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What to buy for an ordinary one-tent grow, what each thing does, and what it costs. One tent, one LED, an inline exhaust fan, a clip fan, maybe a humidifier or a dehumidifier and a small heater, and hand-watering or a pump on a reservoir. All of it cheap, all of it easy to find, none of it tied to a brand.
Prices are Australian dollars, researched 19 September 2026 for a 240 V, Type I plug, RCM-marked market. "Checked" means read from the retailer's page that day; everything else is an estimate. The same models are sold in most countries.
dollars: a Raspberry Pi 5, power supply, case and storage
dollars: the walk-in, walk-out basket
dollars: the Zigbee basket, the best fit
Four steps
From a box of parts to a room that runs itself
1. Join the alpha
The alpha is one SD image for a Raspberry Pi, free to testers, and there will always be a free version. Sign up and the download link arrives the day the next build ships.
2. Get a brain host
A Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 with 4 GB. The Pi 5 is about $180 (checked), or about $240 with the official power supply, a case and storage. 2 GB is tight. For a box that is always on, an SSD beats a microSD card.
3. Pick a basket
Choose one of the starter baskets below, or check what you already own against the supported gear. Most smart plugs and sensors already in your house will do a job in the tent.
4. Flash, pair, bind
Flash the card, boot the Pi, pair each device and give it a job: lamp, pump, canopy sensor, runoff tray. The user guide covers every step.
Start with just the Pi
The brain can run a tent on its own: it reads the sensors, switches the plugs, keeps the light schedule and records everything. The gear on this page is all it needs, with no soldering. It is the quickest way to see what DSC does with the kit you already own, and it is meant as a way in, not as the way to run a room for the long term.
Add the hub before you trust it alone
Without the DSC hub you give up the safety layer. The over-temperature failsafe, the sensor watchdog and a clock that keeps the lights right all live in the hub's firmware, so they keep working when the Pi is off. So does the fallback: the hub is what falls back to a safe state and re-asserts a command that did not land. With the Pi alone there is none of that, and if the Pi stops, everything stays where it was. Running without the hub can be done. It should not be how a room runs for long. The hub is an ESP32 build: the build guides cover it and the per-pot probes.
Starter baskets
Three ways to fill the trolley
Each one covers lights, climate sensing and a camera or a leak sensor for one tent. Add the Pi to either of the first two.
The Bunnings run: about $180
Walk in, walk out. No Zigbee.
Arlec PC191HA smart plugs, four-pack: $59 checked
Arlec PCTH01HA temperature and humidity adaptor: $36 checked
Two Govee H5075 Bluetooth sensors: about $45
Tapo C110 camera: $37 checked
Everything but the Govees is on a shelf at Bunnings or Officeworks today. The plugs need their local keys extracted once.
The Zigbee core: about $225
The best fit for DSC
Sonoff ZBDongle-E coordinator: $44 checked
Three SmartHome KSP1EM metering plugs: $87 checked
Two Sonoff SNZB-02D sensors: $50 checked
Sonoff SNZB-05P leak sensor: $25 checked
HOBEIAN ZG-303Z soil sensor: about $20
Mains plugs extend the mesh, alarms arrive instantly and there are no keys to wrangle.
Add-ons: pick and mix
When the basics are running
PH-W218 reservoir pH and EC monitor: about $70–110
Tuya NDIR CO₂ sensor: about $50–80
Heiman smoke sensor: about $30
An IR blaster: about $25
The IR blaster is for a lane that is still being built. Buy it only if you want to help test.
Every job in the tent
What covers what
The cheapest off-the-shelf answer to each job, and how it reaches DSC. A fan is a fan and a plug is a plug: if you already own something that does the job, use that.
