HomeAssistant Server
Product Series: Home + Office
Home Assistant is a powerful and flexible home automation platform that offers local control, broad device support, and high customizability. While configuration may require some technical knowledge, its powerful features and active community make it an ideal choice for smart home enthusiasts. If you value privacy, prefer not to rely on cloud services, and enjoy tinkering, then Home Assistant is a highly recommended option.
Basic Information
Open Source and Free: Home Assistant is completely open source and free, meaning you are free to use, modify, and distribute it.
Local Control: Home Assistant emphasizes local control, meaning your data and control commands remain within your local network, without relying on cloud services. This enhances privacy and reliability; even if the internet connection is interrupted, many functions remain available.
Broad Device Support (Integrations): Home Assistant has a massive community support base and offers a large number of Integrations that can connect and control various smart devices and platforms, including:
- Zigbee devices (via Zigbee gateways, such as Conbee II, Zigbee2MQTT, etc.)
- Z-Wave devices (via Z-Wave USB dongles)
- Wi-Fi devices (such as Philips Hue, Xiaomi Mi Home, TP-Link, etc.)
- Bluetooth devices
- IP devices (such as cameras, network storage devices)
- Cloud services (such as Tuya, Xiaomi, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, IFTTT)
- And many, many more, with a huge and constantly growing number.
Utilizes a low-power X86 mini PC, offering strong performance and installing the full-featured version of HomeAssistant to provide HA services.
Optimized for Chinese mirrors, accelerating installation, updates, and startup speeds within China.
Customized secondary development, with personalized customization of interface and functions.
Features
Key features:
- Local Control: Privacy protection, no cloud dependency.
- Device Integration: Supports a vast number of smart devices and platforms.
- Automation: Create complex联动 rules.
- User Interface: Beautiful and customizable control panel.
- Scene Modes: One-click switching of device states.
- Add-ons: Extend functionality, enrich applications, covering almost all smart home applications on the market.
- Community Support: Active community for obtaining help.
- High Customization: Flexible configuration to meet individual needs.
- Voice Control: Supports mainstream voice assistants.
Host Specifications
| Specification | Parameter |
|---|---|
| Model | SC-HASSBOX |
| System Installation | ubuntu / HAOS |
| Power Specification | AC 220V |
| CPU Options | J1900 / I5 / FX-7500 Quad-Core Processor, > 2.0 GHz |
| Memory Options | 8G / 16G / 32G |
| Storage Options | 128G / 256G / 512G / 1T / 2T |
| Networking Method | Wired Ethernet (RJ45) / WiFi |
| Working Environment | Temperature: -10℃ ~ 60℃, Relative Humidity: < 95% |
| Dimensions | 85 x 85 x 50mm |
| Color Option | Black |
| Standby Power Consumption | < 10W |
| Product Material | Aluminum Alloy |
Application Scenarios
- Whole House Smart Control Center: Unified management and control of smart lights, curtains, home appliances, security devices, etc., to achieve smart living.
- Automation Scene Customization: Automatically execute a series of device operations based on conditions like time, sensor status, etc., such as "Home Mode" or "Sleep Mode".
- Home Security Monitoring: Link with security devices to achieve intrusion detection, alarm notifications, and ensure home safety.
- Energy Management and Optimization: Monitor energy consumption data, automate control, optimize energy usage, and reduce electricity bills.
- Personalized Living Experience: Customize the smart home experience according to personal preferences, such as automated music playback, mood lighting, etc.
- Smart Home System Integration: Acts as a central hub, connecting smart devices of different brands and protocols to build a unified smart home ecosystem.
- Data Recording and Analysis: Record data from various sensors for analysis to understand the home environment conditions and optimize living habits.
- Remote Control and Management: Control and manage smart devices at home anytime, anywhere via mobile APP or web page.
- Smart Building/Office Automation: Suitable for small buildings or office spaces to achieve centralized control and automated management of lights, air conditioning, and other equipment.
