SWEET HOME AUTOMATED
The Gear
— What's Actually Running This House.
Recommended gear, devices and hardware for home automation
Every guide on this site is built around real hardware running in a real home in Utrecht. This page is the shopping list — the exact devices, sensors, and bridges referenced throughout the blog, with a link to the guide that uses each one. Some notes along the way on what each one is actually worth to you, not just what it does.
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Recommended Gear - Basics
A curated list of smart home gear, hand-picked for stability, ease of use, and seamless integration with Home Assistant.
Home Assistant Green
The brain of the whole setup. Plug-and-play HA OS device — no Raspberry Pi assembly required. A note: there is also HA Yellow for the enthusiastic, but the entry-level HA Green will be sufficient for most people, and it's certainly a good, contained investment to discover just how strong your affiliation with all of this turns out to be. Used in: every guide on this site
Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2
External USB-C Zigbee/Thread coordinator. Bigger antenna and faster than the original ZBT-1. A note: this little antenna does more for your network's reliability than almost anything else on this list. Cheap insurance for a mesh that actually holds together. Used in: Setting Up Zigbee2MQTT on HA Green
IKEA GRILLPLATS Smart Plug
The plug that started it all — power monitoring lets HA detect appliance states like "washing machine finished." A note: this is the cheapest possible way to find out whether you actually enjoy this hobby. If one plug telling you the laundry is done makes you smile, you're already in deep. Used in: Smart Washing Machine Notifications
Shelly Plug S Plus
Alternative to IKEA optiojn: WiFi smart plug with power monitoring, no Zigbee hub required — the easiest entry point if you don't have Zigbee infrastructure yet. A note: if you're not ready to commit to a whole Zigbee setup, start here. No regrets, no hub required, just plug and go
Recommended Gear - Lights and motion sensors
There are cheaper options out there but the Philips line of smart lights and sensors is the most solid and elegant. A very strong alternative can also be the Govee product line.
Philips Hue Bridge Pro
The hub that ties all Hue devices together and connects them to Home Assistant via the Hue integration. The Pro version handles larger installations and responds faster than the standard Bridge — worth it if you're going beyond a handful of bulbs. A note: this is the one you buy once and forget about. It sits quietly in a corner doing its job while you take all the credit for the automations it enables. Used in: throughout the lighting-related guides on this site
Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance Smart Bulb (G10)
The core Hue bulb used throughout the lighting automations — full colour and brightness control via HA. A note: this is the bulb that teaches you scenes are more fun than switches. Buy one, and you'll find yourself buying ten more within a month. Used in: throughout the lighting-related guides on this site
Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip (gaming monitor LED strip)
ue's gradient lightstrip designed to sit behind a monitor or TV, syncing colour with on-screen content — pairs naturally with the PS5 Cinema Mode automation. A note: small upgrade, disproportionate impact. Once your screen has a glow behind it, going back feels like watching TV in a cave. Used in: PS5 Cinema Mode
Philips Hue Bloom Tafellamp
Compact ambient table lamp, used as accent lighting alongside the main HA scenes. A note: this lamp does more emotional work in a room than its size suggests. A warm corner glow, fully automatable, is a genuinely underrated upgrade to a home. Used in: throughout the lighting-related guides on this site
Philips Hue Resonate Outdoor Lamp
Weatherproof Hue garden lighting — included in the same automation patterns as the BBQ weather and garden watering guides. A note: the garden deserves the same intelligence as the living room. This is what makes a BBQ weather notification feel complete — the lights are already waiting for you outside. Used in: Smart Garden Watering Reminder, Weekend BBQ Weather Notifications
Philips Hue Motion Sensor
Doubles as a temperature sensor in several automations — motion plus ambient temperature in one device. A note: two sensors for the price of one is rare in this hobby — make the most of it. It quietly powers more automations than you'd expect from something this small. Used in: Automatically Lower Blinds Based on Indoor and Outdoor Temperature
Govee LED floor lamp
Affordable colour LED strip for wall accent lighting, controlled via HA alongside the Hue ecosystem. A note: proof that you don't need to spend Hue money on every wall in the house. A great way to add colour and drama on a budget while you decide where the real investment goes. Used in: throughout the lighting-related guides on this site
Recommended Gear - Voice assistants
After turning around on few voice assistants, the versatility and solidness of the Alexa devices is still satisfying me
Amazon Echo Dot
The core voice interface used throughout the Alexa integrations — Jarvis, voice-triggered automations, and announcements. A note: the cheapest, most versatile entry point into voice control. One in every room turns the whole house into something you can talk to. Used in: Build a Smart AI Voice Assistant, Expose Automations to Alexa, Presence Detection
Amazon Echo Show 5
Small smart display with Alexa built in — used for alarm sensors and visual status alongside the voice automations. A note: a screen changes what a smart speaker can show you, not just say to you. A genuinely nice upgrade for a kitchen counter or bedside table. My daughter uses it to show all her friends photos taken from the phone. Beats printing them all out!
Amazon Echo Pop
Compact, affordable Echo speaker — handy for adding voice coverage to a smaller room without the bulk of a full Echo Dot. A note: the right answer for the one room where you keep saying "I should put an Echo here too" but never quite justify the bigger model (my office for example) Used in: throughout the Alexa-based guides on this site
Amazon Echo Studio
Higher-end Echo, looks like a death star or a big brother of the dot. It's used for the smooth jazz welcome-home automation and announcements that need real audio quality. A note: this is the one that makes coming home actually feel like something. Worth it the first time smooth jazz greets you at the door and you realise the house meant it.
Recommended Gear - The one-of extras
After turning around on few voice assistants, the versatility and solidness of the Alexa devices is still satisfying me
Ratio Laadpaal (io6 / Solar / Smart)
The EV charger behind the OCPP integration guide — Dutch-made, connects directly to Home Assistant once the cloud backoffice is bypassed. Ratio sells exclusively through professional resellers rather than directly or via Amazon, so this links to their official reseller webshop rather than an affiliate listing. A note: there's something deeply satisfying about a charger that listens to your solar panels instead of a faraway server. Made in Holland, and it shows in how well it plays with the rest of this list. Used in: Connecting a Ratio Laadpaal to Home Assistant via OCPP, Start Car Charging When Solar Panels Produce Excess Energy
TP-Link Deco XE75 Pro (Mesh WiFi system)
Whole-home WiFi 6E mesh — the backbone that keeps HA, Echo devices, and every Zigbee/WiFi sensor reliably connected throughout the house. Particularly relevant for the multicast/mDNS requirements covered in the Matter Hub guide. A note: nobody starts this hobby dreaming about their router, but a flaky network quietly ruins more automations than bad YAML ever will. This is the unglamorous upgrade that makes everything else actually work.
Somfy Connectivity Kit
he cheaper of Somfy's two gateway options (versus the pricier TaHoma Switch) — supports io home-control and RTS protocols, giving HA control over Somfy-powered blinds and shutters. Fewer advanced features than TaHoma Switch (manual scenes only, no Zigbee), but plenty for straightforward cover automations like the temperature-based blinds guide. A note: you don't need the most expensive box to get blinds that think for themselves. This one does the job without asking you to pay for features you'll never touch. Used in: Automatically Lower Blinds Based on Indoor and Outdoor Temperature