smartHome &mdash; julian https://wrily.foad.me.uk/tag:smartHome FOSS dev, self-hosting fan, Matrix, degoogling, small tech, indie tech, friendly tech for families and schools. Let's own our own identity & data. Sat, 02 May 2026 19:55:52 +0000 Owning Our Own Data: Monitoring Our Smart Meters https://wrily.foad.me.uk/owning-our-own-data-monitoring-our-smart-meters <![CDATA[We'll soon have smart electricity and gas meters. Let's monitor them locally through our home automation system, Home Assistant. !--more-- Why? Warning: rant ahead. I believe in "Own Our Own Data". Or, as the maker of one smart phone that doesn't own you, Murena puts it, "My Data is My Data". What do I mean, why do I care? Companies monitor and record and control all the data they can about us. They treat our data as if it's theirs. They prefer it this way round. I feel that's wrong, hurtful in the long term. I want to take a stand in owning my own data as a principle. I want to change the norm, do it the other way round. It's my data first, and I will share my data with any Company I deal with by negotiation, under my control. The principle should be that, first and foremost, we record our own copy of our own data. From there, we should share it with each Company that has a legitimate interest in it. This sharing should be under our own terms and control. We should share the relevant parts of our data with each Company we deal with, as an obligation or a privilege to them depending on the relationship. What data? All kinds of data related to me: the photos I take, the list of books I borrow from my local library, my instant messages with friends, my gas and electricity usage. The companies I deal with are welcome to keep their own copy of data relevant to their service to me. What I do not accept is to be put in the position of Them holding the only copy of my data, and me having to beg them whenever I want to access my data. Current laws deem that Companies must surrender our data to us if we reasonably ask for it. While that's the theory, however, in practice I have tried this a few times and the process ranges from the tedious to the impossible. Protocol Theory: How Smart Meters Talk Let's understand a bit about how smart meters talk... to each other, to the utility companies, and to our home automation system. We're looking at SMETS2 meters, the current standard in the UK. These meters use two wireless interfaces, one within the home and another kind to communicate to the electricity companies. On the home area network (HAN) side, they use the Zigbee network protocol to connect the electricity meter with the battery powered gas meter and any in-home display units. Their wide area network (WAN) side connects to the UK's central smart metering hub, the "DCC", and from there to the electricity and gas supply companies. The home owner is not usually allowed direct access to either of those two wireless network connections. It is my understanding that the energy supply company could give the home owner some sort of credentials (like a password) to access the meters over the Zigbee HAN, but that most companies won't. How to Connect it, in Practice? However, some companies have authority [1] to sell us an in-home-display (IHD) that connects to our HAN, and some of those devices, as well as being a display, are also a Consumer Access Device (CAD). The latter means they offer an additional method to connect our own equipment to access our data. So a third kind of network connection comes into the picture, from the CAD to our home automation system. UK company Hildebrand Glow makes the Display and CAD shown above, and presents the technical aspect of connecting it to a home automation system through WiFi and another protocol called MQTT, here: Glow — Local MQTT Hildebrand Glow is not the only company selling a Consumer Access Device, but I noticed they explicitly state a goal to support "data enthusiasts" [2] which I think aligns with Own-Our-Own-Data principles. That is a very strong signal to me that it is a company with which I share values, and which I would wish to support. Careful when buying one: my understanding is Hildebrand sets up the device with the credentials to connect to your particular meters before selling it. They state that you have to link an account on their system, using their "Bright" app, before buying it. If you were to buy a second-hand device, I don't know if or how it could be reconfigured to connect to your meters. So the system components in our home are: Smart meters (from energy supply company) Consumer Access Device (Hildebrand Glow) Home automation server (Home Assistant) For an introduction to Home Assistant, see my A Freedom-Respecting Smart Home. The MQTT server we need can be installed within Home Assistant. Let's assume that for simplicity. ("Find Mosquitto Broker in the Add-on store, and install with default options" says Speak to the Geek in the same article as referenced below.) The main step then is configuring the Home Assistant integration for Hildebrand Glow MQTT. Home Assistant integration for Hildebrand Glow MQTT There is not yet (December 2022) an "official" integration. There are some integration code repositories, some hints to be found in the Home Assistant forums, and some articles online. The most promising looking solution I have found is Home Assistant integration for local MQTT Hildebrand Glow IHD from Python Awesome, using the megakid/hahildebrandglowihdmqtt integration code repository. If we find any reason to look elsewhere, here are some alternatives. There is unlobito/ha-hildebrandglow (no longer maintained by its author) and some forks of it where others have made tweaks. "Speak to the Geek" wrote a detailed guide, Hildebrand Glow UPDATE! Local MQTT and Home Assistant. Matt Brunt blogged about his experience beginning with non-local access and then changing to local MQTT access, with low level code examples included, towards the end of his post Hildebrand Glow, Home Assistant and MQTT - Getting visibility into my energy data . How Well Does it Work? We'll have to wait and see! I have not set this up yet. I am still waiting for our smart meters to be installed. I am writing in December 2022. Installation is booked for January. I plan to revisit and update this article when I get there. ---- Further Information Good practical and technical information on the Smart Meter Data page on "Smart Meters" web site https://www.smartme.co.uk/ Footnotes: 1] "We are able to join your Display and CAD to your SMETS meters without your supplier's involvement because we are a SECAS (Smart Energy Code Administrator) approved DCC Other User" -- the [Glow product page 2] "Our goal for glowmarkt is to support communities of interest starting with data enthusiasts and heat pump adopters." -- the [Glowmarkt About-Us page --- #cloudFree #fossGadgets #smartHome !--more-- ---- Follow/Feedback/Contact: RSS feed · Fedi follow this blog: @julian&ZeroWidthSpace;@wrily.foad.me.uk · matrix me · Fedi follow me · email me · julian.foad.me.uk Donate: via Liberapay All posts &copy; Julian Foad and licensed CC-BY-ND except quotes, translations, or where stated otherwise ]]> We'll soon have smart electricity and gas meters. Let's monitor them locally through our home automation system, Home Assistant.

Why?

Warning: rant ahead.

I believe in “Own Our Own Data”. Or, as the maker of one smart phone that doesn't own you, Murena puts it, “My Data is My Data”.

What do I mean, why do I care?

Companies monitor and record and control all the data they can about us. They treat our data as if it's theirs. They prefer it this way round. I feel that's wrong, hurtful in the long term. I want to take a stand in owning my own data as a principle. I want to change the norm, do it the other way round. It's my data first, and I will share my data with any Company I deal with by negotiation, under my control.

The principle should be that, first and foremost, we record our own copy of our own data. From there, we should share it with each Company that has a legitimate interest in it. This sharing should be under our own terms and control. We should share the relevant parts of our data with each Company we deal with, as an obligation or a privilege to them depending on the relationship.

What data? All kinds of data related to me: the photos I take, the list of books I borrow from my local library, my instant messages with friends, my gas and electricity usage.

The companies I deal with are welcome to keep their own copy of data relevant to their service to me. What I do not accept is to be put in the position of Them holding the only copy of my data, and me having to beg them whenever I want to access my data.

Current laws deem that Companies must surrender our data to us if we reasonably ask for it. While that's the theory, however, in practice I have tried this a few times and the process ranges from the tedious to the impossible.

Protocol Theory: How Smart Meters Talk

Let's understand a bit about how smart meters talk... to each other, to the utility companies, and to our home automation system.

We're looking at SMETS2 meters, the current standard in the UK. These meters use two wireless interfaces, one within the home and another kind to communicate to the electricity companies. On the home area network (HAN) side, they use the Zigbee network protocol to connect the electricity meter with the battery powered gas meter and any in-home display units. Their wide area network (WAN) side connects to the UK's central smart metering hub, the “DCC”, and from there to the electricity and gas supply companies.

The home owner is not usually allowed direct access to either of those two wireless network connections. It is my understanding that the energy supply company could give the home owner some sort of credentials (like a password) to access the meters over the Zigbee HAN, but that most companies won't.

How to Connect it, in Practice?

However, some companies have authority [1] to sell us an in-home-display (IHD) that connects to our HAN, and some of those devices, as well as being a display, are also a Consumer Access Device (CAD). The latter means they offer an additional method to connect our own equipment to access our data. So a third kind of network connection comes into the picture, from the CAD to our home automation system.

UK company Hildebrand Glow makes the Display and CAD shown above, and presents the technical aspect of connecting it to a home automation system through WiFi and another protocol called MQTT, here: Glow — Local MQTT

Hildebrand Glow is not the only company selling a Consumer Access Device, but I noticed they explicitly state a goal to support “data enthusiasts” [2] which I think aligns with Own-Our-Own-Data principles. That is a very strong signal to me that it is a company with which I share values, and which I would wish to support.

Careful when buying one: my understanding is Hildebrand sets up the device with the credentials to connect to your particular meters before selling it. They state that you have to link an account on their system, using their “Bright” app, before buying it. If you were to buy a second-hand device, I don't know if or how it could be reconfigured to connect to your meters.

So the system components in our home are:

  • Smart meters (from energy supply company)
  • Consumer Access Device (Hildebrand Glow)
  • Home automation server (Home Assistant)

For an introduction to Home Assistant, see my A Freedom-Respecting Smart Home.

The MQTT server we need can be installed within Home Assistant. Let's assume that for simplicity. (“Find Mosquitto Broker in the Add-on store, and install with default options” says Speak to the Geek in the same article as referenced below.)

The main step then is configuring the Home Assistant integration for Hildebrand Glow MQTT.

Home Assistant integration for Hildebrand Glow MQTT

There is not yet (December 2022) an “official” integration. There are some integration code repositories, some hints to be found in the Home Assistant forums, and some articles online.

The most promising looking solution I have found is Home Assistant integration for local MQTT Hildebrand Glow IHD from Python Awesome, using the megakid/ha_hildebrand_glow_ihd_mqtt integration code repository.

If we find any reason to look elsewhere, here are some alternatives. There is unlobito/ha-hildebrandglow (no longer maintained by its author) and some forks of it where others have made tweaks. “Speak to the Geek” wrote a detailed guide, Hildebrand Glow UPDATE! Local MQTT and Home Assistant. Matt Brunt blogged about his experience beginning with non-local access and then changing to local MQTT access, with low level code examples included, towards the end of his post Hildebrand Glow, Home Assistant and MQTT – Getting visibility into my energy data .

How Well Does it Work?

We'll have to wait and see! I have not set this up yet. I am still waiting for our smart meters to be installed. I am writing in December 2022. Installation is booked for January. I plan to revisit and update this article when I get there.

Further Information

Footnotes:

[1] “We are able to join your Display and CAD to your SMETS meters without your supplier's involvement because we are a SECAS (Smart Energy Code Administrator) approved DCC Other User” — the Glow product page [2] “Our goal for glowmarkt is to support communities of interest starting with data enthusiasts and heat pump adopters.” — the Glowmarkt About-Us page

#cloudFree #fossGadgets #smartHome

Follow/Feedback/Contact: RSS feed · Fedi follow this blog: @julian​@wrily.foad.me.uk · matrix me · Fedi follow me · email me · julian.foad.me.uk Donate: via Liberapay All posts © Julian Foad and licensed CC-BY-ND except quotes, translations, or where stated otherwise

]]> https://wrily.foad.me.uk/owning-our-own-data-monitoring-our-smart-meters Mon, 19 Dec 2022 22:36:35 +0000 Should we choose a Fronius inverter for best cloud-free PV monitoring interfaces? https://wrily.foad.me.uk/should-we-choose-a-fronius-inverter-for-best-cloud-free-pv-monitoring-interfaces <![CDATA[Who's been through this process, selecting a PV inverter & system best suited to cloud-free monitoring? Can you advise me if I should insist on a particular inverter, or connect an add-on box (EmonCMS or other)? We're looking to install solar PV on our roof and maybe an air source heat pump too. I've collected plans, thoughts, questions on my own web site here: https://blog.foad.me.uk/2022/11/24/solar-pv-heat-pump/ [1] My particular passion is to be "cloud-free". That's when I found you, the open energy monitor community. Hurray! !--more-- In other words, I shun connecting anything through "the cloud" a.k.a. somebody else's computer system. That's because then "they" control the connection and can change or take that away at any time. I've become passionate about this and started blogging a bit: https://wrily.foad.me.uk/a-freedom-respecting-smart-home [1] But the installers who gave quotes know little about monitoring. That's when I started my own research. The main "smart" device in the system seems to be the Inverter. (Probably a hybrid inverter, controlling the battery charging too.) In my research I found Fronius Inverters as the only company that makes a deliberate effort to provide "local" APIs. From my (recent) understanding there is a "Modbus Sunspec" standard API for controlling and monitoring devices like these. Fronius provide that Modbus API, as do other manufacturers, but more than merely providing the API, they document it openly on their web site, seeming to be serious about people using it rather than hiding it away as an installers-only option. See their "open interfaces" page: https://www.fronius.com/en/solar-energy/installers-partners/technical-data/all-products/system-monitoring/open-interfaces/fronius-solar-api-json- That gives me a nice warm feeling that it would be in my interest (personal and supporting my values) to use them. So right now my dilemma is: some local installers say they could get a Fronius inverter for me but it's harder to source (lead time, price) and they're unfamiliar with it, and it looks like it requires a particular battery system ("BYD") which in turn is likely more expensive and harder to source. One installer goes with Sunsynk inverters and advises I find myself "one of the many available 'buddy' boxes that you can add on to provide monitoring". So that brought me here, as I prefer open over commercial alternatives. I want to get this right from the outset. I want to support companies like Fronius that support cloud-free operation. But I'm not sure I understand everything well enough to be sure it would work out properly, especially if I ask a naive installer to do something they're not familiar with. Should I try to find an installer who knows this stuff; are there any? Or, whom should I consult? Thanks in advance, -- Julian Foad ---- [1] These links are to my own web sites My POSSE copy of this message Posted on OpenEnergyMonitor community #smartHome, #cloudFree, #inverter, #api, #fronius, #solarPV, #modbus !--more-- ---- Follow/Feedback/Contact: RSS feed · Fedi follow this blog: @julian&ZeroWidthSpace;@wrily.foad.me.uk · matrix me · Fedi follow me · email me · julian.foad.me.uk Donate: via Liberapay All posts &copy; Julian Foad and licensed CC-BY-ND except quotes, translations, or where stated otherwise ]]> Who's been through this process, selecting a PV inverter & system best suited to cloud-free monitoring? Can you advise me if I should insist on a particular inverter, or connect an add-on box (EmonCMS or other)?

