Raspberry Pi

About the vendor and its products

Raspberry Pi is a small and highly affordable computer, which comes in a number of different versions, and which strictly speaking has nothing to do with smart homes. The reason for including it here is that many uses it as a server for the smart home platform they have chosen, thus avoiding the need for having a PC/Mac running continuously or installing a NAS server. Depending on which platform for home automation one chooses, there might be a need for a USB dongle for example for Z-Wave (where the least expensive alternative arguably is Aeotec’s) or it might be sufficient with software, e.g., for Homebridge.

Our experiences

Until I figured out that Homebridge could easily be installed on the Synology NAS we already had, I seriously considered getting a Raspberry Pi, but have no personal experiences with these. There are many detailed instructions to be found on how to set up and install the desired platform on such computers.