Starter house setup guide
This is a concrete plan for the first few weekends of a smart home. One hub, about 10 devices, and one working recipe per room.
It builds on getting started, which explains the mindset, and the device guide, which lists the products I have used. This page turns both into an order of work.
The rules for a starter house
- One hub. Do not mix three apps on day one.
- Local first. Prefer Z-Wave and Zigbee devices that keep working when the internet is down.
- Switches still work. Every light keeps a normal wall control.
- One room at a time. Finish a room, live with it for a week, then move on.
- No risky jobs yet. Leave locks, heaters, and garage door control for later.
Step 1: Pick the hub
I run Hubitat. It runs automations on the hub itself, supports Z-Wave and Zigbee, and lets me build simple rules or detailed ones later. SmartThings is a reasonable alternative, especially if you already own Samsung devices. Read choose the right platform and Hubitat vs SmartThings for a family house before buying.
Set up the hub, give it a fixed IP address on your router, and turn on its backups.
Step 2: The first 10 devices
This list covers four rooms and the whole-house basics. Every product here is one I have used. Pick the “good enough” option or the step up from the device guide.
| # | Device | Room | First recipe |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Motion sensor (Aeotec SmartThings Motion Sensor) | Hallway or laundry | Lights on motion |
| 2 | Smart switch (Leviton DG15S Zigbee switch) | Same room | Lights off after motion |
| 3 | Bathroom multisensor (Aeotec TriSensor 8) | Bathroom | Bathroom night-light |
| 4 | Smart dimmer (TP-Link Tapo S505D) | Bathroom or living room | Bathroom night-light |
| 5 | Power-metering switch (Zooz ZEN15) | Laundry | Washer done alert |
| 6 | Vibration sensor (THIRDREALITY Zigbee Vibration Sensor) | Laundry | Dryer done alert |
| 7 | Leak sensor (THIRDREALITY WL2) | Water heater or under sink | Water leak alerts |
| 8 | Leak sensor (second one) | Washer or dishwasher | Water leak alerts |
| 9 | Contact sensor (SONOFF SenseGuard Gen2) | Closet or pantry door | Turn lights on when a door opens |
| 10 | Garage tilt sensor (THIRDREALITY Garage Tilt Sensor) | Garage | Garage door left-open alerts |
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Mixing Zigbee and Z-Wave is fine. Mains-powered switches and plugs act as repeaters and make the mesh stronger, so install those before the battery sensors in far rooms.
Step 3: Room by room
Weekend 1: Hallway or laundry lights
Install the switch, then the motion sensor. Build lights on motion. Live with it for a week before adding lights off after motion.
Before mounting the sensor, read motion sensor placement. Most “it does not work” problems are placement.
Weekend 2: Laundry alerts
Put the ZEN15 on the washer and a vibration sensor on the dryer. Run three loads with logging only, then turn on notifications. The power-monitoring plug guide explains which device fits which appliance.
On Hubitat, my Appliance Cycle Monitor app handles the running and finished states for you.
Weekend 3: Bathroom
Add the multisensor and a dimmer. Start with a dim night-light. If you want the fan to run on its own later, read best humidity sensors for shower fan automation and then the shower fan recipe.
Weekend 4: Safety and status
Place the leak sensors where water shows up first: under the water heater, behind the washer, under the kitchen sink. Add the closet or pantry contact sensor and the garage tilt sensor. Then set up low-battery alerts so a sensor never goes quiet without anyone knowing.
Step 4: Add modes, then routines
Once the devices work on their own, add home modes. Day, Evening, Night, and Away are enough. Then build:
Modes make every later recipe simpler, because rules can check one mode instead of five conditions.
What to skip in the first month
- Smart locks and auto-closing garage doors. Get alerts working first.
- Plugs on heaters or cooking appliances. Not safe for general-purpose plugs.
- Voice-only control. Fine as an extra, not as the only way to turn on a light.
- Bundles of cheap devices. Test one, then buy more of what works.
A starter checklist
- Hub installed, fixed IP, backups on
- Switches and plugs paired before far battery sensors
- Every device named by room and job (for example, “Laundry Washer Power”)
- One recipe per room, watched for a week
- Leak and low-battery alerts tested with a real wet towel and a weak battery
- Someone else in the house knows how the lights work without the app