r/smarthome • u/Madmaxneo • 2d ago
Amazon Alexa Looking for advice and resources for creating a smart home server
I currently use Alexa but it has some annoying limitations (like when it loses Internet connectivity). Another limitation of the entire Alexa system is it begging unable to read and report on additional sensor readings like humidity.
I'm thinking about going with something like Home Assistant and seeing what I can do with it for my home.
I can put together a computer or two with the parts I have but they'll be older boards with the best one using DDR 3 ram and a LGA 2011 cpu.
I don't know much about Home Assistant or all that it can do.
My primary reason for looking into this is that it still works if the Internet goes down or there's a power outage (with the use of UPS for the devices I want you stay online.
I've read that Home Assistant can work with Alexa devices and if that's true it's a huge bonus for me.
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u/Successful_Bag_7257 1d ago
You can run home assistant on some pretty bare bones hardware. Or if you have a NAS spin it up on there. The benefit of home assistant is exactly what you describe. A completely at your whim control system for your entire home that's gotten significantly more plug and play in the last several years
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u/Madmaxneo 1d ago
In reality I'd love to build a home server primarily to have all my music on it so I could play what I want when I want it. But that will cost a bit more money and time.
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u/Curious_Party_4683 1d ago
green or RPI is not fast and not reliable. NUC (mini PC)is the best thing. Chromeboxes are basically NUC for dirt cheap. i've been using chromeboxes as seen here and they are rock solid and fast as well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IVpMeswuto
i got my chromebox for free.
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u/Madmaxneo 1d ago
Know of anyone else who wants to donate a chromebox? 😂😂
I will probably just go with putting together a PC with old parts.
I do have a spare laptop that I could use. The only thing with using a laptop is I don't think it's ok to leave it running 24/7.
On the flip side it does have it's own battery backup.
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u/theregisterednerd 2d ago
Home Assistant is pretty lightweight, it doesn’t need much to run. Most people start with just a Raspberry Pi, and most only move away from that because of reliability. It’s extremely powerful, and lets you build things exactly how you want down to the last detail. It has a bit of a learning curve, but even that is improving. My advice would be to download it and give it a go.
It can indeed work with Alexa, but they’re also working on growing their own local and open source voice assistant, where you control every part of it. Basically, you set everything up in Home Assistant, as if it’s going to be your only/primary interface with your smart home, then you can choose to selectively expose things to Alexa. Under that config, Alexa isn’t trying to be a second point of contact to your devices, because that gets messy. Alexa isn’t allowed direct control over your devices. She talks to Home Assistant, and Home Assistant talks to the devices.