Home Assistant can safely be described as “THE” smart home hub. Within a few years, it has left OpenHAB, ioBroker, and other systems behind. Reasons for this include the huge developer community, many integrations, add-ons and extensions, as well as increasingly easier handling. Home Assistant now ranks among the largest open-source projects overall. The barriers to entry are falling steadily, and what a few weeks ago still had to be manually configured via YAML YAMLData format (YAML Ain’t Markup Language). Used in Home Assistant for configurations, automations and scenes. Easy to read but error-prone with incorrect indentation in the configuration file is increasingly moving to the user interface and can be configured with a mouse click.
Since I constantly follow posts in the Home Assistant forum, on Reddit, or on Discord to stay up to date myself, one problem particularly stood out to me: Which hardware should I choose to get started with Home Assistant?
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The Small(est) Computer Approach
Initially, Home Assistant was a typical application for a Raspberry Pi. The compact all-rounder was inexpensive, comparatively powerful, and consumed little energy. Then came the chip crisis, and prices for the Raspi shot up to absurd heights - provided it was even available at all.
Nabu Casa Nabu CasaCompany behind Home Assistant. Offers Home Assistant Cloud (remote access + Alexa/Google integration) as a paid service – funds HA development , the commercial part behind Home Assistant, also released their own hardware over time. This included the Home Assistant Green, Yellow, and Blue. All were already equipped with Home Assistant and some also had ZigBee on board. Of course, a pre-configured computer like this makes getting started with Home Assistant easier, although it doesn’t help with configuring smart home applications. Moreover, these computers were not easy to obtain in Germany, and Nabu Casa no longer seems to be strongly pursuing the own-hardware approach.
The Raspberry Pi: Okay for Getting Started and Small Systems
However, if you have a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B lying around, you can set up a simple Home Assistant server with it to get a taste of the topic. However, it has too little RAM for larger installations. If you want to stay on the Raspberry platform for now, it should at least be a Raspberry 4 or 5.
The Raspberry 5 has the great advantage of not only offering higher computing power but also being directly operable with an SSD. This requires an additional adapter, which, together with e.g. a 256 GB M.2 SSD, costs about €40. The SSD not only increases speed but also operational reliability compared to an SD card.
But you also need a power supply, a case, and possibly a fan, so this combination already comes to about €150 for a complete Raspi system .
Since the Raspi is based on the ARM architecture, you cannot run virtualization with Proxmox on it, as this requires x86 processors. If you also want to run 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 , even the Raspi 5 quickly runs out of steam.
Raspberry Pi Advantages
- If already available: an inexpensive and quick start
- Very low power consumption (about 100 kWh per year = €30)
- Quiet (if no additional fan is used)
- Small footprint
Raspberry Pi Disadvantages
- Comparatively expensive if bought new
- Computing power may soon be insufficient with a growing Home Assistant installation
- Few USB ports
- SSD recommended for stable operation
Affordable Mini-PCs and Used PCs as Raspberry Alternatives
For €150, you can now get brand-new Mini-PCs with INTEL Alder Lake CPU (N100) , 16 GB RAM, 500 GB SSD, and a compact case. These PCs often consume only slightly more power but offer significantly more performance than a Raspi 5. Often, these mini PCs even come with 2 LAN ports, so you can later implement things like firewalls as well.
If you want something even cheaper yet still powerful, you can look for refurbished mini PCs from specialized used PC dealers. Interesting models here include HP’s Elitedesk 600 and 800, Dell Optiplex Mini PCs, or Lenovo Thinkcentre from the M series. You can often get computers with i5 CPU, 16 GB, and SSD for under €100. However, the run on Home Assistant seems to have also reached the prices of used mini PCs.
Likewise, a retired Mac Mini (reportedly even works with Apple Silicon , i.e., M1 etc.) or an old laptop can be a good base for Home Assistant.
Mini-PC Advantages
- Usually no more expensive than a current Raspi
- More powerful than a Raspi
- SSD is standard in the system
- Significantly more RAM makes them more future-proof
- Often more USB ports and sometimes internal expansion options
- x86 CPU enables virtualization with Proxmox
- Operation of surveillance cameras with Frigate possible
- Easy availability and large selection of hardware configurations
- With laptops, the built-in battery even provides emergency power during outages
Mini-PC Disadvantages
- Slightly higher power consumption compared to the Raspberry Pi
- Depending on the model, requires a bit more desk space
- Possible fan noise
On one of the mentioned mini PCs, the Proxmox virtualization environment can be installed (see below). This also allows other services such as a NAS with OpenMediaVault, a media server with Plex, etc. to run alongside Home Assistant.
NAS Systems with x86 Hardware
For several years now, there have also been powerful NAS systems for the private sector that run on x86 hardware from INTEL and offer 2 GB or more RAM. These are available from Synology, QNAP, and also Asustor. The latter in particular offer excellent value for money, 4 GB RAM, M.2 SSD slots, and much more.
