Hi all
I want to get some security in a second property. Nest seems a really easy solution, we’re in the Google world already. However I’m a bit cautious about being so cloud dependent and, being a tinkerer, I’d be happy looking at other things.
However my question is, does Nest work with OpenHAB for the workflow aspect? If I want to get some workflow around, for example, turning a light on when someone rings a doorbell, or turning on an internal light when a camera event occurs, can I do that with Nest and OpenHub?
If it helps, I would look to put OpenHub on a windows box somewhere inside the house with a POE network.
You can find the docs for the Nest binding at Nest - Bindings | openHAB. Look at the Channels and that will tell you what you can get from the Nest devices and what you can control on them. Note that Nest Protects are not supported.
As for the “workflow”, look at the Rules sections of the Getting Started Tutorial. OH provides a layer of abstraction between the devices and the rest of the platform (i.e. Items). Once it’s in Items OH doesn’t know nor does it care what API or technology it is. A Switch is a Switch whether it’s linked to a Zwave light switch, Nest Camera, or nothing at all.
In addition, OH is event based. When an event occurs OH can do something in response: save the value to a database, perform some automation action (i.e. Rules) to turn stuff on or off, send an alert, etc.
For Nest being on the same internal network doesn’t matter since, as you said, it’s a cloud based API. However, if you have non-cloud based stuff you want to control, particularly stuff that is locally controllable like Zwave, Zigbee, etc. you’ll want an OH instance running locally there.
Running OH on Windows, while not exactly rare, will put you in the minority of OH users.The vast majority run on Linux of some sort. The bulk of those run on a Raspberry Pi using openHABian.