| Job in the tent | Cheapest off-the-shelf answer | How it connects |
|---|---|---|
| Lights on and off, on the room's own clock | Arlec PC191HA or SmartHome KSP1EM smart plug | Tuya Wi-Fi or Zigbee |
| Canopy temperature and humidity, for VPD | Sonoff SNZB-02D or Govee H5075 | Zigbee or Bluetooth |
| Watering shots | A smart plug and a small submersible pump | Zigbee first, Tuya as the fallback |
| Backup dehumidifier or an extra fan | The same plugs (mind the motor limit below) | Zigbee or Tuya |
| Floor flood and runoff tray | Sonoff SNZB-05P leak sensor | Zigbee |
| Pot moisture | HOBEIAN ZG-303Z or Mi Flora HHCCJCY01 | Zigbee or Bluetooth |
| Reservoir pH and EC | PH-W218 Wi-Fi monitor | Tuya Wi-Fi |
| CO₂ | Tuya NDIR Zigbee sensor or SwitchBot Meter Pro CO2 | Zigbee or Bluetooth |
| Smoke, gas and CO, with a safety cut-off | Heiman HS1SA / HS3CG / HS1CA-E | Zigbee |
| Eyes on the plants, and timelapse | TP-Link Tapo C100 / C110 or any USB webcam | RTSP or USB |
| Variable fan speed | An EC fan with a 0–10 V input, a GP8403 DAC and an ESP32 | ESPHome |
Lane by lane
The picks, and the catches
Zigbee: the best technical fit
Mains-powered devices extend the mesh, alarms arrive instantly and there are no keys to extract. You need one USB coordinator, once: the Sonoff ZBDongle-E (about $44, checked) is the cheapest local pick. Put it on a short USB 2.0 extension lead, away from the Pi's USB 3 ports.
| Device | Does | AUD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| SmartHome KSP1EM plug | Lights, pumps, aux loads, with energy metering | $29 checked | SAA / ERAC registered. 10 A resistive but only 300 W inductive. |
| Sonoff SNZB-02D | Temperature and humidity, with a screen | $25 checked | SNZB-02P without a screen is $19. The IP65 SNZB-02WD suits a humid tent. |
| Sonoff SNZB-02LD | Reservoir temperature, on a probe | $29 checked | Temperature only. |
| Sonoff SNZB-05P | Water leak: floor or runoff tray | $25 checked | Aqara SJCGQ11LM is the alternative. |
| HOBEIAN ZG-303Z | Soil moisture, plus air temperature and humidity | about $15–25 | Needs a day or two to settle. No Zigbee soil probe we found reports EC, whatever the listing says. |
| Tuya NDIR CO₂ sensor | CO₂, true NDIR, USB powered | about $50–80 | Avoid the look-alike "Smart Air Box": its CO₂ number is not a real measurement. |
| Heiman HS1SA, HS3CG, HS1CA-E | Smoke, gas and carbon monoxide | about $25–40 each | Supplementary only. See the safety notes. |
Tuya and Smart Life Wi-Fi: already in the shopping trolley
Grid Connect at Bunnings, Mirabella Genio at Kmart, Woolworths and Big W, and Brilliant are all Tuya underneath. DSC drives them over your own LAN, with no cloud in the loop. The honest catch: each device needs its local key extracted once, which takes a free Tuya developer account and about fifteen minutes. The user guide walks through it, and the key only changes if you re-pair the device.
| Device | Does | AUD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arlec PC191HA plug | Lights, pumps, aux loads, with energy metering | $16 checked, $59 for four | The best-value plug in the country. It has a countdown timer of its own, which DSC uses as a second safety on pump shots. |
| Arlec twin socket | Two switched outlets, metering and surge protection | $31 checked | Metering is for the whole device, not per outlet. |
| Arlec PCTH01HA | Temperature and humidity sensor on a mains adaptor | $36 checked | Never sleeps. Check where the sensor sits: in the body, it reads the wall, not the canopy. |
| PH-W218 monitor | Reservoir pH, EC, TDS, ORP and temperature | about $70–110 | Hobby probes drift: calibrate monthly and expect about a year from a probe. |
Bluetooth LE: the zero-effort lane
No pairing, no keys, no hub. Put the sensor in the tent, match the reading on its screen to the one DSC shows, and bind it. Batteries are the only setup.
