The first step that you will need to take to install Energy Manager will be to procure or reuse suitable hardware. We do not sell this hardware, but suitable hardware is generally readily available at a reasonably low price. You may be able to reuse other hardware that you already have, or if you know how, even install it in a virtual environment (like VMware, VirtualBox, Proxmox). Whatever hardware you decide to install Home Assistant on will need to remain permanently powered on and connected to the internet.
Our recommendation is to purchase an Intel NUC, primarily because they are reasonably well powered (for what Home Assistant is required to do) and perform really well with Home Assistant. They generally come with sufficient CPU and RAM to easily run Home Assistant. Even the new low-cost Intel NUCs that have the N95 chipset are very adequate for this purpose.
Here's a generalised table to help you decide the best hardware for you:
| Model | CPU/Performance | Architecture | RAM | Typical Use | Ease of Installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel N95 NUC | Highest | x86 | High (8-16GB) | Demanding setups, many add-ons | Difficult option |
| Old home PC | High | x86 | Variable | Demanding setups, many add-ons | Difficult option |
| Raspberry Pi 5 | High | ARM | Medium-High (2-16GB) | Enthusiasts, demanding setups | Moderate difficulty |
| Home Assistant Yellow | Medium | ARM | Medium (2-8GB) | Standard to larger Home Assistant | Easiest, preinstalled |
| Home Assistant Green | Medium | ARM | Medium (4GB) | Standard Home Assistant | Easiest, preinstalled |
Note that Energy Manager will need at least 4GB (recommended 8GB) of RAM to run effectively with the integrations that are installed.
Installing Home Assistant can be a difficult task for some, if you're not particularly technical. If this is you, then you should consider either the Home Assistant Green or Yellow devices since they come preinstalled with Home Assistant. If you do use a ready-made device, then you can skip step 2 and go straight on to restoring the Energy Manager backup to your device.
Take a read of Step 2 if you are unsure what to do, and then consider what hardware would suit you the best.
Intel NUCs can be purchased from a number of locations - including Amazon.com.au and most local computer shops. You don't need a really expensive one; budget about $200 or $300. These are more involved to deploy Home Assistant to, but they are generally much more powerful than the other options. Advanced users generally prefer an Intel NUC.
If you have an old PC lying around home, this may be suitable, as Home Assistant doesn't really need any high-end hardware to run. However, it is important that it has at least 4GB of RAM. Follow any instructions for the Intel NUC option. Also note that you will need to check that the hardware is supported by Home Assistant OS. Most common (recent) hardware should be supported.
The Raspberry Pi 5 will cost you about $200. Make sure it includes a case and a power supply. Make sure it has at least 2GB RAM. A Raspberry Pi 5 is a relatively powerful device when it comes to Home Assistant requirements. It should be more than adequate for our purposes.
The Home Assistant Green will cost you about $150. Make sure it includes a case and a power supply. This is the base unit of the official Home Assistant devices, but should be perfectly adequate to run Energy Manager.
The more advanced Home Assistant Yellow should cost you between $200-400. Make sure it includes a case and a power supply. This is similar to the Home Assistant Green but it has some extra hardware features that aren't needed to run Energy Manager, but if you want to control Zigbee devices, etc., as well, then you may want this device. Make sure you purchase it with the Compute Module (CM5) board if you want to extend it in the future.
When you have your device (or to see what comes next), proceed to the next step:
Step two for the Intel NUC
Step two for the Raspberry Pi 5
Step two can be ignored for Home Assistant Green and Yellow devices; move straight to Step 3