this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2026
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Home Assistant is open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first.
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I'm thinking about getting started using Docker and an older Raspberry Pi. I'm already hosting a grafana service on it, so It can't be fully dedicated to ha. So curious what everyone is using.

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[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

A Dell 3140 laptop. With HA and a number of other apps it loafs along at about 5% CPU. When Frigate is enabled it jumps up to 14% or so while drawing between 6 and 12 watts. The battery prevents power blinks in our area from being a problem, unlike my Pi4 that crashed and didn't recover when I was hundreds of miles away. The battery lasts hours when the power fails and the keyboard and display are convenient.

For those concerned about the battery, it's firmware limited to a 70% charge so it will last years. Current Li-Ion batteries have about a 1 in a million chance of fire. A car parked in your garage is hundreds of times more of a risk.

It's been excellent and I'd buy it again.