We're looking to install solar PV on our roof and maybe an air source heat pump too. I've collected plans, thoughts, questions on my own web site here:

https://blog.foad.me.uk/2022/11/24/solar-pv-heat-pump/ [1]

My particular passion is to be “cloud-free”. That's when I found you, the open energy monitor community. Hurray!

In other words, I shun connecting anything through “the cloud” a.k.a. somebody else's computer system. That's because then “they” control the connection and can change or take that away at any time. I've become passionate about this and started blogging a bit:

https://wrily.foad.me.uk/a-freedom-respecting-smart-home [1]

But the installers who gave quotes know little about monitoring. That's when I started my own research.

The main “smart” device in the system seems to be the Inverter. (Probably a hybrid inverter, controlling the battery charging too.)

In my research I found Fronius Inverters as the only company that makes a deliberate effort to provide “local” APIs. From my (recent) understanding there is a “Modbus Sunspec” standard API for controlling and monitoring devices like these. Fronius provide that Modbus API, as do other manufacturers, but more than merely providing the API, they document it openly on their web site, seeming to be serious about people using it rather than hiding it away as an installers-only option. See their “open interfaces” page:

https://www.fronius.com/en/solar-energy/installers-partners/technical-data/all-products/system-monitoring/open-interfaces/fronius-solar-api-json-

That gives me a nice warm feeling that it would be in my interest (personal and supporting my values) to use them.

So right now my dilemma is: some local installers say they could get a Fronius inverter for me but it's harder to source (lead time, price) and they're unfamiliar with it, and it looks like it requires a particular battery system (“BYD”) which in turn is likely more expensive and harder to source. One installer goes with Sunsynk inverters and advises I find myself “one of the many available 'buddy' boxes that you can add on to provide monitoring”. So that brought me here, as I prefer open over commercial alternatives.

I want to get this right from the outset. I want to support companies like Fronius that support cloud-free operation. But I'm not sure I understand everything well enough to be sure it would work out properly, especially if I ask a naive installer to do something they're not familiar with. Should I try to find an installer who knows this stuff; are there any?

Or, whom should I consult?

Thanks in advance, — Julian Foad

[1] These links are to my own web sites My POSSE copy of this message Posted on OpenEnergyMonitor community

#smartHome, #cloudFree, #inverter, #api, #fronius, #solarPV, #modbus

Follow/Feedback/Contact: RSS feed · Fedi follow this blog: @julian​@wrily.foad.me.uk · matrix me · Fedi follow me · email me · julian.foad.me.uk Donate: via Liberapay All posts © Julian Foad and licensed CC-BY-ND except quotes, translations, or where stated otherwise

