Hello eveyone,
So I finally decided to start working on my home automation, and started integrating some stuff I had home. It’s been extreamly fun to hack a couple of things, but interacting with google home / assistant has proven to be a bit tougher that I expected 
The first obvious problem is having self signed SSL at home, which prevents me to use assistant actions to integrate via webhooks. The second problem is integrating with some bulbs I had on google home, but I would much rather prefer to operate locally (i’m considering replacing them by zigbee bulbs, if there’s no other way). Any suggestions or pointers to tackle these problems?
As a side note, here’s a sample of what I’m doing, feel free to show yours!
Thank you in advance!
I side-stepped the self-signed SSL issue by using my domain to get Lets Encrypt certs. In my particular case, I have my domain DNS administered on Digital Ocean, and I was able to use a library like this one to automate the process. (I’m actually using a pfSense firewall to do it all, but changing your network architecture just to get certs is possibly a big request…)
With this setup, I can get valid certs for any name I want under *.mydomain.com even if the machines are never accessible to the internet.
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Hi, and thank you for the reply.
I will eventually consider that, if this proves to be more then a temporary hobby. For now, I’m actually using a webhook relay to use assistant actions, which actually allows me to not expose my server too much. Still, it’s a workaround, and I’m certainly considering a solution like you propose, both for performance and security reasons.
Onwards to “hack” the tv api
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SSL solved with letsecnrypt. Thanks for the pointer in the right direction!!
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@bruno.nunes, I have also recently started my home automation using maker. In terms of lighting control I have gone down the route of wiring in Shelly devices and using MQTT.
This way I can keep the original physical switch functionality and also control via the LAN. It also doesn’t require any internet connection, making it a bit more robust and secure. I have found response times to be instant with the few devices I have on the network so far.
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Hi matthew, and thanks for the pointer…
@matthew.ayre I’m also making a big effort to keep things off the cloud, and for now I’m using zigbee2mqtt. Shelly was under my radar already for lights (also because of the costs), and I’m also going to try to make my door intercom a bit smarter using Shelly too. I’m just waiting so that I can get a colleague to help me with some electronics. If it goes as we expect, i’ll drop here some info if you’re interested.
Again, thanks for the tip!
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@bruno.nunes no worries. Interestingly, one of the things on my radar was disabling the doorbell so it doesn’t interrupt nap-time. Shelly is my go to for this as well I think (looked at the Sonoff’s & using ESP8266’s, but can’t be bothered with the flashing of firmware etc.)
Sure keep us up to date, and I will do the same if I find anything more suitable. I think the next major project for me is Nest Thermostat integration (which I am not looking forward too) or the garden/greenhouse.
Here’s a sample of the dashboard I have displayed in the kitchen (luckily we were renovating when Maker came out, and I managed to convince the wifey to repurpose one of the old TV’s ). Everything else is controlled via the Perspective App, so not very interesting to look at (at the moment).
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