Home Assistant

Best Hardware for Home Assistant: My Bare Metal Laptop Build

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Old HP laptop repurposed as best hardware for Home Assistant bare metal server on desk

Looking for the best hardware for Home Assistant without buying a new mini-PC or Raspberry Pi? Here is how I built a fast, stable, bare metal Home Assistant system using a 2012 HP laptop, SSD upgrade, Hubitat integration, and AI-assisted dashboards.

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Tapo C210 Review: Budget Camera With No Subscription Needed

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Tapo C210 review showing the inexpensive pan tilt security camera on a desk

I bought the Tapo C210 for under $35 and it blew me away. Here is my honest, hands-on review of its no-subscription features, RTSP feeds, and rock-solid Home Assistant integration.

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Home Assistant Green Alternative: Why a $50 Mac Mini is Better

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home assistant on linux

Thinking about buying Home Assistant Green as your first Home Assistant server? You’re not alone. It’s heavily advertised as the official plug-and-play way to get started. But before you spend $219 for it on Amazon, you here is that I think is a much better Home Assistant Green alternative that costs less than a dinner out and will save you from a major upgrade headache later.

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Home Assistant Mac Mini Kiosk Display: HAOS-kiosk Setup Guide

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Old Apple Mac Mini running Home Assistant bare-metal with HAOS-kiosk displaying a home automation dashboard on a monitor

From Headless to Headful: Turning My Old Mac Mini into a Home Assistant Dashboard with HAOS-kiosk When I first put Home Assistant bare-metal onto an old Apple Mac Mini I had lying around in the closet, I was convinced it was going to be a headless server. Install HAOS, tuck the Mini into the closet, … Read more

Home Assistant on Linux: Self-Hosted Automation Without the Cloud

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Home Assistant dashboard on Linux showing automation status and connected smart home devices

If you’re tired of cloud-dependent smart home systems and want complete control over your home automation, Home Assistant on Linux is the answer you’ve been looking for. As someone running Home Assistant on a dedicated Linux machine, I can tell you that self-hosted home automation fundamentally changes how you think about smart home security and … Read more