]]> https://wrily.foad.me.uk/should-we-choose-a-fronius-inverter-for-best-cloud-free-pv-monitoring-interfaces Sat, 10 Dec 2022 10:17:47 +0000 A Freedom-Respecting Smart Home https://wrily.foad.me.uk/a-freedom-respecting-smart-home <![CDATA[Automating our lights, security cameras, all the Things? We'll be needing some IoT Gadgets and a home automation system. "Which brand? Amazon Alexa or Google or Apple HomeKit?" NO! Big Tech makes technology that best serves Big Tech. We don't have to accept it, once we learn there's an alternative. Time I Learned: our smart home can respect our freedom. !--more-- What's wrong with mainstream IoT? Their system works beautifully. We can see it in their adverts. What are we missing? Let's see. These cool and pretty looking mainstream IoT devices are overwhelmingly sold with "cloud" connectivity. "Control it with our App!" It sounds good. It's certainly convenient at first. Now, what does "cloud connected" imply? It implies our command to turn our light on goes out from our phone, over the Internet, to "the cloud" which just means somebody else's computer, where it's processed through our account on their system, and from there the command comes back to our light which then turns on. Ta-da! And our security camera feed shows up in our monitoring page on their computer system. Just like they showed in their adverts. Except when it doesn't. Except when the internet is slow, we wait, and then after a while our light turns on. Except when they mess up and show our private camera feed to some other customer and theirs to us. (Yes, that happened.) Except when their communications and their computers are poorly secured and get hacked. (Yes, lots of times.) Except when their company goes bust overnight and all our devices stop working. (Yes, that happens too.) When we use the vendor's app and "cloud connected" control, it means we are renting the use of our device as a service from the vendor. The vendor permits us to use the hardware we bought, but only through the intermediation of their servers. We can use it in ways they allow, for a time they determine, until they discontinue that service or go bust or require us to upgrade or pay extra or watch adverts or agree to new terms. Whatever they want. We "bought" it but we don't own it. Or we could say we own the bare hardware but we don't own the functioning product. What's the Solution? The alternative is that we can use IoT devices that are locally controlled, that depend only on our own local network, and therefore can respond fast no matter what our Internet connection is doing, and remain solely under our own control no matter what happens to the Vendor. My recommendation for a home automation control centre: Home Assistant \home-assistant.io\ Home Assistant lets you control and monitor everything -- doorbells, lights, cameras, action! -- and wrenches back your local control over Big Tech branded devices from Amazon, Google, Apple and the rest. "Open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first" Depending on your level of technical expertise there are different ways to obtain Home Assistant. For ordinary people looking for the simplest and most reliable way, I would recommend buying a tiny stand-alone hardware device with the software pre-installed, such as the "Home Assistant Green". On the other hand, with it being freedom software, you or your techie friend could set up Home Assistant on pretty much any computer such as a laptop or a Raspberry Pi. That would be a good option for experimenting with it. For lots of information about using Home Assistant, listen to The Self-Hosted Show podcast. For recommendations on security cameras, also consult The Self-Hosted Show. For your smart switches, plugs, lights, temperature sensors etc.: mylocalbytes.com (UK) or cloudfree.shop (USA). What About Other Options? My recommendation for Home Assistant is what seems to me the best solution for most ordinary people, friends and family. Techies and the curious should take a look at these two other freedom-respecting home automation hubs. openHAB (and HestiaPi open-source hardware running openHAB) DomoticZ For those building software, Mozilla WebThings is an important project providing "an open platform for monitoring and controlling devices over the web". What Will Julian Do? At the time of writing I am just beginning my home automation. My first IoT device is: a "smart" plug/socket (switching, power monitoring) Plug a light into the smart plug. Click! It's on. Click! It's off... on, off, on, off. That's fun. OK, that's enough of that. Plug my fridge into the smart plug: it tells me the power consumption when the fridge motor is running, when it isn't, and the total energy and average power over a day. That's interesting. Click! It switches off... oops, didn't mean to do that. Keep it on. There are lots of ways to run Home Assistant. The easiest way for me to start was an almost one-click install of Home Assistant on YUNoHost. If I outgrow that, I can run it in its own virtual machine (VM) on my ProxMox VM server. \[Edit: After a few months I did exactly that.\] Longer term, I have been hearing that people get used to their home automation and expect it to be always available, a permanent fixture of the house. To improve reliability, by taking my general-purpose servers out of the equation, I would seriously consider moving it to a Home Assistant Green self-contained physical device. On my phone I installed the official Home Assistant companion app from f-droid. As well as providing access to the HA dashboards and configuration, this app also adds a Home Assistant integration that monitor's the phone's power stats (battery level, etc.) and optionally lots more kinds of statistics. Now I have got it up and running and kicked the tyres with my first integration, I might try: "smart meters" for my electricity and gas supply (energy data) garage door sensor (turn on light, alert when I left it open) voice assistant / smart speaker: Hopes and promises for open-source voice assistants in LWN summarises the landscape of FOSS smart speakers, the most promising being Rhasspy which is being brought in to Home Assistant, and OpenVoiceOS (OVOS) which is taking over from where Mycroft was going solar panels or a heat pump (may provide energy data) Related A talk, Practical Computerized Home Automation by Bruce Momjian at FOSDEM'23. "Home automation is an elusive technology — often desired, rarely achieved. This talk explores a successful ten-year home automation deployment, outlining the challenges that derail many attempts. It will cover technology choices, programing basics, and a dozen successful applications." A talk, Challenges in Home Energy Management by Markus Storm at FOSDEM'23. "How to best use your own PV-generated power ... deploying openHAB ... covering the most power intensive use cases of a household: EV charging, heat pump and white goods operations." ---- Update 2023-12: Now recommend Home Assistant Green instead of Home Assistant Yellow. --- This article is part of my Open Source Gadgets series. #fossGadgets #cloudFree #smartHome #degoogled #awesomeFOSS #openHardware !--more-- ---- Follow/Feedback/Contact: RSS feed · Fedi follow this blog: @julian&ZeroWidthSpace;@wrily.foad.me.uk · matrix me · Fedi follow me · email me · julian.foad.me.uk Donate: via Liberapay All posts &copy; Julian Foad and licensed CC-BY-ND except quotes, translations, or where stated otherwise ]]> Automating our lights, security cameras, all the Things? We'll be needing some IoT Gadgets and a home automation system.

