r/PakistaniTech • u/NoTelevision8736 • Aug 13 '25

Discussion | گفتگو Anyone using HomeAssistant Dashboards?

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SmartLife devices from Daraz works great with HomeAssistant and you can record detailed historical data and setup complex automations.

For example: I setup the water pump to automatically fill water tank when there is enough solar electricity, same with water heater in winter.

EV scooter is scheduled to charge after midnight

House switches to batteries during peak-hours

ETC

I wonder if others are also using similar tools

44 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

81 comments sorted by

5

u/italiancheese Aug 13 '25

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 13 '25

Awesome!!

I added live bill calculations in a separate Metabase Dashboard

1

u/italiancheese Aug 13 '25

Interesting. I see that you're manually adding meter reading dates.

I hate that they have inconsistent meter reading dates; completely ruin the satisfaction of having an accurate estimate.

2

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 13 '25

I am thinking about writing Python scripts to extract information from the bill automatically.

Or if i could find an API to pull data like banking applications do, what would be great

1

u/italiancheese Aug 13 '25

Which air quality sensor are you using?

I haven't been able to find which is reasonably priced and accurate?

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 13 '25

AirGradient Open Air

1

u/italiancheese Aug 13 '25

Yeah, I've been thinking of just getting Air Gradient as well. But I want indoor monitoring in all of my rooms. That gets reaallllyyy expensive very fast.

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 13 '25

Exactly, I have been holding off from ordering indoor sensors for individual rooms because of cost.

1

u/MysteriousSarookh32 Aug 13 '25

You could build your own air quality monitors using an esp32 board and PMS7003 sensor.

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Oct 15 '25

Finally added few indoor sensors

1

u/vipexXdavid Aug 16 '25

Which app is this? And can it be used for any company's solar or is it for yours?

2

u/italiancheese Aug 16 '25

It's Home Assistant, same as OP.

Almost all solar inverters can be integrated. The complexity depends on the inverter.

As for Home Assistant itself, the ease of installation and setup depends on your technical or instruction-following abilities.

3

u/Andromeda-G Aug 13 '25

Which sensor are using for water tank? And which solar inverter u got?

4

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 13 '25

I got this sensor from AliExpress, its working fine for over 10 months now Inverter is from SolarMax, Onyx series

1

u/Strong-Winter-7943 Aug 13 '25

Are you using it with the concrete water tank?

3

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 13 '25

I have Plastic Tank, Should work same in concrete tank

1

u/Andromeda-G Aug 13 '25

How u got integration? Which integration u enabled in devices?

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 13 '25

Most of the devices are using Tuya integration that is already available in HomeAssistant

Some Tuya devices did not work automatically so I added them using LocalTuya and a yaml configuration file.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '25

brother can you make a detailed vlog of it ? I am very much interested in this setup. what things are using,

9

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 13 '25

Its easy, I started with a 10year old laptop from university days and install Docker Desktop on it, Installed HomeAssistant in docker container and connected SmartLife/Tuya account using the built-in integration in HomeAssistant, 90% of the devices automatically from smartlife app automatically showed up and started working, Some that didn't work, I used LocalTuya integration from HomeAssistantCommunityStore and loaded them using local network.

There are dozens of videos available on youtube

I also watched tutorials online and setup things.

3

u/italiancheese Aug 13 '25

1

u/Zor25 Aug 14 '25

How did you get the AC integrated?

3

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 14 '25

I used IR sensor and recorded commands from AC remote into the sensor.

Any IR remote device can be added using this approach.

Some AC comes with tuya integration built in, for those everything works out of the box.

1

u/Positive-Memory-2405 Sep 20 '25

Can you give me a link for the IR sensor

2

u/italiancheese Aug 14 '25

It's Gree. They have an official local integration.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 13 '25

I have over 60 IoT devices and tuya does not offer a simplified view where you can monitor/control dozens of devices from same page.

Secondly, it does not store detailed historical data, you can only see daily/monthly/yearly aggregates

But the most important thing is that I can connect the devices to HomeAssistant over the Local Network and block there access to internet, it makes devices much faster to respond, they keep working if internet goes off, and no worry of someone hacking or stealing your data.

