This document introduces Coffee & Pi, a meetup group for learning about home automation using Raspberry Pi. It provides an overview of the meetup topics and format, the presenter's background, and demonstrations of common home automation platforms, bridges, devices, and Home Assistant software. Key information covered includes differences between Zigbee and Z-Wave protocols, supported platforms like HomeKit and Brillo, popular bridges, device categories, and installing/using Home Assistant on a Raspberry Pi.

1. COFFEE & PI
INTRO TO HOME AUTOMATION
BRAD DERSTINE
MEETUP.COM/COFFEE-AND-PI
TWITTER/INSTAGRAM: #COFFEEANDPI
NOW ON SLACK
PHILLYDEV.ORG #RASPBERRYPI

2. WELCOME TO COFFEE & PI!
• Has anyone never touched or seen a Raspberry Pi?
• Does anyone work with RPi professionally?
• Windows or OS X?
• Is anyone from the suburbs or outside Center City?
• Did anyone bring their first Pi and need help getting
started?

3. RULES FOR THE MEETUP
• This is a beginner friendly meetup. All skill levels are
welcome. We were all beginners at one time.
• There are no stupid questions, only stupid people.
If you have a silly question, someone else might too. Ask
anyway.
• I do not know everything. About anything. If I don’t know, I will
say so. If you do know, please share! We are all here to learn!
• Even the greatest works of art started with someone learning the
basics and practicing their craft.

4. BRAD DERSTINE
• 16+ years working in IT
• Started out doing 1st level tech support
• Currently DevOps Engineer for one of the oldest and
largest non-profits in the US
• Why Raspberry Pi?

5. DEMO!

6. STORY
WHAT A MESS…

8. ZIGBEE VS Z-WAVE

9. ZIGBEE
• ZigBee is an IEEE 802.15.4-based specification for a
suite of high-level communication protocols used to
create personal area networks with small, low-power
digital radios, such as for home automation, medical
device data collection, and other low-power low-
bandwidth needs, designed for small scale projects
which need wireless connection. - Wikipedia
• ZigBee Alliance - http://www.zigbee.org

10. From the box of
Philips Hue Bridge

11. Z-WAVE
• Z-wave != ZigBee
• Does use the same spec, but different chips, software,
and SDK
• Uses mesh networking
• 30 meters between devices, up to 4 hops
• Over 1700 devices certified
• Z-wave Alliance - http://z-wavealliance.org

12. SO WHICH SHOULD YOU USE?
• This will probably be dependent on the hardware
and software you want to use, and what your use
case is.
• DO YOUR RESEARCH!
• Platform - Bridges - Devices
• Choose a platform, know the bridges you need,
invest in the supporting devices!

13. PLATFORMS

14. HOMEKIT
APPLE HOME AUTOMATION

15. HOMEKIT REMOTE SUPPORT
• Using HomeKit remotely requires
an Apple TV (4th gen
recommended, 3rd supported
with iOS 8.4.1-based, Apple TV
Software 7.2 ) or iPad (iOS 10+)
• Does not require opening firewall
ports, supported through the
Apple ecosystem.
• https://www.howtogeek.com/234
180/how-to-enable-remote-
access-to-your-homekit-smart-
home-via-apple-tv/

17. BRILLO
GOOGLE/ANDROID HOME AUTOMATION

18. SMARTTHINGS
SAMSUNG HOME AUTOMATION

19. HOME ASSISTANT
RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION
HTTP://HOME-ASSISTANT.IO

20. OPENHAB
RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION
HTTPS://WWW.OPENHAB.ORG

21. USEFUL PLATFORM NOTES
• Know your platform! Do your research!
• HomeKit only for iOS users!
• Brillo only for Android users!
• SmartThings, Home Assistant, and OpenHAB
support both iOS and Android apps!

22. BRIDGES & HUBS
THIS IS WHERE THE FUN BEGINS…

23. PHILIPS HUE BRIDGE
ONLY BRIDGES FOR PHILIPS HUE
PRODUCTS

24. SMARTTHINGS HUB
SUPPORTS ZIGBEE AND Z-WAVE DEVICES
HTTPS://WWW.SMARTTHINGS.COM

25. ZEOTEC BY AEON LABS
Z-WAVE BRIDGE USB STICK/HUB

26. HOMESEER HOME TROLLER S6
EXPENSIVE! COMPATIBLE WITH Z-WAVE,
X10

27. XFINITY HOME CONTROL
SUPPORTS ZIGBEE, COMPATIBLE WITH NEST LEARNING THERMOSTAT,
AUGUST SMART LOCK, CHAMBERLAIN MYQ GARAGE-DOOR
CONTROLLER, AND THE LUTRON CASETA WIRELESS LIGHTING
CONTROLLER

28. HOMEBRIDGE
• Homebridge is a lightweight NodeJS server you can
run that emulates iOS HomeKit API
• Can be configured to “bridge” communication from
HomeKit to 3rd party devices that don’t support
HomeKit yet via config files
• Should be done by manufacturers, but this exists for
the hackers and the impatient

