Originally posted 2024-12-01. Refreshed 2026-04-26.
Home Assistant is open-source software that brings your entire smart home into one local, private, customisable hub. Thousands of devices supported out of the box. No subscription. Home Assistant Green is the official plug-and-play appliance — the easiest way to start.
Before you commit, read our honest Akubela vs Home Assistant comparison — Home Assistant isn't right for every household, and we'd rather flag that than sell you something you'll struggle to maintain.
Why choose Home Assistant?
- 🚀 Local-first — automations run without internet.
- 🔐 Privacy-focused — no cloud unless you turn it on.
- 🧰 Highly extensible — YAML, UI automations, custom integrations, scripts.
- 🌍 Community-powered — large user/dev community, weekly updates.
What is Home Assistant Green?
Home Assistant Green is an official appliance preloaded with Home Assistant OS. It's:
- Plug-and-play — no Linux skills required.
- Silent, compact, fanless — sits in your rack or on a shelf.
- Multi-protocol with the right USB radios — Zigbee, Z-Wave, Matter, Thread.
Best for: beginners who want stability and power without setting up a Pi.
🔗 Explore Home Assistant Green
Native integrations
Home Assistant supports over 2,000 integrations, including:
- Lighting: Philips Hue, LIFX, IKEA TRÅDFRI
- Switches/sensors: Shelly, Sonoff, Aqara
- Hubs: Google Nest, Ecobee, Tuya
- Cars/AV: Tesla, LG WebOS, Roku
- Protocols: MQTT, Zigbee2MQTT, ZHA, Matter, HomeKit, KNX
These integrations are updated weekly by the global community.
Energy dashboard
Home Assistant's built-in Energy Dashboard lets you:
- Monitor solar, battery, and grid usage.
- Visualise trends over days, weeks, months.
- Track high-energy appliances to optimise.
Compatible with Shelly EM, smart plugs, and most MQTT-based power meters.
UI and automation highlights
- Lovelace UI — visual or YAML dashboard customisation.
- Scenes & Scripts — Movie Mode, Goodnight, Away, etc.
- Voice integration — Apple Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa.
- Presence detection — geofence-based automations.
- Secure remote access — Home Assistant Cloud or self-hosted reverse proxy.
Automation example: Lights on at sunset
alias: Turn on porch lights at sunset
trigger:
- platform: sun
event: sunset
action:
- service: light.turn_on
target:
entity_id: light.front_porch
mode: single
Recommended setup for beginners
| Component | Why |
|---|---|
| Home Assistant Green | Out-of-box appliance |
| Sonoff Zigbee Dongle Plus or HA SkyConnect | For Zigbee + Matter/Thread |
| Aqara / Sonoff / IKEA starter kit | Sensors, plugs, switches |
| Wall-mounted tablet (optional) | A nicer dashboard than the laptop |
When Home Assistant ISN'T the right choice
- You don't want to maintain software updates and integration changes yourself.
- You want polished panels and one app for the household.
- You have a non-technical partner who needs the system to "just work" forever.
- You're an architect specifying a smart home for a client and want a single supplier story.
In any of those cases, Akubela is probably the better choice. We install both — we'll be honest with you about which fits.
When Home Assistant IS the right choice
- You're a software engineer, IT pro, or hobbyist who'll enjoy tinkering.
- You want the most-flexible platform for unusual integrations.
- You want to fully self-host with no cloud dependency at all.
- You're already comfortable with networks, protocols, and YAML.
Want help setting it up?
We design, install, and document Home Assistant builds in Sydney — and hand them over with admin access so you can keep tinkering.