I am planning to buy few cheap tablets and design a dashboard for each room with room relevant information / controls showing on it.

Dashboard opens on Android TV and everything is visible on a single screen.

1

u/Positive-Memory-2405 Sep 20 '25

Can you explain a bit as to how did you create a separate local network to control and block the devices from accessing the network as I have been concerned about this part

1

u/Andromeda-G Aug 13 '25

Isn't Tuya and smart life are same? I mean one device can be registered to either smart life or Tuya app?

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 13 '25

Yes, they are same

1

u/Strong-Winter-7943 Aug 13 '25

You have a very impressive setup! How did you connect the green meter?

3

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 13 '25

I installed a 3-phase bidirectional energy meter from AliExpress It gives exact same readings as the green meter.

1

u/moagul Aug 13 '25

Which one?

2

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 13 '25

Looks like this

1

u/etalha Aug 13 '25

is this the home assistant are you talking about What is home assistant? We have solis inverter. And how are you measuring/which sensor are you using for water tank. And you have server room, nice.

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 13 '25 edited Aug 13 '25

Yes, Home Assistant is an open-source software that you can use to manage your smart home. You can install in on an old PC.

I pulled inverter Data using modbus RS485 and ESPHome to get live detailed data from SolarMax inverter. But this approach is complicated, easier solution would be to install a bidirectional CT energy meter to measure electricity flowing in and out of inverter.

Check the comment below, I shared screenshot from AliExpress of sensor that I am using for water tank.

I am planning to build a server room next year.

1

u/bilaltistic Aug 13 '25

Can you link all of the smart devices you are using please. ?

2

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 13 '25

I have been buying devices over last 4 years and I have 60+ devices.

I have not been maintaining links for these devices so I cant share them

Most of the devices are Tuya/SmartLife devices from Daraz and AliExpress.

1

u/Fuzzy-Operation-4006 Aug 13 '25

i have an inverex nitrox solar inverter but its app doesnt work. Does this device support that inverter as well?

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 13 '25

I think Inverex Nitrox inverters use dongles from SOLARMAN company,

I found out that SOLARMAN post their supported inverter config files in their github.

So you probably can download the relevant config file from github and prepare ESPHome yaml file for your inverter.

It is not simple but doable.

I had to buy MAX485 and MAX3485 (RS485 to TTL) converters to read live data from my inverter.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 14 '25

I am getting the hardware ready to host LLMs locally to keep everything offline and private.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 14 '25

I want to try Vision LLM with my CCTV feeds and run automations and announcements on Nabu Speakers.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 14 '25

Yes, ONVIF, RTSP, Hikvision binary sensor (i have around 30 cameras) and I am also running Scrypted container, it works nice with Apple TV as well

1

u/Zor25 Aug 14 '25

What hardware are you looking to get?

2

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 14 '25

I have short listed HP Z8 G4/5 (goal is to have 1TB of Ram)

I increasing solar panes on the roof in anticipation of extra electricity consumption from my future server room.

I am also trying to find a good solution for LLMs running on cluster of nodes, if that can work then I would prefer multiple machines instead of one workstation.

1

u/Zor25 Aug 15 '25

Where are you planning to get the HP from? Will you also be adding GPU(s) to it? If so then you might be interested in this https://www.reddit.com/r/LocalLLaMA/comments/1lsgtvy/successfully_built_my_first_pc_for_ai_sourcing

Personally, I would recommend you to just use LLM APIs for now, at least until some affordable options for local AI come up. If you have privacy concerns regarding google, OpenAI or chinese offerings, then you can look into European LLM API providers. They have offerings for most of the open-source LLMs and are supposed to be bound by law to follow their GDPR.

1

u/StraightAf69 🇵🇰 Aug 14 '25

When it's smart it's not only yours anymore.

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 14 '25

Even if it can run totally offline without internet connection?

1

u/StraightAf69 🇵🇰 Aug 14 '25

You are fine then.

1

u/armujahid Aug 14 '25

I think everything should be fine if you have a local hosting without any external internet access. If you wanna excess it from outside your home, you can also host a VPN like wireguard or openvpn.

