this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2024
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Why is replacement for home device controls so complicated? (lemmy.world)
submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by gedaliyah@lemmy.world to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
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I recently learned about Home Assistant here on Lemmy. It looks like a replacement for Google Home, etc. However, it requires an entire hardware installation. Proprietary products just use a simple app to manage and control devices, so can someone explain why a pretty robust dedicated device is necessary as a replacement? The base model has a quad core processor, 4 gigs of ram, and a 32 gig hard drive. Admittedly it's no gaming PC, but it's no arduino either.

What actually happens when I turn on a smart switch in my home? Does that command have to be sent to a server somewhere to be processed? What really has to be processed, and why can't a smartphone app do it?

Edit: I am still getting new replies to this (which are appreciated!), but I wanted to share what I've learned from those who have posted already. I fundamentally misunderstood how smart switches work. I had very wrongly assumed that when my phone is connected to the WiFi, it sends a signal over the local network to toggle the switch, which is connected to the same network, and it turns on/off. While there are technologies that work like this (zigbee, kinda?), most smart home devices rely on a cloud server to communicate the signal. This enables features like using the switches from outside the home network, automation, voice controls, etc. The remote server is what's being replaced.

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[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 9 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yes, Google runs their servers in the cloud. If you host it yourself, it runs off a device in your house.

But you don't need to use their own hardware. You can run on whatever you like, and it probably doesn't actually need all four vCPUs.

[–] Max_P@lemmy.max-p.me 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Even then, those requirements are easily satisfied by a Raspberry Pi and most other SBCs out there. Seems rather reasonable to dedicate one to HA. It's not too crazy when you take into consideration how powerful cheapo hardware can be these days.

[–] xyguy@startrek.website 1 points 7 months ago

I actually run mine in a 12 year old castoff Thinkpad. 4 GB ram total. More than enough to run it because I run a DNS server, a dashboard and a speedtest server on the same machine.