Getting started with DIY'ing your home? The first question isn’t how, but what? What do you want to automate? Then, once you have the what, you can wade through the hundreds of home automation products, gadgets and IOT devices, and focus on how to achieve your goal.
Choose an option to setup your Home Assistant controller. There are 3 ways you can install it. Via a Raspberry pi, Local Server or on a VM (Virtual Machine)
Lighting is usually the most common to start with but you may need to upgrade a smart lights firmware to be compatible with your home automation controller. Once set you will need to configure your smart lights in your controller.
The most common way to automate these IoT devices is via a smart plug. This allows it to turn on/off. It can also measure the devices power consumption which can notify you when a device has started or finished.
Most smart thermostats come with built in scheduling. However to take full potential of a smart device one will want to make it a self learning device. Setting your thermostat to your smart home controller will allow you to make it adjust the temperature based on your homes occupation status.
The KULED WiFi Smart Switches are devices welcomed by many as an easy solution to their smart home projects.
A Wi-Fi Smart Power Monitoring Plug that is ETL Certified. Regarded as one of the best smart plugs for Home Automation.
The Sonoff Basic is an entry-level WiFi switch. It allows you to control any electrical appliance up to 2200 watts (10A) via your WiFi network.
Ecobee3 is a popular smart thermostat due to its ease of use, inter connectivity with other smart home devices, and the ability to monitor the temperature in more than one room of your house.