“Which brand? Amazon Alexa or Google or Apple HomeKit?”

NO! Big Tech makes technology that best serves Big Tech. We don't have to accept it, once we learn there's an alternative.

Time I Learned: our smart home can respect our freedom.

What's wrong with mainstream IoT?

Their system works beautifully. We can see it in their adverts. What are we missing? Let's see. These cool and pretty looking mainstream IoT devices are overwhelmingly sold with “cloud” connectivity. “Control it with our App!” It sounds good. It's certainly convenient at first.

Now, what does “cloud connected” imply? It implies our command to turn our light on goes out from our phone, over the Internet, to “the cloud” which just means somebody else's computer, where it's processed through our account on their system, and from there the command comes back to our light which then turns on. Ta-da! And our security camera feed shows up in our monitoring page on their computer system. Just like they showed in their adverts.

Except when it doesn't. Except when the internet is slow, we wait, and then after a while our light turns on. Except when they mess up and show our private camera feed to some other customer and theirs to us. (Yes, that happened.) Except when their communications and their computers are poorly secured and get hacked. (Yes, lots of times.) Except when their company goes bust overnight and all our devices stop working. (Yes, that happens too.)

When we use the vendor's app and “cloud connected” control, it means we are renting the use of our device as a service from the vendor. The vendor permits us to use the hardware we bought, but only through the intermediation of their servers. We can use it in ways they allow, for a time they determine, until they discontinue that service or go bust or require us to upgrade or pay extra or watch adverts or agree to new terms. Whatever they want. We “bought” it but we don't own it. Or we could say we own the bare hardware but we don't own the functioning product.

What's the Solution?

The alternative is that we can use IoT devices that are locally controlled, that depend only on our own local network, and therefore can respond fast no matter what our Internet connection is doing, and remain solely under our own control no matter what happens to the Vendor.

My recommendation for a home automation control centre:

Home Assistant <home-assistant.io>

Home Assistant lets you control and monitor everything — doorbells, lights, cameras, action! — and wrenches back your local control over Big Tech branded devices from Amazon, Google, Apple and the rest.

“Open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first”

Depending on your level of technical expertise there are different ways to obtain Home Assistant. For ordinary people looking for the simplest and most reliable way, I would recommend buying a tiny stand-alone hardware device with the software pre-installed, such as the “Home Assistant Green”.

On the other hand, with it being freedom software, you or your techie friend could set up Home Assistant on pretty much any computer such as a laptop or a Raspberry Pi. That would be a good option for experimenting with it.

For lots of information about using Home Assistant, listen to The Self-Hosted Show podcast.

For recommendations on security cameras, also consult The Self-Hosted Show.

