And this one...


I have another automation that emails me a still shot of my front porch when there is motion. I am particularly proud of this because I was able to improve the accuracy of this notification compared to the function built into the camera. I have a moderately cheap IP camera. It has motion tracking built in, but this was too easily triggered and resulted in 30 pictures of moths each summer night. To improve on this I needed to tie in a PIR sensor. Some nice cameras actually let you tie in external wired triggers. I have a reolink camera, it was 75 dollars on amazon, and it has great picture quality, but it has limitations on triggering alarms. Thankfully I found a way around this. I researched the URL to pull a still image from the camera and found a similar automation online to pull down this image and e-mail it. There are a few parts to this automation, but its one of my favorites!




Camera still: http://imgur.com/a/gN9po

Camera: https://www.amazon.com/Reolink-Security-65-100ft-Detection-RLC-410/dp/B010LH48F4/

Automation#

• alias: 'Front Door Notify'
  trigger:
  platform: state
  entity_id: sensor.linear_wapirz1_motion_sensor_alarm_level_8_1
  state: '255'
  condition:
  condition: state
  entity_id: sensor.linear_unknown_type2001_id0102_alarm_level_9_1
  state: '0'
  action:
  
• service: shell_command.take_pic_porch
  
• service: notify.google_smtp
  data:
  title: 'Front Porch Motion'
  message: 'Motion at the front door!'
  data:
  images:
  
  • /home/hass/.homeassistant/snapshot.jpg
    
    

    Script#
    

    
    
    shell_command:
    take_pic_porch: curl -o /home/hass/.homeassistant/snapshot.jpg --anyauth 'http://192.168.1.120/cgi-bin/api.cgi?cmd=Snap&channel=0&rs=wuuPhkmUCeI9WG7C&user=admin&password=**'
    
    
    This checks if there is motion on the front porch, then makes sure the front door is shut. I did this so that when I take the dogs out, I am not getting e-mails every single time. So an open door will disable this automation. Then I am sent an e-mail using googles SMTP servers.

I have not used those specific ones (I looked at the specs, should be fine), but yes, $18 for 5 is a very good deal!

As far as LED strip those are the ones I got:

30 LED / METER:

https://www.amazon.com/Aclorol-Individually-Addressable-Programmable-Non-Waterproof/dp/B07BGSZLGX/ref=sr_1_6?crid=2ANNEXM84Q95&keywords=ws2812b+led+strip&qid=1563212133&s=hi&sprefix=ws2812%2Ctools%2C144&sr=1-6

60 LED / METER

https://www.amazon.com/Aclorol-Individually-Addressable-Programmable-Non-waterproof/dp/B07BH37JGC/ref=sr_1_4?crid=36ERKIO6X2IRZ&keywords=ws2812b+led+strip+60%2Fm&qid=1563212170&s=hi&sprefix=ws2812b+led+strip+60%2Ctools%2C141&sr=1-4

(you do not always need 60 LEDs per meter!!)

​

Power Adapters:

4A:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N4HYWAM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

​

2A:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0777HWN87/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

​

And to keep it all clean:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XNR1ZVL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

​

I pulled all those from my Amazon orders! Hope it helps.

How much are you looking to spend? Controllable dome cameras cost a fortune.

I really like hikvision fixed domes, they are great value for the money. Extremely well built cameras with great image quality. As far as integration with home assistant, the motion sensing binary sensors seem to work quite well. You will still have to use their software to setup motion sensing zones etc. They can work entirely local, I have mine writing to an NFS share.

​

Just watch which ones you buy, make sure its the North American version. The Chinese ones are locked to certain firmware. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B017Y4CD9U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Why are all of these options only single color at a time? I'm a fan of individually addressable pixels such as WS2812B strips. I have a strip under my kitchen cabinets that can do awesome animations similar to what you see on houses at Christmas time!

​

Right now I'm using an esp8266 flashed with a wifi server. I then use HA to send REST commands to the controller to do cool things like animated color cycles etc.

​

That said, this setup was a bit more complex than I'd like. I've been looking over some wifi WS2812B controllers such as this one: https://www.amazon.com/ALITOVE-Controller-Wireless-SK6812-RGBW-Addressable/dp/B07DDB6JHJ?keywords=ws2812b+controller+wifi&qid=1539281210&sr=8-5&ref=sr_1_5

​

That said, since I already have my ESP8266 working fine, I may just stick with what I have.

