A kernel developer plays with Home Assistant

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Local control, data ownership, and SaaS risk

  • Strong preference across the thread for local-control devices and self-hosted automation, to avoid cloud shutdowns and data loss like in the article.
  • Some users mirror HA telemetry to time-series databases and off-site backups, arguing SaaS-only for home data is risky.
  • Others accept cloud but now check Home Assistant compatibility and local APIs before buying devices.

Protocols, hubs, and network design

  • Long debate over WiFi vs Zigbee/Z‑Wave/Thread/Matter:
    • Zigbee/Z‑Wave praised for low power, mesh range extension, and being insulated from internet “enshittification”.
    • Zigbee seen as the most open and interoperable today (especially with Home Assistant + zigbee2mqtt); Z‑Wave and Thread/Matter criticized as more closed / certification-bound.
    • Matter/Thread seen by some as future‑proof and router‑integrated; others call them “walled gardens” with expensive SoCs and fragmented vendor extensions.
    • WiFi is attractive for simplicity and standard tooling, but repeatedly called out for poor battery life and overloading the main LAN.
  • Hub requirement is contentious: some don’t want hubs at all; others argue a USB dongle or small SBC “hub” offloads traffic from WiFi and improves reliability.

Hardware quality and hackability

  • ESPHome + ESP32/BK7231-based devices generate a lot of enthusiasm: cheap sensors, DIY boards, and Bluetooth proxies integrate easily with HA.
  • Shelly devices are often recommended as open, local, and reasonably high quality.
  • Many warn that “open source” or reflashable white-label hardware (especially Tuya/Temu/AliExpress) often has poor mains-side safety and unreliable relays.

Home Assistant deployment and reliability

  • Install approaches: HAOS on bare metal/VM, Docker, supervised on Debian, and occasional Kubernetes.
  • Some praise HAOS + Proxmox/VMs as “path of least resistance”; others want a normal distro for tighter integration with VPN/DNS/logging and more control over patching.
  • SD-card failures on Raspberry Pi are a recurring concern, though several report multi‑year trouble‑free use.
  • Experiences diverge: some call HA a “toy” or too bloated/complex; many others report years of stable, whole‑house automation with few or no HA‑side failures.

Monetization, governance, and openness

  • Home Assistant now belongs to a Swiss non-profit (Open Home Foundation) and is user-funded via Nabu Casa subscriptions; this reassures many about long‑term independence.
  • Some are uneasy with restrictions around the “supervised” install path and perceived hostility to unsupported/container deployments.
  • The remote-access cloud is just one option; several users point out you can roll your own VPN/reverse proxy instead.

Alternatives and configuration model

  • Alternatives mentioned: openHAB, Domoticz, Node-RED (+ dashboards), KNX wired systems. Some moved from HA to these; others did the opposite.
  • Node-RED is praised for visual, flow-based logic; HA for breadth of integrations and ecosystem.
  • Several miss YAML-first configuration and complain about GUI-only or GUI-preferred flows, which make bulk edits, review, and device swaps harder. Others welcome the shift as making HA more approachable.