For your smart switches, plugs, lights, temperature sensors etc.: mylocalbytes.com (UK) or cloudfree.shop (USA).

What About Other Options?

My recommendation for Home Assistant is what seems to me the best solution for most ordinary people, friends and family. Techies and the curious should take a look at these two other freedom-respecting home automation hubs.

For those building software, Mozilla WebThings is an important project providing “an open platform for monitoring and controlling devices over the web”.

What Will Julian Do?

At the time of writing I am just beginning my home automation. My first IoT device is:

  • a “smart” plug/socket (switching, power monitoring)

Plug a light into the smart plug. Click! It's on. Click! It's off... on, off, on, off. That's fun. OK, that's enough of that.

Plug my fridge into the smart plug: it tells me the power consumption when the fridge motor is running, when it isn't, and the total energy and average power over a day. That's interesting. Click! It switches off... oops, didn't mean to do that. Keep it on.

There are lots of ways to run Home Assistant. The easiest way for me to start was an almost one-click install of Home Assistant on YUNoHost. If I outgrow that, I can run it in its own virtual machine (VM) on my ProxMox VM server. [Edit: After a few months I did exactly that.]

Longer term, I have been hearing that people get used to their home automation and expect it to be always available, a permanent fixture of the house. To improve reliability, by taking my general-purpose servers out of the equation, I would seriously consider moving it to a Home Assistant Green self-contained physical device.

On my phone I installed the official Home Assistant companion app from f-droid. As well as providing access to the HA dashboards and configuration, this app also adds a Home Assistant integration that monitor's the phone's power stats (battery level, etc.) and optionally lots more kinds of statistics.

Now I have got it up and running and kicked the tyres with my first integration, I might try:

  • “smart meters” for my electricity and gas supply (energy data)
  • garage door sensor (turn on light, alert when I left it open)
  • voice assistant / smart speaker: Hopes and promises for open-source voice assistants in LWN summarises the landscape of FOSS smart speakers, the most promising being Rhasspy which is being brought in to Home Assistant, and OpenVoiceOS (OVOS) which is taking over from where Mycroft was going
  • solar panels or a heat pump (may provide energy data)
  • A talk, Practical Computerized Home Automation by Bruce Momjian at FOSDEM'23. “Home automation is an elusive technology — often desired, rarely achieved. This talk explores a successful ten-year home automation deployment, outlining the challenges that derail many attempts. It will cover technology choices, programing basics, and a dozen successful applications.”
  • A talk, Challenges in Home Energy Management by Markus Storm at FOSDEM'23. “How to best use your own PV-generated power ... deploying openHAB ... covering the most power intensive use cases of a household: EV charging, heat pump and white goods operations.”

Update 2023-12: Now recommend Home Assistant Green instead of Home Assistant Yellow.

This article is part of my Open Source Gadgets series.

#fossGadgets #cloudFree #smartHome #degoogled #awesomeFOSS #openHardware

Follow/Feedback/Contact: RSS feed · Fedi follow this blog: @julian​@wrily.foad.me.uk · matrix me · Fedi follow me · email me · julian.foad.me.uk Donate: via Liberapay All posts © Julian Foad and licensed CC-BY-ND except quotes, translations, or where stated otherwise

