I am new to the openhab community and just wanted to introduce myself and ask for a bit of guidance. I have recently started exploring home automation and openHAB caught my attention as a powerful and flexible platform.
That said, I am feeling a little overwhelmed and not sure where to begin. I do really appreciate any advice or resources you do recommend for a complete beginner especially on how to set things up properly, best practices or common mistakes to avoid.
My goals are pretty simple at first: I do like to connect a few smart lights, some sensors and maybe automate a few routines. I have not chosen all my hardware yet so suggestions on compatible devices are also welcome.
Thanks in advance for your support. Looking forward to learning and contributing as I go.
My recommendation is to spend a bit of time beforehand to learn and understand the concepts of OpenHAB. This really helps in the long run.
If you enjoy leaning from videos, give the official OpenHAB channel a try (https://youtube.com/@_openhab?si=usO_J-XUL1TPOfez) and maybe prioritise the basics and what the semantic model can do for you.
Didn’t try to settle on a specific technology right away. The beauty of OH is it makes all the technologies work together. So you can start with Zwave, decide Shelly works better for you but you didn’t have to replace the Zwave devices you’ve already purchased. You really won’t know what works best for you until you get subway into the home automation journey so doing stress too much about country the right things before starting.
Definitely go through the getting started tutorial, at least at a quick read through to learn the basics flow which is always going to be binding → Things → Items → sometimes display → sometimes rules.
Start with one or two devices and go through setting them up and to end (e.g l. one smart plug that comes on at a certain time and off at another with a manual control) and then build on that and then build on what you learned.
Before choosing a device or technology, look to see if OH had an add-on that supports it and read through the docs for the add-on before buying anything.
There are several different hands-on learning options for you as well.
The docs contain a very good Getting Started tutorial that covers all the basics (including many tips about best practices and mistakes to avoid). Trying to get proficient at OH without going through that tutorial will just end up frustrating you. Getting Started - Introduction | openHAB
There is a click-by-click walk-through of getting your first device connected to OH built in to the UI: Just click on the ? in the upper right corner and select help → Quick Start:
On the OH main page there is an interactive demo that lets you see a fully configured basic set-up with connected devices, a UI and basic automations: https://www.openhab.org/
Thank you so much for the warm welcome and the detailed advice,I really appreciate the time you took to respond.
I will definitely check out the official openHAB YouTube channel and Hoerlis videos video tutorials are perfect for how I like to learn. Thanks for those great recommendations.
Also, your point about not stressing over choosing the perfect technology right away really helps. I was already feeling the pressure to decide on a specific path but knowing that openHAB lets different systems work together gives me confidence to just get started.
I have just started going through the getting started tutorial and the quick start in the ui, and it is already helping things make more sense. I will follow your advice to begin with just a couple of devices and build from there.
Looking forward to the journey and to contributing back as I learn more. Thanks again.