29. USEFUL BRIDGE NOTES
• The SmartThings Hub is still probably the best route for starting
out! (most flexible!)
• Samsung bought SmartThings
• Google’s Nest bought smart home startup Revolv, making
SmartHome Hub an abandoned project.
• Comcast XFINITY Home Control supports ZigBee, only whitelisting
certain devices for now
• Integrating with non-supported platforms/devices or hacking = use
a bridge emulator

30. DEVICES
DO YOUR RESEARCH!

31. ALEXA / GOOGLE HOME
VOICE COMMAND

32. PHILIPS HUE
LIGHTS

33. OUTLETS
INDOOR AND OUTDOOR OUTLETS

34. SENSORS
DOOR/WINDOW SENSORS, MOTION
SENSORS, WATER SENSORS, SMOKE/FIRE
SENSORS

35. CAMERAS AND DOORBELLS
FOR SECURITY OR MONITORING

36. DOOR LOCKS
ENTRY HANDLES AND DEADBOLTS

37. THERMOSTATS

38. SPEAKERS

39. MANY OTHERS
SPRINKLER CONTROLS, SIRENS, WATER
VALVES, GARAGE DOOR OPENERS

40. HOME ASSISTANT
ONE PLATFORM TO RULE THEM ALL
SORT OF…

41. SO WHY HOME ASSISTANT?
• Unifying platform for cross vendor support
• Supports bridges, hubs, and emulators
• Control all your devices from a single, mobile-friendly,
interface
• Without storing any of your data in the cloud
• Still allow for remote monitoring and admin
• Python 3, REST-api, lots of documentation and videos

42. INSTALLING HOME ASSISTANT
• https://home-assistant.io/docs/hassbian/installation/
• Download Hassbian 1.1
image_2017-02-03-HASSbian.zip
• Download and Install Etcher
https://etcher.io
• Use Etcher to write Hassbian to micro SD card

44. BOOT RASPBERRY PI WITH
HASSBIAN
• Insert the micro SD card into the Raspberry Pi
• Plug in the network cable and boot the Pi
• Server starts up in headless mode (Use SSH)
• Use keyboard/mouse/monitor for console or use
SSH to run scripts

45. AFTER HASSBIAN BOOTS
• Home Assistant runs on startup, listens on
port 8123
• http://<ip address of pi>:8123

48. STATES
SHOW THE STATE OF ENTITIES
REGISTERED AND DISCOVERED BY HOME
ASSISTANT

49. MAP
DEVICES CAN BE REGISTERED WITH LOCATION
INFORMATION AND DISPLAYED AND MANAGED FROM THE
MAP.

50. LOGBOOK
LISTS CHANGES THAT HOME ASSISTANT
MONITORS

51. HISTORY
PRIOR EVENTS REPRESENTED ON
TIMELINES

52. CONFIGURATION
ORGANIZE DEVICES BY GROUPS

53. CONFIGURATION -
RESTART/STOP
WEB BASED WAY TO RESTART AND STOP
THE RASPBERRY PI AFTER CONFIG
CHANGES

54. DEV TOOLS - SERVICES
DIRECTLY CALL SERVICES

55. DEV TOOLS - STATES
DIRECTLY CALL STATES

56. DEV TOOLS - EVENTS
QUERY FOR EVENTS

57. DEV TOOLS - TEMPLATES

58. DEV TOOLS - ABOUT
USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT HOME
ASSISTANT

59. INSTALL HASSBIAN SCRIPTS
• SSH Default username: pi
• SSH Default password: raspberry
• > cd hassbian-scripts
• Install Samba
• > sudo ./install_samba.sh

62. USE SAMBA TO EDIT CONFIG
YAML
SMB://<IP ADDRESS>/HOMEASSISTANT

63. USE TEXT EDITOR TO UPDATE
CONFIGURATION.YAML

64. HOME ASSISTANT
COMPONENTS
HTTPS://HOME-
ASSISTANT.IO/COMPONENTS/

66. REMOTE MANAGEMENT
• Update configuration.yaml and add a password
http:
api_password: YOUR_PASSWORD
• Setup firewall port forwarding for TCP port 8123
• Install the phone app for Home Assistant
• Use IP address or add a DNS entry
• Defaults are http:// and no password. Update before exposing!
• Recommend reading http component options and adding SSL
https://home-assistant.io/components/http/

67. ALSO CHECKOUT OPENHAB
• https://openhab.org
• Java-based
• Vendor and tech agnostic open source automation
• Compatible with Raspberry Pi, use openHABian
• http://docs.openhab.org/installation/openhabian.html

69. BEFORE WE CLOSE
• Whatever you build, please share it with the world!
Use #CoffeeAndPi on Twitter and Instagram
• I am asking you to share your excitement and knowledge
with those around you!
• I am challenging you to inspire others and use technology
to change the world!
• You are never too old to learn, or too young to teach!
• If you are interested in hosting or starting a
Coffee & Pi meetup, let me know!

70. THANK YOU! QUESTIONS?
COFFEEANDPI.IO
MEETUP.COM/COFFEE-AND-PI
TWITTER/IG: #COFFEEANDPI
NOW ON SLACK
PHILLYDEV.ORG #RASPBERRYPI