Buying guides
Short lists with a clear top pick. Guides marked In my house cover gear I run at home; researched guides come from specs and what Home Assistant users report.
Nov 27Black Friday 2026
Gifts for Home Assistant people
12 gifts sorted by price, from $20 sensors to a robot vacuum.
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Best energy-monitoring smart plugs I actually run
Top pick: Zooz ZEN15 800LR power switch
This is the plug for anything with a compressor. It watches watts, not just on/off.
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Z-Wave and Zigbee coordinators for Home Assistant
Top pick for Z-Wave: Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2
The official adapter from the people who write the Z-Wave integration.
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Presence sensors that actually work: what I run
Budget pick (PIR): Aqara P1 motion sensors
For hallways, closets, and anywhere people just pass through, this is the cheap, reliable answer.
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Smart bulbs worth putting in a smart home
Top pick: Philips Hue A19 White and Color Ambiance
Premium Zigbee color. I only buy these where lighting is the room's whole point.
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Wall switches for a smart home: Zooz or Inovelli
Top pick: Zooz Z-Wave switches (ZEN76/ZEN71)
The wired lighting layer on my walls. Running 5+ years with zero failures.
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Researched, Ethernet
Mini PCs for Home Assistant and Proxmox
Easiest pick: Home Assistant Green
Built by Nabu Casa to run Home Assistant OS and nothing else.
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Researched, Ethernet
Home NAS picks: Synology or UGREEN
Top pick: UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus
The most hardware per dollar in this list.
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Researched, PoE
Security cameras that work locally with Home Assistant
Top pick for Frigate: Amcrest IP8M-T2599EW-AI-V3
Amcrest cameras are rebranded Dahua hardware.
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Researched, Z-Wave
Smart locks for Home Assistant: Z-Wave and Matter
Top pick for Z-Wave: Schlage Connect BE469ZP
The highest security rating in this list, and a long track record in Home Assistant forums.
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Researched, Z-Wave
Thermostats Home Assistant can control locally
Top pick: Honeywell Home T6 Pro Z-Wave (TH6320ZW2007)
No Wi-Fi, no app, no account.
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Researched
Robot vacuums that work with Home Assistant
Top pick for stock firmware: Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Flow
The pick if you don't want to open anything up.
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Researched, PoE
PoE switches for cameras, sensors, and ESPHome devices
Top pick: TP-Link TL-SG108PE
The cheapest switch here that does VLANs.
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Researched, USB
UPS units for a home server that Home Assistant can read
Top pick: CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
The default UPS for a tower server or NAS.
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Researched, Zigbee
Water leak sensors for Home Assistant: Zigbee and Z-Wave
Budget pick for Zigbee: Aqara Water Leak Sensor
Cheap enough to put one at every sink, toilet, and appliance.
