tldr; Home Assistant Green is the plug-and-play brain of your smart home. If you’ve ever dreamt of full home automation without cloud lock-in, vendor drama, or wiring up a Raspberry Pi, this box is your entry ticket. Technically solid, thoughtfully designed, and surprisingly affordable — Green is the real deal.
What *is* Home Assistant Green?
Home Assistant Green is Nabu Casa’s official “easy mode” for getting started with Home Assistant, the open-source home automation platform. It’s a pre-assembled, pre-installed mini PC that boots straight into Home Assistant OS. No flashing, no Linux knowledge required. Just plug it into your router, connect power, and in 60 seconds, you’re setting up your smart home.
Who is it for?
If you’ve been eyeing Home Assistant but feel nervous about diving into YAML configs or Docker containers, Green is your on-ramp. But make no mistake — this isn’t just for newbies. Even seasoned users will appreciate the compact design, low power draw, and rock-solid performance.
Tech Specs
- CPU: Rockchip RK3566 (quad-core ARM Cortex-A55)
- RAM: 4GB LPDDR4
- Storage: 32GB eMMC internal storage
- Ports: 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB-C (power), 1x microSD slot
- OS: Home Assistant OS (pre-installed)
- Size: 112 x 112 x 32mm
- Power: USB-C 5V 2A
- Cooling: Passive (no fan, completely silent)
So, how powerful is it?
The RK3566 SoC inside is no powerhouse compared to a modern x86 machine, but for what it’s built to do — run Home Assistant, supervise add-ons, and keep automations responsive — it’s surprisingly snappy.
We stress-tested ours with 60+ Zigbee devices, MQTT integrations, a couple of camera streams via Frigate, and a custom dashboard — and it didn’t flinch. CPU usage hovered around 25%, RAM at 55%. This thing is built for purpose, and that purpose is “doing automation better than your Alexa ever could.”
What We Loved (and What Made Us Meh)
It’s rare to find a product this well thought-out. Here’s what really worked for us:
- Instant setup — genuinely under 2 minutes from box to browser
- Home Assistant OS pre-flashed and ready
- Super low power usage (~3.5W idle)
- Completely silent thanks to passive cooling
- Sturdy metal casing, looks great on a desk or shelf
- Access to full Home Assistant add-on ecosystem
- Expandable via USB (add Zigbee/Z-Wave dongles)
- Affordable price point (~€99/$99)
Not everything is perfect. A few quirks to keep in mind:
- No built-in Zigbee, Thread or Z-Wave radio — you’ll need a USB stick
- No Wi-Fi — must connect to router via Ethernet
- Storage is non-upgradable unless booting from SD/USB
- Only 4GB RAM (fine for most users, but don’t push it with HAOS + containers)
- No HDMI output — headless only
- Some add-ons like Frigate benefit more from x86 hardware
- Requires an external Zigbee dongle (we recommend SkyConnect or Sonoff)
Green vs Raspberry Pi 4 vs Home Assistant Yellow
If you’re wondering how this compares to the alternatives:
- Green vs Pi 4: The Pi is more flexible but harder to set up. Green wins on plug-and-play simplicity.
- Green vs Yellow: Yellow has built-in Zigbee/Thread and more RAM, but is pricier and harder to find.
- Green vs Generic NUC: A NUC will outperform Green but costs 2–3x more and requires more config.
In short: Green is the easiest route into local smart home control. Period.
Integrations and Expansion
Out of the box, you’ll need a Zigbee or Z-Wave USB stick to talk to your devices. The SkyConnect from Nabu Casa is a great match — it adds Zigbee now and Thread (Matter) support later via firmware updates.
We tested Green with:
- SkyConnect Zigbee stick
- Sonoff ZBDongle-P
- RTL-SDR for RF433 integrations
- Google Cast, Shelly, ESPHome, MQTT, and Frigate
Everything worked flawlessly — the USB 3.0 ports are snappy and reliable. And if you’re moving from a supervised HA install, you can restore a full backup from your old instance in one click.
Should You Get One?
If you’re new to Home Assistant and want an official, stable, and easy-to-deploy option — yes, 100% yes.
If you’re an existing Home Assistant user looking for a low-power always-on node for a second location, test bench, or just to get rid of your Pi? Also yes.
Just don’t expect it to run 24/7 NVR workloads or do heavy AI processing. For that, you’d still want something beefier like a NUC or an x86 mini PC.
Final Thoughts
Home Assistant Green is one of the most accessible smart home products we’ve tested. It doesn’t dumb things down — it just removes the friction. It’s open-source, vendor-agnostic, privacy-respecting, and refreshingly affordable. For €99/$99, it might be the smartest thing you add to your home this year.
Oh, and it glows green when it’s working. Which feels oddly comforting.