Hardware

This is the list of the hardware that is present in my smart home.

Home Server

The heart of my smart home is a home server based on Raspberry Pi 4 Model B with 4GB of RAM onboard. It's a small, affordable, but nonetheless a very capable device. It's held within an aluminum alloy case I bought on AliExpress. The aluminum case itself helps to disperse heat. Additionally, it came with a heat sink set and a tiny cooling fan.

Info

Home Assistant team recommands to use Application Class 2 as they handle small I/O much more consistently than cards not optimized to host applications. A 32 GB or bigger card is recommended.

I use official Raspberry Pi 15W USB-C Power Supply for powering my smart home server. It is important to get enough power for Raspberry Pi to work properly. Home Assistant requires at least 3A power and this power supply cable handles it just right.

Home Server HardwareAlluminium Case AssemblingAssembled and Connected

Here's a photo of my home server hardware, right after I received it:

A photo of the aluminum case when I was assembling it:

Here's a whole kit assembled and connected to power:

Storage

I use Kingston SSDNow A400 240GB 2.5" as a system data storage. It's connected to Raspberry Pi via Ugreen US221 USB 3.0 case adapter. As a media storage I use Transcend StoreJet 25M3 2TB hard drive (which I got from my dad as my birthday present in 2020). Both storages are connecterd via USB 3.0 interface on Raspberry to allow high speed reading, so I can easily stream my media using Plex.

Media is downloaded directly to my HDD using Transmission container.

SSD and HDD Assembled and ConnectedSSD whithin a CaseHDD Connected

Info

Previously, I used a SanDisk Extreme Pro MicroSD A2 V30 128GB (previously 64GB).

Previous 64GB SD-card served well for more than 2 years. After some time, my server started to shutdown randomly. Power supply was normal, so I decided to update to 128GB card.

WiFi Network

You're going to have a lot of devices in your network when you have a smart home. It's critical to choose a good router to handle multiple devices and heavy traffic.

Wireless Router

The second most important thing in my smart home is a WiFi router.

I've spent a lot of time choosing the right router. My main requirements for the router were:

• Dual-band: 2.4GHz and 5GHz — Primarily, I use two networks in my home: 2.4GHz for smart devices and 5GHz for personal devices like phones and laptops. 5GHz uses shorter radio waves, and that provides faster speeds.
• MU-MIMO — This is a technology that enables simultaneous communication to multiple devices, improving overall speed and enabling network multitasking. It is critical when you have lots of connected devices and want each of them to work with the highest speed.
• 802.11ac — this is a so-called WiFi5 standard. It allows increased speeds and improved scalability. I have a gigabyte connection at my home and wanted to benefit from it.

I chose ASUS RT-AC1750U router for my home. It matches every condition above and has nice additional features. Also, I've noticed that routers by ASUS are quite respected among other smart-home enthusiasts.

I'm happy with my decision so far. This router gives the constant 600-900 Mbit/s speed, which is enough to download a 10GB file in less than 2 minutes.

Previously, I've also tried Xiaomi Router and wasn't happy about it. Xiaomi Router has UI in Chines and worked unreliably overall.

Here are my current ASUS and former Xiaomi routers:

Devices

Below you will find a list of my devices connected to the local network. Most of them, except for Apple TV, have static IP addresses.

Device	IP	HA Integration
Apple TV 4K	192.168.50.x*	Apple TV
Koogeek P1EU Smart Plug	192.168.50.9	HomeKit Controller
Koogeek P1EU Smart Plug	192.168.50.10	HomeKit Controller
Koogeek P1EU Smart Plug	192.168.50.11	HomeKit Controller
Samsung 55" Q67R 4K Smart QLED TV	192.168.50.93	ha-samsungtv-tizen**
Raspberry Pi	192.168.50.113*	–
Yeelight LED Bulb 1S (Color)	192.168.50.128	Yeelight
Yeelight LED Bulb 1S (Color)	192.168.50.129	Yeelight
Xiaomi Bulb White and Color	192.168.50.130	Yeelight
Xiaomi Desk Lamp Pro	192.168.50.131	Yeelight
PlayStation 4 Pro	192.168.50.185*	Sony PlayStation 4
Roborock S5 Max	192.168.50.186	Xiaomi Miio
Deerma Humidifier (mjjsq)	192.168.50.187	xiaomi_airpurifier**
Xiaomi Air Purifier 3H	192.168.50.188	Xiaomi Miio
Google Home Mini	192.168.50.220	Google Cast
Google Nest Mini	192.168.50.221	Google Cast
living-room-ac	192.168.50.x	ESPHome
bedroom-ac	192.168.50.x	ESPHome

* — means the device is connected via Ethernet instead of WiFi to ensure a more reliable connection.

** — means the device is integrated via custom integration.

ESP Devices

I use two ESP8266 devices based on iot-uni-dongle for controlling my Midea ACs.

Zigbee Network

My Zigbee devices are connected to Home Assistant via SMARTLIGHT CC2652P Zigbee USB Adapter SLZB-02 as a coordinator. Devices are controlled by Home Assistant via: zigbee2mqtt + Mosquitto + MQTT Integration.

Note

Previosly my Zigbee network was working with CC2531 Sniffer Board as a coordinator. It was fine with small amount of devices, but as my network grew I started to get weird behavior. Additioanlly, I've discovered that CC2531 is no longer recommended by zigbee2mqtt developers.

Tip

I connected my coordinator to the Raspberry Pi through a USB extension cable to avoid interference and improve the connection. This approach is suggested by zigbee2mqtt documentation.

I used to use Aqara Hub, but it switched to the current approach because of its compatibility. The current approach allows binding together nearly every possible Zigbee device.

Devices

Device	Quantity	Notes
Aqara Smart LED Bulb 9W	5	Ceiling and Main lights
Aqara Motion Sensor	2	Detecting motions in both rooms
Aqara Magic Cube Controller	1	Controlling lights, scenes and modes
Aqara Conditions Sensor	1	Internal temperature, humidity and pressure data
Aqara Contact Sensor	1	Detection front door opening
Aqara Single Switch Module T1 (without neutral)	1	Switching corridor light
MiJia Conditions Sensor	1	Internal temperature and humidity data
Tuya Smart ZigBee Radiator	2	Adjusting heaters temperature
Lonsonho 2-Gang Switch 2 (without neutral)	1	Switching kitchen lights

Media Volume

I've got a Transcend StoreJet 25M3 2TB hard drive from my dad as my birthday present in 2020.

I have this HDD connected to my Raspberry Pi. It is used as a storage for my media files (primarly movies and TV-series). USB 3.0 interface on Raspberry allows high speed reading, so I can easily stream my media using Plex.

Media is downloaded directly to my HDD using Transmission container.

Other Devices

Another important device is a smart car alarm. I used StarLine AS96 BT GSM GPS which is easily integrated with Home Assistant via built-in StarLine integration.

This alarm allows to start/stop the engine, arm/disarm the alarm, trigger horn remotely via Home Assistant. Primarily, I use this for tracking down my car and checking interior temperature right from Home Assistant.