While not the most glamorous, or largest, or most expensive control panel, this meets my needs perfectly. I wanted a small control panel, using Home Assistant, mounted by my front door that I could use for controlling my garage door, to turn off all the lights, etc. I wasn’t interested in spending any money for a tablet to mount or a touch screen. My solution was to re-purpose an old Android phone I had laying around. By having this right by the door I don’t have to pull my phone out of my pocket and start up Home Assistant to do the set of things I want to do leaving or entering the house.
The phone I am using is an AT&T RADIANT Core (ATTU304AA) model:
- Display: The RADIANT Core features a 5.5-inch display with a resolution of 960 x 480. The screen uses Dragontrail glass for added protection against scratches.
- Operating System: It runs on Android 9 Go Edition, which is optimized for performance on lower-end devices2.
- Network Technology: The device supports 4G LTE connectivity.
I keep it plugged into a wall outlet and use Home Assistant automatons to control charging the battery.
There are only two apps running on the phone. Obviously one is the Home Assistant app. In Home Assistant, I designed a dashboard that I named “Panel”. This dashboard has been designed to work on the small screen and has six “pages” accessed by icons at the top of the screen. In my use, the main page has a garage door button, and three other buttons for turning off lights mostly, or turning on main lights. Also the time is displayed. Other pages include a page to control remote vacuums, a page for the TV, and a page for specific lights near the front door.
The other app is Fully Kiosk, which removes unnecessary Android UI and locks the display down. It also automatically starts Home Assistant when the phone is turned on, and loads the correct dashboard.
The phone is mounted to the wall using double-sided tape and has the USB cable plugged in. I am using a right angle USB cable that drops down to a power strip at the floor, which as a smart plug with a USB port.
In Home Assistant I have the Fully Kiosk integration and the Mobile App integration installed. The mobile app integration let me use an automation that monitors the battery level of the phone and turns off the smart plug powering the phone if the battery level is 80% or above. If the battery level falls below 30% the plug turns on.
Obviously this is a “down and dirty” solution, but it fit my needs perfectly. Total cost of the project was almost nothing. I paid for the pro version of Fully Kisok (about $10). Everything else I had laying around.
For those who want a more polished solution check out the following videos: