Now that you’re familiar with the foundational aspects of Home Assistant, from creating your first dashboard to setting up some basic automations, it’s time to elevate your smart home experience with more devices and sophisticated control.

As you expand your smart home, you’ll quickly discover the limitations of Wi-Fi-based devices, especially as your network grows. To overcome these limitations and unlock the full potential of your smart home, you’ll need to start incorporating Zigbee devices. Zigbee offers a more reliable and energy-efficient way to connect a wide range of smart devices. To get started, you’ll need a small but essential device called a Zigbee Coordinator, which is similar in size to a USB thumb drive and plugs directly into your Raspberry Pi or other Home Assistant hardware.

In the next post, you’ll learn how to take your smart home to the next level by adding Zigbee devices, starting with my recommended Zigbee Coordinator and a selection of devices that I’ve tested and trust. Don’t miss out on this crucial step to expand and enhance your smart home setup—read on to continue your journey!

3 Requirements