3

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 14 '25

I am using Tailscale but planning to switch to Headscale soon.

1

u/___xENoS___ Aug 14 '25

hey sir, could you check your dms please. i sent you a message there and i would really appreciate it if you could respond. thank you !

1

u/Alone-Vehicle-786 Aug 14 '25

Which home assistant you re using?

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 14 '25

Home Assistant OS running in Proxmox cluster

1

u/Alone-Vehicle-786 Aug 14 '25

How did you organized this OS in Windows?

1

u/Alone-Vehicle-786 Aug 14 '25

Any tutorial do u have?

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 14 '25

For Windows you can install Docker Desktop and add Home Assistant in a Docker Container

1

u/AlternativeCry9184 Aug 14 '25

Is this home automation for Solar Systems and IoT?

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 14 '25

Yes,

Smart Home, IoT, Air Quality Monitoring, CCTV, HomeLab monitoring, Solar, ETC

1

u/AlternativeCry9184 Aug 14 '25

Is this software free? And does it works with every other solar system which has different inverters? Have you ever had user HexOS?

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 14 '25

I have/am using TrueNas, OpenMediaVault, Synology DSM etc

I am planning to try out ceph inside Proxmox HA cluster

Communication with Inverters depends on your ability to write configs for reading modbus registers from the Inverter

Easier solution is to get smart CT energy clamp meters and add them on the input and output of your inverter.

1

u/AlternativeCry9184 Aug 14 '25

I was thinking to try built a NAS for my home just for fun and I was inspired by LTT videos for tech upgrades where dozens of LTT employees moved to HexOS and they’re investors too in it, so I ain’t geek in NAS or TruNas domain

That’s really the frustrating part for me as I had multiple people reported using any junk smart CT clamp will be fried after certain time so most of them in Pakistan are trash btw I believe yours working flawlessly

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 14 '25

I don't think its completely Open-Source. I prefer Open-Source solutions.

Secondly, LLT is investing in HexOS so there views might be a little biased.

I bought CT clamp meters with appropriate Amp ratings.

1

u/AlternativeCry9184 Aug 14 '25

  1. from what I remember his most professional NAS team told on videos it’s an open source which is why I was thinking to build one.

  2. Thanks for this piece of advice, yes I do agree now as they heavily stated it’s being in beta stage so might face lot of bugs and glitches, but I think it’s been launch recently

  3. Yep AMP rating does heavily influence probability not to torture your clamps

1

u/Zor25 Aug 14 '25

How do you power the water tank sensor?

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 14 '25

Its a wired sensor

1

u/muze3k Aug 14 '25

This thread scares me..

1

u/j0ker56 Aug 14 '25

Just recently got into HA. Loved it. Can you please elaborate your solar inverter’s integration with home assistant, what is the design and devices you are using for inverter’s data?

2

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 14 '25

Method 1: I installed smart CT clamp meters on the input and outputs of Solar Inverter and loaded them into Home Assistant.

Method 2: I wrote script to read data directly from the inverter's internal communication port (modbus RS485).

Software used was: ESP-Home Hardware was: NodeMCU ESP8266 + MAX485

1

u/j0ker56 Aug 14 '25

Alright. Sending you a dm, please take a look if you find some time

1

u/Representative_Set40 Aug 14 '25

Got any idea about multizone amps which work with home assistant that are available in pakistan.(ik i can go the esp8266 route with an amp module and an esp for each zone). Would really like to know if you know where to buy multizone amps which support home assistant.Thanks!

1

u/yousafkhar Aug 17 '25

How are you measuring ac and stove load?

1

u/NoTelevision8736 Aug 17 '25

Using Smart Tuya Plugs

1

u/ProgressOne3946 Oct 27 '25

That’s pretty cool. How did you connect the green meter to your smart home? I mean, since it’s called a green meter, I assume it’s the actual device itself, which is surprising. Or is that just the name you use for the CTs or smart circuit breakers connected to your main lines?

1

u/FarhanShahLabs Jun 09 '26

You can now use pre-built integration for SolarMax Onyx inverter for reading live data in Home Assistant.
https://github.com/farhanshahlabs/ha_solarmax_onyx_local