Home automation is quickly becoming popular, allowing residents to easily connect and remotely control appliances or security systems. To support these efforts, there are several popular “smart” home systems available, such as Amazon Hub, Google Nest, Amazon Echo, Apple HomeKit, Hue Smart Hub, and others.
For do-it-yourselfers, custom home automation systems can also be built using Zigbee, Z-wave, Bluetooth, or a simple WiFi network. The ideal thing about a Bluetooth or WiFi network is that it requires no circuitry. or additional devices.
A central hub controls all home automation systems. Any microcomputer (like Raspberry Pi or Beaglebone) can serve as a hub for DIY smart homes. These microcomputers easily connect to WiFi or Bluetooth without additional circuitry and can operate 24/7.
The hub controls smart devices supported by automation software, which is what connects and communicates with the Bluetooth or WiFi network. It provides an interface and means to control home appliances or devices. For DIYers, this software should be based on open protocols.
In this article, we will introduce you to some quality home automation software systems that are open source and free to use.
As mentioned, a home automation hub can be configured to control a variety of devices, including lights, thermostats, smoke detectors, smart TVs, sound systems, locks, monitoring systems (like video doorbells), and more. They can even work with home robots, which are electronic devices designed to manage household tasks.
Here are some open source home automation software options:
1. OpenHAB
2. Red Knot
3. Home Automation
4. Home Assistant
5. OpenMotics
6. HomeGenie
7. Calaos
8. PiDome
OpenHAB – currently one of the top open source home automation software options. It is a flexible and modular platform for a smart home hub. Home appliances or devices are connected to this software through plug-ins. (Note: Some plug-ins require a hub to connect over a wireless network, such as WAP. Others may use a USB or Bluetooth adapter.)
OpenHAB offers a pluggable architecture that allows users to connect with more than 200 technologies. You can control devices through scripts, event-based triggers, voice control, or rules.
This software can be installed on all major operating systems including Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Raspberry Pi, Docker, etc. It can run with or without the cloud and can be integrated with Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, etc.
If using Raspberry Pi, a ready-to-use “openHABian” image is available and comes with pre-configured settings and software. OpenHAB can also be installed on the Raspbian operating system or any Debian-based Linux derivative that runs on Raspberry Pi. Installation requires custom configurations and settings.
Nó-Vermelho – is an open source programming tool from IBM. The tool is used to connect hardware devices, online services and application programming interfaces and works easily with any home automation software such as Home Assistant.
Node-Red provides a browser-based editor for defining flows between network nodes. These flows can then be deployed to a runtime like Node.js with a single click. An online stream library is available. Makers can also define their own JavaScript functions to control things.
This software is often configured in Node.js because of its non-blocking, event-driven server. Node-Red can be configured on Raspberry Pi, Beaglebone and Android and can interact with Arduino boards or Docker. It supports multiple cloud platforms including Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, and Amazon Web Services.
Node-Red allows users to integrate Home Assistant or other home automation systems with various hardware and application platforms. A basic understanding of Python or Java is ideal.
Home Automation – is open source automation software that works with Raspberry Pi, Windows, Linux, macOS, Docker, FreeNAS and Synology NAS. It has a scalable HTML5 web frontend, accessible on any desktop or mobile phone. Devices controlled via Domoticz are “protocols” and software interfaces are “APIs”.
Domoticz is designed to work with a single cable, and all devices are controlled by a single program, using MQTT, TCP/IP, HTTP, Z-wave, Zigbee, LoRa, Bluetooth, DomBus, 1-wire, Infrared, 2.4 GHz, 315/433 MHz, 868/915 MHz or X10. The “protocols” can be connected to the software using proprietary plugins or generic Python plugins. Manufacturers can also develop Python plugins. Typical devices controlled by Domoticz include devices for lighting, gardening, security, and entertainment.
Home Assistant – is one of the most popular types of home automation software due to its versatility. It can remotely control lights, fans, smart TVs, video doorbells, home security, and many other devices. In fact, there are more than 2,000 smart devices that work with Home Assistant. The software can be installed on the Raspberry Pi or on a local server as an operating system or a standalone container installation.
To install, use a supervisor application or Python virtual environment. Home Assistant can be installed on Raspberry Pi, Linux, Windows, Odroid, Asus Tinkerboard, macOS, NAS (like VirtualBox) or any generic x86-64 system. If used with Node-Red, Home Assistant can control virtually any smart device.
OpenMotics – is a complete software and hardware platform for home automation, supporting more than 5,700 smart modules for controlling home devices and appliances. It is open, connected and modular. The software can be accessed through an on-premises interface, mobile app, or free cloud service. Can also be integrated with Google Assistant, Digitale Woonassistent, Davis Weatherstation, Hevlar DALI routers, Elsner Weatherstation, Endura Delta, Google Calender, Elvaco CME gateway, SMAtcpmodbus (for solar panel monitoring), SimaticS7, Cogengreen, VitoGateconfigurator, Polysun, Sense, PowerDale Nexxtender, Metriot and power management system.
OpenMotics allows customization of PCB, firmware, scripts, software and bill of materials. It is ideal for building a smart home and a zero energy home.
HomeGenie – is a web-based home automation software that can be installed on any single-board computer such as Raspberry Pi. It offers a built-in program editor and API support to control GPIO, SPI and I2C hardware programming. It also offers several useful apps and widgets to control sensors and devices like DHT-11, DHT-22, Eden Board, Grove LED bar, Grove RGB LED, HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensors, HD44780 LCD, MCP23017 GPIO modules, analog input modules MCP3008 and SSD1306 OLED.
The source code of this open source software is available on GitHub for modifications, contributions and improvements. The software can be integrated with various devices, including RFXCom, UPnP/DLNA, Z-Wave, Philips Hue, X10, KNX and Insteon. It is also possible to configure RFID tags with HomeGenie.
Calaos – licensed under GPLv3, Calaos is open automation software that can be installed on Raspberry Pi B, Cubieboard, Cubieboard2, Mele1000, Mele2000, Mele1000G, Mele2000G, MSI WindBox and any Intel-based PC. This software can be integrated with GPIO (like Raspberry Pi GPIO board), 1-wire, Zibase and Internet of Things.
Calaos is available as a server app, web app, touchscreen user interface, and Android or iOS app. Or consider it as a Linux distribution with everything pre-configured. It is accessed through an HTML5 web application.
You can control all major home appliances with a single click using Calaos. It's also easy to integrate with an Echo, OpenWeather Map, IPX800 or OpenKarotz device.
PiDome – is an open source automation software designed specifically for Raspberry Pi. The server program is installed on the RPi, but the client program can run on a phone, tablet, or desktop computer, as well as embedded platforms. Users can even create their own dashboards per device and create dashboards linked to rooms.
The dashboard updates in real time and integrates with multiple components, devices, media plugins, weather APIs, and other devices and services. PiDome can also be integrated with the MQTT protocol, device plug-ins (such as Philips Hue and PlugWise), hardware platforms (such as Bluetooth LE, MySensors, PiFace, RFXCOM, UniPi, Z-Wave and ZigBee), messaging platforms with Asterisk , SMS, Email, and PushBullet, multimedia platforms (such as UPnP and Kodi), IFTTT online service, and weather plug-ins (such as BuienRadar and OpenWeatherMap).
