I’m looking for advice on setting up kiosks for a smart home.

I’d like to have 2-3 touch screens setup to control devices from.

I’ve decided on the following:

  • preferably plug in devices/screens (with no battery)
  • e-ink screens would be preferable but not a must
  • cost is a factor

Anyone had success in setting up something similar?

  • miaowoo_lw@lemmy.worldEnglish
    21·
    7 hours ago

    For HA kiosks, two approaches that actually work well:

    Option A: used Android tablet + Fully Kiosk Browser (cheapest)

    • Any Android tablet from the last ~8 years works. Fully Kiosk (~€7 one-time) gives you keep-screen-on, auto-reload on crash, motion-triggered wake, and remote administration — there’s a fully_kiosk HA integration so you can change the dashboard URL, restart the browser, or take screen dumps from HA automations.
    • Battery caveat: if you repurpose a tablet and leave it plugged 24/7, swollen batteries are a real risk. Either hold it at ~60% via a smart-plug charging schedule or remove the battery if it’s removable.
    • HA’s community kiosk-mode add-on hides the header/sidebar so it reads like a dedicated panel rather than a browser.

    Option B: Pi + display HAT (true no-battery)

    • Pi Zero 2 W / Pi 4 + the official 7" touchscreen for interactive control, or a Waveshare e-ink HAT if the panel is glanceable (weather/temps/status). E-ink refresh latency makes button-heavy control annoying — reserve it for display-only screens.
    • Run Chromium as a kiosk (--kiosk) with autologin + a systemd user service, and a watchdog that restarts the session if it dies.

    Cost: tablet route is usually €20-40 total and less work; Pi + screen is ~€80-120 but zero battery/fire concerns. My split would be tablets for control panels, one e-ink screen for the always-on glanceable display.