]]> https://wrily.foad.me.uk/a-freedom-respecting-smart-home Fri, 11 Nov 2022 14:40:30 +0000 Matrix, Android, Self-Hosting Skills https://wrily.foad.me.uk/matrix-android-self-hosting-skills <![CDATA[This is an informal summary of my recent (2016 ~ 2023) experience and explorations in the areas of Matrix and Android and self-hosting. For my employment history please see my more formal CV/resumé at https://blog.foad.me.uk/cv/. Passions Matrix, FOSS, services-as-FOSS, digital Freedom for everyone Recent skills !--more-- Matrix (see section below) Self-hosting / home-lab (see section below) C, Python, Bash, C++, Javascript/Node.JS, Ruby... (from skilled to novice) Android app dev (novice) Android degoogled ecosystem (interest) Self-Hosting / Home-Lab DevOps experience: Ansible (deploying most of my services) Docker (lots), VMs with Terraform & ProxMox Building Docker images Running the following services... Currently running personal services: Matrix (see separate section) OpenWRT router (blog post) OpenStreetMap map tile server (blog post, source) Traefik reverse-proxy Authelia authentication Bitwarden password vault server (blog post) ProxMox VMs Docker container registry My own F-droid Android app store (mentioned, why) Borg backup server Syncthing, GitLab, Subversion, Nextcloud, YunoHost photos, music, blogs, etc. (outsourced @ own domain) email, xmpp Android Android OS and ecosystem (experience): Running degoogled android (LineageOS) on main, secondary, family phones (blog post) Partially scripted LineageOS deployment Published and running my own push notifications infrastructure using UnifiedPush (blog post & packaging) Running my own F-droid app store (mentioned, why) Exploration and writing about the degoogled ecosystem (blog posts tagged: #degoogled, #android) Android app development (novice): TraxCam (a tweaked OpenCamera) (blog, source) Matrix Running my matrix server since 2018: matrix me: @julian:foad.me.uk Contributed self-hosted push notifications support to the popular matrix-docker-ansible-deploy server installation (blog post) running several bridges, clients, bots writing a matrix bridge (project) Full of Matrix project ideas. Involved in some matrix dev discussions. Looking for ways to help people get on board. Writing, Blogging Blogs: wrily.foad.me.uk blog.foad.me.uk Matrix writing (examples): see '(blog)' links in other sections started the public room #matrix-outreach Why... Matrix Me Your Online Identity Contact me matrix me: @julian:foad.me.uk email me: julian@foad.me.uk --- More articles tagged: #matrix #degoogled #android #smartHome #awesomeFOSS !--more-- ---- Follow/Feedback/Contact: RSS feed · Fedi follow this blog: @julian&ZeroWidthSpace;@wrily.foad.me.uk · matrix me · Fedi follow me · email me · julian.foad.me.uk Donate: via Liberapay All posts &copy; Julian Foad and licensed CC-BY-ND except quotes, translations, or where stated otherwise ]]> This is an informal summary of my recent (2016 ~ 2023) experience and explorations in the areas of Matrix and Android and self-hosting. For my employment history please see my more formal CV/resumé at https://blog.foad.me.uk/cv/.

Passions

  • Matrix, FOSS, services-as-FOSS, digital Freedom for everyone

Recent skills

  • Matrix (see section below)
  • Self-hosting / home-lab (see section below)
  • C, Python, Bash, C++, Javascript/Node.JS, Ruby... (from skilled to novice)
  • Android app dev (novice)
  • Android degoogled ecosystem (interest)

Self-Hosting / Home-Lab

DevOps experience:

  • Ansible (deploying most of my services)
  • Docker (lots), VMs with Terraform & ProxMox
  • Building Docker images
  • Running the following services...

Currently running personal services:

  • Matrix (see separate section)
  • OpenWRT router (blog post)
  • OpenStreetMap map tile server (blog post, source)
  • Traefik reverse-proxy
  • Authelia authentication
  • Bitwarden password vault server (blog post)
  • ProxMox VMs
  • Docker container registry
  • My own F-droid Android app store (mentioned, why)
  • Borg backup server
  • Syncthing, GitLab, Subversion, Nextcloud, YunoHost
  • photos, music, blogs, etc.
  • (outsourced @ own domain) email, xmpp

Android

Android OS and ecosystem (experience):

  • Running degoogled android (LineageOS) on main, secondary, family phones (blog post)
  • Partially scripted LineageOS deployment
  • Published and running my own push notifications infrastructure using UnifiedPush (blog post & packaging)
  • Running my own F-droid app store (mentioned, why)
  • Exploration and writing about the degoogled ecosystem (blog posts tagged: #degoogled, #android)

Android app development (novice):

Matrix

Running my matrix server since 2018:

  • matrix me: @julian:foad.me.uk
  • Contributed self-hosted push notifications support to the popular matrix-docker-ansible-deploy server installation (blog post)
  • running several bridges, clients, bots
  • writing a matrix bridge (project)

Full of Matrix project ideas. Involved in some matrix dev discussions. Looking for ways to help people get on board.

Writing, Blogging

Blogs:

Matrix writing (examples):

Contact me

More articles tagged: #matrix #degoogled #android #smartHome #awesomeFOSS

Follow/Feedback/Contact: RSS feed · Fedi follow this blog: @julian​@wrily.foad.me.uk · matrix me · Fedi follow me · email me · julian.foad.me.uk Donate: via Liberapay All posts © Julian Foad and licensed CC-BY-ND except quotes, translations, or where stated otherwise

]]> https://wrily.foad.me.uk/matrix-android-self-hosting-skills Thu, 17 Mar 2022 12:00:00 +0000