Home Assistant: what you need, what it costs, where it sticks

Short answer: Home Assistant is free software that pulls all your smart devices into one app and runs at home, not in someone's cloud. You need a small computer that is always on, and a Zigbee antenna if you want battery sensors. At list prices the start is about €225. The hard part is not buying it but looking after it.

What it actually is

An open-source system for running a home. It understands a lot of devices: Zigbee sensors, Sonoff, Shelly, IKEA, Philips Hue, many heat pumps and solar inverters. In one place you see the lights, heating, sensors and power use. And you can build logic: a window opens, the radiator stops. Someone walks down the hall at night, a dim light comes on.

The biggest plus: it all runs locally. If the internet drops, Zigbee sensors and lights keep working. The minus: someone at home has to look after it, and the first weeks take some fiddling.

What to buy

Get Home Assistant Green if you want no fuss

A small ready computer with the system already on it. Home Assistant Green lists at €179 with VAT in Europe. It has no Zigbee radio, so add the Connect ZBT-2 antenna for €45. About €225 in total, and Latvian shops may differ a little.

Use a mini PC if one is already on the shelf

An old mini PC or laptop with an SSD works too. A Raspberry Pi works, but the memory card tends to die after a few years, so use an SSD and keep backups.

Do not run it on the computer you work on

A home system has to stay on 24/7. Switch the computer off in the evening and the hall light stops coming on by itself.

Zigbee: ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT

Wi‑Fi is not the best idea for battery sensors. It drains the battery and loads the router. Zigbee and Thread are made for exactly this. Home Assistant can run Zigbee two ways. ZHA is built in and simpler to start. Zigbee2MQTT is a separate add-on, often supports more odd devices and gives more settings. If unsure, take ZHA.

What many people miss: mains-powered devices make a Zigbee network stronger. Relays and plugs pass the signal on. With only battery sensors and one antenna, the far room can lose contact.

Home Assistant got much better with Matter and Thread in 2026. Home Assistant 2026.9 added a Matter network map that shows which device runs on Thread and which on Wi‑Fi.

Where it usually gets stuck

Avoid devices that only work through a cloud

A cheap Wi‑Fi plug often works only through the maker's server. When that changes or goes down, your automation stops. Zigbee and Matter devices work at home.

Turn on automatic backups

A new Home Assistant version comes out every month. Before updating you need a copy that can be restored on another computer. Keep it off the machine too, or a dead disk takes everything.

Keep the wall switches working

If the light only comes on from a phone, the family starts complaining in the first week. A relay behind a switch has to be fitted so the normal switch works even when Home Assistant is off.

Start with one thing

Heating, a water leak or the hall light. When that runs for a month without complaints, add the next. A hundred automations in the first week means a hundred places for something to break.

Power use on one screen

One of the best parts is the energy dashboard. It shows how many kWh the house uses per day and which device draws the most. Data can come from a meter pulse sensor, a meter in the panel or plugs with metering. Work in the panel is for an electrician, not for you.

NextTek sets up Home Assistant so you see the usage and the system works without internet. What can go into your panel is on the energy monitoring page. If you are still choosing devices, read about Sonoff and Zigbee.

Sources: Home Assistant Green, Connect ZBT-2, Home Assistant 2026.9. Prices checked in October 2026.