• 433mhz Transmitter with Etekcity Outlets
  
  -I followed BRUH Automation's tutorial to set this up. I immediately reprogrammed the outlets to custom codes. Home Assistant now has sole control over the outlets and I can re purpose the remote to be used for other commands
  
  
• 433mhz Receiver with Etekcity Outlet Remotes
  
  -I currently use the remotes to control automations within HomeAssistant. When I push a button on the remote, it is received by the 433mhz rx that is connected to a NodeMCU. The NodeMCU takes the signal received and published the rf code to an MQTT topic. Home assistant is subscribed to that topic. I look for the payload of each published topic and if it matches the button I pressed it will run an automation.
  
  
• 433mhz Motion Sensor
  
  -These broadcast a rf signal that is also received in the same fashion as the Etekcity Remotes do. Then published via MQTT from the NodeMCU.
  
  
• Hue Bridge
  
  -I am currently using 2 white bulbs, 1 bloom, and 1 colored bulb. They are spread out across multiple rooms. I absolutely love the control you have with this product!
  
  
• IR LED
  
  -The NodeMCU is subscribed to a topic that Home Assistant will published to when I tell it to trigger. This is currently in use to turn on the TV, Soundbar, and tower fan via Alexa. "Alexa, Turn on the tv" - runs a script in HA to publish to a MQTT topic. NodeMCU grabs the payload, my code determines the device, and blasts the signal - turning the TV on/off
  
  
• IR Receiver
  
  -The TV remote has many useless buttons on it. I use these to also send commands to Home Assistant. For instance, I push button '1' on the remote. The NodeMCU processes the value received, publishes it via MQTT, Home Assistant looks at that payload and runs the corresponding automation - turning on the lamp in the living room.
  
  
• Amazon Echo Dot
  
  -I currently use this with the emulated hue component. It works great for what I currently want it to do!
  

Personally, I've had good luck with these: https://www.amazon.com/Enerwave-ZW15RM-PLUS-App-Controlled-Automation-Interchangeable/dp/B07FKW42P6/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=z-wave+outlet&qid=1562176329&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

As far as switches, I've got one of these (I figure the lights on the side help guests understand the functionality since it's not a standard on/off rocker switch): https://www.amazon.com/HomeSeer-HS-WD200-Z-Wave-Scene-Capable-Dimmer/dp/B079F38TPF/ref=sr_1_19_sspa?keywords=z-wave+switch&qid=1562176362&s=gateway&sr=8-19-spons&psc=1

That said, I've not yet installed the switch, so I can't vouch for it. Those outlets have been great with HA, though!

Was getting tired of my WEMO plugs as well, nothing but issues! That company seems clueless on how networking works! Does not work with more than one access-point without hacking, takes forever to get detected in both HomeAssisant as well as the WEMO app, sometimes takes up to 20 minutes to get detected in HomeAssistant!
I went with the Tuya/Smarthome-compatible plugs due to price. Have had good experiences with AUKey in the past, so I got these: https://smile.amazon.com/AUKEY-4-Pack-Compatible-Assistant-Required/dp/B07KR14SGV/

They are detected more-or less instantly at boot in HomeAssistan. After 2 weeks, I bought 4 more, and now have 8 of them! Works well so far! Only culprit is the cloud control part. Hoping HomeAssistant will re-add support for local support again sometime soon for Tuya devices, do not like Chinese cloud control!

The software is Blue Iris running on an Intel Core i7-4770S with 16gb of RAM and 1.5Tb for storage. These cameras are a mix of Dahua and Wansview:

• Dahua IPC-HFW4300S PoE (not on Amazon any longer)
  
• Wansview Wireless Security Camera - 1080p
  
• Wansview Wireless Security Camera - 720p
  
  The 1080p Wansview are a great value for $30/each but I personally wouldn't bother with 720p, regardless of the manufacturer. If PoE is an option, I recommend Reolink; I installed 5 of these for someone else this past weekend and the picture is great: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FQ2T89L/

Let me see if I can organize it into something reasonably understandable.

First up, the controller: https://i.redd.it/zmxxkfwqy9g31.jpg

Stuffed in that box are:

• 1 HiLetGo ESP8266 NodeMCU
  
• 1 Analog voltage sensor
  
• 2 Double Relay control boards (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078478SZ9)
  
• 1 Voltage Regulator (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GJ0SC2C)
  
• 1 MPPT Solar Charge Controller (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PT7HBRF)
  
• 1 Waterproof Ultrasonic sensor module (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FQCNXPP)
  
  For the valves, I'm using a 1" Motorized Ball valve for the outlet (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X9B4P45) and a 1/2" Motorized Ball valve for the inlet (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X99PHJJ)
  
  Each of the relay modules control one of the ball valves. The valves are 2 wire, reverse polarity and operate on anywhere from 9 to 24v, so I just use battery voltage. In their normal closed position, both relays on the board are set to ground. When I want to open/close the valve, I switch the appropriate relay on the module to on (+12v).
  
