DIY Smart Home

Summary

A smart home. I’m moving houses sometime soon, so I’d like to automate some of the things I do at home, for example turning on lights and setting the temperature on my AC. No need for AI assistants. Since this is a pretty small project on its own, I’ll probably be using the setup as a NAS as well, with a spare hard drive I have lying around, to stream content to my TV or store things. I’ll use a Raspberry Pi (or an alternative if there’s no stock) with displays, one for brief information always on and one with detailed controls. I’ll be doing this and attempting to balance it with my work since I have major exams next year.

Plan

For the first few days, I’ll play around with software. I will either be using Home Assistant or WebThings using the guides provided by each of them. (WebThings | Home Assistant) Since I haven’t moved yet, this will just be the initial set up and me playing around with things. I’ll be purchasing adapters so my setup is compatible with most of the things I’ll purchase along the way. After troubleshooting and setting up my smart home, I’ll also be using the Pi as a NAS to stream content and store my school things (e.g. notes).

Budget

ProductSupplier/LinkCost
Raspberry Pi 4B 8GB - Basic Kithttps://sg.cytron.io/p-raspberry-pi-4-model-b-8gb$130.00
135x240 Color TFT Displayhttps://www.digikey.sg/en/products/detail/adafruit-industries-llc/4393/10650640$25.65
128x32 Monochrome OLED Displayhttps://www.digikey.sg/en/products/detail/adafruit-industries-llc/3527/7323609$25.65
LED Light Strip (Works with Zigbee - for test)https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QD2SGDB$49.77
Conbee II Zigbee USB Stickhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PZ7ZHG5$33.60
Z-Wave USB Stickhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GNZ56BK NOT INCLUDED IN TOTAL$39.71
Total (excluding exchange rate changes)Some prices are converted from SGD to USD. Exchange rate is subject to change.$264.67