Jan 27, 2024 17:00:00

How did you build a completely offline smart home that does not rely on third-party servers or apps?

The smart home market, which utilizes IoT and AI technologies, has been booming in recent years, with features such as ``turning on the lights automatically when you get home'' and ``changing the color of the lights depending on the time.'' On the other hand, smart homes also have the problem of being dependent on third-party servers, and depending on the situation where the server is placed, smart home appliances may suddenly become unusable. Calvin Wankhede of overseas media Android Authority explains how he built a completely local smart home that does not rely on third-party servers.

How I built a fully offline smart home, and why you should too
https://www.androidauthority.com/offline-smart-home-3398608/

In November 2023, smart home device manufacturer Chamberlain Group

blocked access from third-party apps due to unauthorized use of some of its products, and in April 2022, smart home product manufacturer Insteon Situations such as companies suddenly shut down their apps and servers, and their homepages disappear. When such a situation occurs, it is considered a problem that all the settings and switches of home appliances that were managed by the app become unusable.

IoT companies suddenly 'run away', apps and servers stop, lights and sensors become inoperable - GIGAZINE

In response to these developments, Wankhede said, ``Building a smart home offline protects us from privacy violations, such as when a company shuts down its servers or a company leaks customer data.'' 'We are promoting the construction of local smart homes.' Wankhede also said that instead of buying expensive smart home appliances like coffee makers and washing machines, you can simply connect your existing appliances to a smart plug or switch to connect them to the internet and control them. It is said that there is no need to do so, and that it can be more reliable than the manufacturer's ecosystem.

When Wankhede actually built an offline smart home at home, he used Home Assistant, an open source home automation software. Mr. Wankhede installs Home Assistant on a small computer like Raspberry Pi and uses his smartphone or PC to control home appliances.

In addition, the connection between Home Assistant and devices uses

ZigBee , a short-range wireless communication standard, making it possible to build a unique network independent of brands.

Below are some examples of devices recommended by Wankhede.

◆Hub
Install Home Assistant on your Raspberry Pi 5 or Raspberry Pi 4 and use it by connecting a USB stick for using Zigbee .

◆Smart light bulb
She also recommends locally connected smart light bulbs sold by Shelly and Athom , IKEA's TRÅDFRI series, and Philips Hue .

◆Switch and plug
Although it is relatively expensive at about $50 (about 7,400 yen) per unit, Mr. Wankhede recommends Inovelli 's Zigbee compatible switch. Regarding smart plugs, Wankhede said, ``Manufacturers such as Sonoff, IKEA, Athom, and Shell sell many products.''

◆Sensor
Mr. Wankhede actually uses Sonoff's sensor and IKEA's wireless motion sensor and reports that ``It works well.''

◆Robot vacuum cleaner
Even if you have an old robot vacuum cleaner that is not compatible with smart homes, you can make it compatible by installing Valetudo , a cloud alternative software, on the vacuum cleaner. At that time, Wankhede points out that it is necessary to check whether Valetudo supports the robot vacuum cleaner in question.

◆Blinds
According to Wankhede, IKEA's smart blind products are becoming popular in the smart home community due to their affordable prices and great compatibility.

'We only recommend products from reputable brands that won't put your data at risk when connected to the internet,' says Wankhede.

Mr. Wankhede explained that the reason why he chose to connect to Home Assistant using Zigbee rather than the smart home standard `` Matter '' or the communication protocol `` Thread '' was because ``There are not many Thread compatible devices on the market. This is because Matter and Thread still only have the bare minimum.'