  The ultrasonic sensor is set at the top of the tank and measures the distance to the surface. It's not the cleanest of signals, but it will give a rough idea on where the water level is in relation to the top of the tank. You can then transform that into a rough percentage.
  
  I use ESPHome on the NodeMCU, just for simplicity. The code is pretty long, but not very complicated. Just a bunch of different switches to abstract the base functionality into something cleaner for Home Assistant. I'll clean it up and put it in a github account or something like that and link it here later, likewise with the Home Assistant code that I use to run it.

Z-Wave is a popular protocol for HA devices that creates a mesh network so that even if the furthest device can't directly see the "hub," if it can see a device that can see the hub, messages will hop from one to the other. There are a bunch of inexpensive Z-wave devices from garage door openers, switches, plugs, outlets, etc... that all work with Home Assistant. You will however need a "hub" to control them. Fortunately you can get a usb stick to act as the hub and just plug it into the computer you are running HomeAssistant on and you don't need another big device, just the usb stick. (Though you can use something like smarthings to act as the hub interface but I don't really recommend it)

The two most popular usb sticks are the Aeotec and the HUSBZB-1 (note: the HUSBZB-1 also has Zigbee, another popular protocol)

If you'd rather stay with wifi, I have seen some people take a sonoff that they've put inside a waterproof box. Though I have not tried it myself.

I have these they work fantastic! If you decided to splice them for a shelf or something, make sure you solder them in place. I have a review on Amazon with using them on my bar shelves

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072DXFKRH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_fop1BbT83PS1H

The ones I have are fixed position not PTZ

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FQ2T89L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_lujQDbDT183MC

I would say the latency isn't bad, but it isn't great. I think that's mostly on HA though, using something like IP can viewer on android I don't notice it.

I never had any issues with connectivity. I am also using a Synology to record on both cameras 24/7

This is what I use for my dryer. It was the only energy monitor I could find for the high amperage.

Aeotec Heavy Duty Smart Switch, Z-Wave Plus Home Security ON/OFF controller, 40 amps record electricity consumption https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00MBIRF5W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_GbEYAbZ9F3XTS

I have three of these and they are awesome.
https://www.amazon.com/Nexlux-Wireless-Controlled-Waterproof-Assistant/dp/B072DXFKRH
There is also a github with code to control through scripts so you dont need to use an outside service to control them
https://github.com/beville/flux_led

There are also other zwave plugs. Attaching a link to a 40a plug. Should give you more than enough head room on the switch.


Aeotec Heavy Duty Smart Switch, Z-Wave Plus Home Security ON/OFF controller, 40 amps record electricity consumption
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MBIRF5W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_LFq4Db4TJG0YD

You can get an HUSBZB-1 , which has both a zigbee and zwave antenna in it. Has been working great, for me.

I have hue lights, being controlled by it for several months now. No Hue Bridge.

Edit: as long as you get zwave or zigbee devices, you should be able to control them just fine.

Seems like they're in stock in amazon ? https://www.amazon.com/QuickStick-Combo-HUSBZB-1-Nortek-Cert/dp/B0157GOEA8/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1527271368&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=HUSBZB-1&psc=1

I'm migrating from a VeraPlus to docker + z-wave stick and there's a few zigbee devices that i can't interface with. So I may end up picking one up.

Check out the Reolink RLC-420-5MP. I bought 4 with an NRV and they work great for the price. I wired a sonoff SV to my doorbell button and can cast the image to my TV when the doorbell is rung. Can also send an image to my phone and Apple watch. It isn't a live feed and I can't communicate with the person at the door but at least I can see who's there.

I bought an Aeotec heavy duty switch and an extra dryer power cord. I then unhooked the original cord from the dryer, wired that into the switch and then ran the new dryer wire from the switch to the dryer.

Switch:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00MBIRF5W

This one: https://smile.amazon.com/Aeotec-Security-controller-electricity-consumption/dp/B00MBIRF5W/

I used it with a straight electric water heater and now with my heat-pump unit.

Picked it up on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00MBIRF5W/ref=sxts_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517711288&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65