HA Server Versions
Home Assistant offers four different installation methods. We recommend using Home Assistant Operating System. Other methods are for experienced users to meet their specific needs, such as running Home Assistant in a virtualized environment (like Proxmox), or on an existing operating system (like Windows, macOS, Linux):
- Home Assistant Container: Standalone container installation of Home Assistant Core (e.g., Docker).
- Home Assistant Supervised: Manual installation of Supervisor.
- Home Assistant Core: Manual installation using a Python virtual environment.
Please note that while these installation methods might offer some features for advanced users, they may also have some major limitations. For example, Add-ons and other important Home Assistant features may not be available.
| (✔ Supported, ✘ Limited) | HA OS | Container | Core | Supervised |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automation | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Dashboards | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Integrations | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Add-ons | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Blueprints | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| One-click Update | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Backups | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Name Abbreviations:
- HA OS - Home Assistant Operating System
- Container - Home Assistant Container
- Core - Home Assistant Core
- Supervised - Home Assistant Supervised
Precautions
When using Home Assistant (HA), the following points need attention to ensure the stable operation and security of the system:
1. Installation and Configuration:
- Choose the appropriate installation method: Select an installation method like Home Assistant OS, Docker, or Python virtual environment based on your technical skill level and hardware resources. The official recommendation is to use Home Assistant OS.
- Hardware configuration: Ensure that the hardware meets the minimum configuration requirements and appropriately increase the configuration based on the number of devices and Add-ons.
- Network settings: Configure a static IP address for easy access and device connection later.
- Initial configuration: Complete the initial configuration wizard, setting up username, password, geographic location, etc.
- Backup configuration: Immediately perform a full backup after the initial configuration is complete to prevent unexpected situations.
2. Security:
- Change default password: Be sure to change the default username and password for Home Assistant.
- Enable two-factor authentication (2FA): It is strongly recommended to enable two-factor authentication to increase account security.
- Network security: Restrict external network access to Home Assistant, allowing access only to necessary ports. Use a firewall to protect the Home Assistant server.
- Update system: Regularly update Home Assistant and all Add-ons to get the latest security patches.
- HTTPS encryption: Use HTTPS encrypted connections to protect data transmission security. You can use Let's Encrypt to automatically obtain SSL certificates.
- Protect sensitive information: Do not store sensitive information (e.g., passwords, API keys) directly in configuration files. You can use the Secrets feature.
- Account permission management: Create multiple users and assign different permissions to limit the scope of user access.
3. System Maintenance:
- Regular backups: Establish a regular backup plan to back up important data such as Home Assistant's configuration files and database. Daily backups are recommended.
- Monitor system resources: Regularly monitor system resource usage, such as CPU, memory, and disk space, to promptly identify issues.
- Log management: View Home Assistant's log files to understand the system's running status and promptly handle error messages.
- Clean database: Regularly clean Home Assistant's historical data to prevent the database from becoming too large and affecting performance.
- Update system: Regularly update Home Assistant and all Add-ons to get the latest features and bug fixes.
- Avoid over-customization: Excessive customization may lead to system instability. Try to use officially supported integrations and Add-ons.
4. Device Integration and Automation:
- Compatibility: Before adding a device, confirm that the device is compatible with Home Assistant.
- Device naming: Use clear and easy-to-understand device names for convenient management and automation later.
- Automation testing: After creating automation rules, perform thorough testing to ensure they work correctly.
- Avoid over-automation: Do not create overly complex automation rules to avoid unexpected situations.
- Handle errors gracefully: In automation rules, consider error handling mechanisms, such as how to handle situations when devices are unavailable.
5. Add-ons:
- Only install necessary Add-ons: Do not install too many Add-ons, as this may consume system resources and affect performance.
- Choose reliable Add-ons: Only install Add-ons from the official repository or trusted sources.
- Update Add-ons: Promptly update Add-ons to get the latest features and security patches.