| Device | Does | AUD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Govee H5075 | Temperature and humidity, with a screen | about $20–25 | Works out of the box. The easiest pick on this page. |
| ThermoPro TP357 / TP359 | Temperature and humidity | about $15–25 | The cheapest option that needs no flashing. |
| SwitchBot Outdoor Meter | Temperature and humidity, IP65 | about $20–30 | For a humid tent. |
| Inkbird IBS-TH2 Plus | Root zone or reservoir temperature, on a probe | about $25–40 | |
| Mi Flora HHCCJCY01 | Soil moisture, rough EC, light and temperature | about $20–35 | The only cheap off-the-shelf soil EC in any lane. Probes corrode in permanently wet media. |
| SwitchBot Meter Pro CO2 | CO₂ | $150 checked | Run it on USB-C for faster updates. Aranet4 Home ($325) is the gold standard. |
Cameras: anything with a local stream
DSC reads USB webcams and any camera that offers RTSP, MJPEG or an HTTP snapshot on your own network. Frames stay on the kit.
| Device | Does | AUD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| TP-Link Tapo C100 / C110 | Wi-Fi camera with RTSP | $24–40, C110 $37 checked | Create a "Camera Account" in the Tapo app to switch RTSP on, then block the camera from the internet. Battery Tapos have no RTSP. |
| Reolink E1 Pro | Wi-Fi camera with RTSP and ONVIF | about $60–90 | No account needed at all. The base E1 has no RTSP. |
| Any 1080p USB webcam | USB camera | about $15–45 | The only path with exposure and focus controls in DSC. |
ESPHome: off the shelf, no soldering
Pre-flashed or click-together ESP32 gear joins the same lane as DSC's own hub and probes.
| Device | Does | AUD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athom ESP32-C3 AU plug | Smart plug with power monitoring, ESPHome pre-flashed | about $22 plus shipping | 16 A relay. No RCM or SAA mark stated by the maker. |
| M5Stack ATOM Lite + ENV IV or SCD40 | Click-together climate or CO₂ sensor | about $30, or about $90 with CO₂ | Grove connectors, flashed from a browser. |
| DFRobot GP8403 DAC | 0–10 V output for EC fans and dimmable LED drivers | $19 checked | This is how DSC sets fan speed instead of just switching it. |
Fans, and the branded smart controllers
AC Infinity, Mars Hydro, Spider Farmer and VIVOSUN controllers do not offer a local interface, so DSC drives the fan or the light itself, not the brand's controller. Buy hardware with a 0–10 V or PWM input and let DSC be the brain. The Phresh Hyperfan v2 150 mm ($263, checked) has the cleanest open 0–10 V input. The AC Infinity Cloudline Pro T6 ($335, checked) has an EC motor that takes a 10 V PWM signal from an ESP32.
What to leave on the shelf
Generic "16 A / 20 A AU" Zigbee plugs from marketplaces (reports of an unconnected earth pin, no RCM mark and invented current ratings). IKEA's new smart plugs, which moved to Matter over Thread. Battery Wi-Fi leak and smoke sensors, which sleep and cannot be polled: buy Zigbee for those. Wyze, Eufy indoor, Xiaomi, Ring, Arlo, Nest and Tuya-based cameras, which have no usable local stream.
Read before you buy
Four honest notes
This is market research, not a test report
"Works" on this page means the device is supported by the local lane DSC uses, and DSC has a job for it. It does not mean we have run that exact unit. Gear that has run on the reference rig is marked Tested on the supported gear page.
Small smart plugs and motors do not mix
Pumps, compressor dehumidifiers, big fans and LED drivers draw a surge at switch-on that can weld a small plug's relay shut. Aquarium-class pumps and LED boards under the plug's inductive rating are fine. A compressor dehumidifier wants a contactor or a plug rated for it. Keep resistive heaters at or under about 1,800 W.
Smart smoke, gas and CO sensors are extra eyes
None of the smart sensors we found carries AS 3786. DSC can cut a heater or a lamp when one trips, and that is worth having, but keep a compliant photoelectric smoke alarm as the life-safety device.
Mains wiring is an electrician's job
Everything in the baskets plugs into a wall socket. Relay modules such as Shelly, DIN-rail meters and anything else that is wired into mains needs a licensed electrician where the law requires one, and gear without an RCM mark can raise insurance questions.
Ready when the next alpha ships
Sign up once, and tell us which of this gear you own. The brands testers name are the brands we verify first.