards for the Raspberry Pi, and you can also protect additional devices with it.
3. ZigBee stick for ZHA
ZHA ZHAZigbee Home Automation – built-in Home Assistant integration for controlling Zigbee devices without an additional coordinator (except a compatible stick like ConBee or Sonoff) is a core component of Home Assistant and allows you to integrate all ZigBee devices - whether Philips Hue, Lidl, IKEA Tradfri, Aqara and many others - directly into Home Assistant. So far I’ve been using the ConBee II ZigBee stick , but now I’m using the Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus (for about 20 euros on Ebay) ( comparison price Amazon ). The range is better, it supports more devices and the range is greater.
A very interesting alternative seems to be the “official” Sky Connect Stick from Home Assistant, which is currently not yet available from German retailers.
4. Power measurement with the Shelly 3EM
Electricity prices have gone through the roof. That’s why it’s important to know when, where and how much electricity you’re using. This can be done very reliably and comparatively easily with the energy meters from Shelly ShellyBulgarian manufacturer of Wi-Fi-based smart home relays, sensors and actuators. Popular due to local control without cloud dependency .
The Shelly 3EM measures 3 phases and also detects feed-in if you have a PV system. Thanks to its current clamps, installation is relatively simple, but should still be carried out by a professional.
If you want to measure individual rooms or consumers and also switch them, you can use the Shelly Pro 4EM , which finds its place in the distribution board. In general, the smart devices from Shelly are an ideal solution for retroactively turning your home into a smart home, and they work flawlessly with Home Assistant.
5. Google Coral - computing power for camera surveillance with Frigate
Frigate is probably the best solution for camera surveillance with Home Assistant . Frigate not only detects simple motion, but can distinguish between people, vehicles or animals. Using the various sensors that Frigate provides, you can, for example, implement an intelligent motion detector for outdoor lighting that really only responds to people and not to every cat.
However, Frigate requires quite a bit of computing power for object detection to work quickly and reliably. You can support it with the Google Coral Tensor. This is a specialized computer for TensorFlow that fits into a USB3 port. It improves Frigate’s detection performance many times over without burdening the computer’s CPU.
During the chip crisis, prices for the small Google Coral were beyond good and evil, but now availability and prices seem to be normalizing. Some retailers had it on offer for under 100 € at times. I bought mine in summer 2021 for 67.80 euros.
6. Amazon Alexa for voice control and information
Amazon’s Alexa polarizes opinion, but in our house it’s hard to imagine life without it. Most functions in our house can also be controlled with the voice assistant, and it provides information about current measurements and states.
“Alexa, what’s my summary” tells me, for example, whether the garage door is still open and the front door is locked, whether any windows are still open and what energy consumption the house currently has. I can manually control the garden irrigation with it or switch on the coffee machine and it tells me when I should close the window again after airing. Of course, it also provides music.
All devices with Amazon Alexa on Amazon
7. Weather station and temperature measurement with Ecowitt weather stations
One of the most important parameters in a smart home is temperature and humidity - both indoors and outdoors. With the weather stations and sensors from Ecowitt, you can capture these measurements easily and affordably.
You can either start with just the affordable Ecowitt Gateway , with which you can connect thermometers, rain gauges, soil moisture and many other sensors, or go straight for an Ecowitt weather station with gateway .
By the way, I have the Ecowitt “Wittboy” in test operation. This also works without moving parts for the wind and rain gauge. The wind is measured using ultrasonic sensors and the amount of rain with piezo elements. The measurements are very good, which I was able to confirm with my previous weather station and manual measurements. A gateway is also included here, which can be connected to Home Assistant without any problems.
The Ecowitt WH31 sensors are often available for well under 20 euros and are suitable for indoor and outdoor use. The range of the 866 MHz radio is excellent, making them a good alternative to ZigBee sensors. By the way, the devices from FrogIT and DNT are identical in construction and compatible.
With the values obtained from the wind gauge, you can, for example, have your blinds open automatically when a storm is brewing, and the rain gauge alerts you to better close the windows if they are open and also monitored. This brings us to…
8. ZigBee window contacts from Aqara, Sonoff and others
ZigBee-based window contacts are available from Aqara, Sonoff and several other manufacturers . If you’re using ZHA, practically all sensors should be usable in Home Assistant. These little helpers tell you when a window or door is open, but can also provide information about the position of the garage door.
I use the Aqara sensors. They are reliable and the batteries last almost 2 years. In addition to the door sensors, there are also models that detect vibrations, motion detectors and also very nice and small multi-sensors for temperature, humidity and air pressure .
9. NFC tags as universal switches
NFC tags are cheap and you can use them - together with a smartphone (which you usually have with you anyway) - as universal switches.
Simply program the tag in the Home Assistant app and connect it to a corresponding automation. 50 NFC tags are available for about 15 euros . They can be attached with glue or silicone (outdoor use, no acrylic - it won’t hold!) and used in many ways.
More info on this in this HA Quickie.
10. Bluetooth adapter for all kinds of tasks
With a Bluetooth adapter , a whole host of interesting functions become available. You can determine presence based on smartphones or fitness trackers and integrate many Bluetooth sensors into Home Assistant.
Even Govee grill thermometers can be integrated into Home Assistant this way, and Alexa then tells you when the meat (or tofu ;-) ) has reached its core temperature.
You just need to make sure that the BT adapter’s chip is compatible with Home Assistant .
Those were my 10 tips for essential Home Assistant accessories. Which accessories are particularly important to you?
Hi! I'm Markus – the Fricklr. ⚡ Electrical engineer, 🎵 musician (bass, guitar, keys) and professionally 'something with the internet' 🌐 for over 30 years – nowadays with AI too 🤖 – a 55-year-old generalist from Bavaria, Germany.
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