Home Assistant is usually installed here via Docker DockerContainer platform for isolating applications. Each container includes all dependencies and runs independently of the host system. Home Assistant add-ons, Frigate, Paperless-ngx and many other self-hosted services use Docker containers, although installation on most systems can be done directly from their app stores (see: Home Assistant - ASUSTOR NAS )
Of course, you don’t buy a NAS to run Home Assistant. But if it’s already available or there is a need for lots of local storage, appropriately equipped NAS systems are a way to run Home Assistant without needing to purchase additional hardware.
NAS System Advantages:
- If already available: simple and cost-effective
- Home Assistant installation often possible with a mouse click
- Plenty of storage space
- Usually sufficient additional USB ports for ZigBee sticks, backup drives, etc.
NAS System Disadvantages:
- Affordable performance usually limited
- Higher power consumption (can be reduced with SSD instead of mechanical drives)
- True virtualization often only possible with better hardware equipment
Proxmox Virtualization as a Foundation
My system has been running for many years on an HP Microserver Gen1, which was dirt cheap in 2017 (€200 without hard drives). Since I had an INTEL Xeon 1230 CPU lying around anyway and it fit into the small server, I still have more than enough performance for my Proxmox virtualization today.
On this runs not only Home Assistant Supervised with various add-ons very quickly and reliably, but also an LXC container with Frigate for 5 surveillance cameras and Google Coral TPU, OpenMediaVault as NAS, as well as an LXC container with Docker and Portainer for management.
With Docker, Paperless NGB (document management), PiHole (central ad blocker), Calibre Web (e-book management), Teslamate (capturing Tesla vehicle data), a central backup server with Duplicati, Syncthing, and much more are provided.
Much of this could also be implemented with Home Assistant Supervised and the corresponding add-ons within Home Assistant. However, I only want to run services within Home Assistant that are directly related to the “smart home” topic. If an add-on goes haywire (which has already happened to me with VSCode), it can also affect Home Assistant. But that should be available 24/7 as stably and reliably as possible, so I separate everything not directly related to the smart home from Home Assistant.
Additionally, there is a virtualized Windows 10 installation on my server, which I can also access remotely, as well as a Linux Mint machine - also with remote access.
All of this only utilizes the now aging server to an average of 30%.
Virtualization with Proxmox has several advantages:
Using snapshots, I can create an image of the current installation before every Home Assistant update and restore this state with a mouse click if necessary. I can also clone a virtual machine and use it as a test system with all previous settings.
Proxmox’s backup function backs up the complete Home Assistant installation including the operating system. In the event of a hardware disaster, the backup of the virtual machine can be restored on another system.
The existing hardware can be used for much more than just Home Assistant and is thus optimally utilized.
Of course, my mini server with one SSD, 4 mechanical hard drives, 16 GB RAM, and XEON CPU consumes comparatively a lot of power - an average of about 35 watts - but it handles several tasks and thanks to our PV system , the additional consumption is negligible.
The simple backup via snapshots and complete system backup alone makes a PC with Proxmox one of the best solutions for Home Assistant. DIY solutions are also an option here: the computer magazine c’t had an interesting build proposal for a power-saving home server under €400 .
The biggest disadvantage of the Proxmox path is the higher complexity. You have to additionally familiarize yourself with the topic of virtualization and Proxmox, although its widespread use and the resulting available tutorials help.
Proxmox Advantages:
- The hardware can be used for many services and optimally utilized
- Integrated backup and snapshot functions
- Virtual machines can be easily duplicated (cloned)
- Backups of virtual machines can be quickly migrated in case of failure
- Easy hardware change
- Runs satisfactorily even on small x86 computers
Proxmox Disadvantages:
- Higher complexity and barriers to entry
Conclusion
If you’re considering using Home Assistant, you should make some considerations about the hardware base. Once you’ve had a taste, the requirements for what Home Assistant should be able to do quickly grow. Things like local voice control via AI, surveillance cameras, etc. require sufficient computing power. Therefore, you shouldn’t skimp at the wrong end. A hardware change is relatively easy, but avoidable if you bet on the right horse from the start.
Moreover, Home Assistant often takes on important functions and must therefore be available and working around the clock. A backup strategy is therefore essential, which is particularly convenient with virtual machines.
From my experience, in 2024 I would no longer go with a Raspberry Pi, but use PC hardware. This also keeps the option open to virtualize the system later with Proxmox.
Regarding the power consumption of the Home Assistant server, one shouldn’t forget that the smart home components could quickly account for the larger share of future power consumption. Every small actuator and sensor, LED strips, smart bulbs, voice assistants, and Wi-Fi plugs consume a few watts, which quickly add up.
However, in my opinion, the added comfort and possibilities offset the power consumption of the Home Assistant server, so you should decide in favor of the advantages here.
What Would I Choose in the Future?
If I were faced with the choice - with my current experience and requirements - I would put together a small server based on an AMD Ryzen 5600GT , A520 µATX motherboard , 16 GB RAM, and M.2 SSDs, and migrate my Proxmox configuration to it. The system would be based on the c’t proposal. A large mechanical hard drive from the old server would continue to serve internally as a backup target.
The AMD 5600GT CPU has, on paper, 3 times the performance of my current XEON CPU, which - as described above - is still more than sufficient.
I don’t have a great need for NAS capacity, since I don’t run a media server or similar. Naturally, the DIY server can also be equipped with plenty of hard drive capacity.
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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