Shameless plug for Home Assistant, here. Everything is controlled locally (unless you pay for their internet pass through service which is basically just a relay), most brands of smart devices are supported, you have extreme customization capabilities, and it’s all open source.
Shameless plug for just using your little fingies to operate the light switches and thermostats. Everything is controlled locally and you only have to pay for the light and the switch (fingers should be included in your default setup)
Fingers may be included in most setups, along with actuators like arms or legs often required to approach the finger to the switch, but they still come with a wetware control unit that gets easily distracted by anything from puppies, to the fear of being late for work.
That’s a good point; generally my little fingies aren’t the problem as much as the control unit.
Honestly I’m just a bit of a luddite when it comes to “smart” tech, which I guess is somewhat funny considering I’ve worked in IT for a looong time. Or maybe it’s because I’ve worked in IT I’m a luddite?
I’ve been so deep for so long into the “DIY IoT”, that now I look like an IoT luddite. Funny how that works.
For example, I’ve had the idea of a bistable electro-mechanical light switch on the back burner for so long, that by the time I’ve found a practical solution, decades had passed and it was burned to a crisp, with other stuff having taken center stage.
They aren’t mutually exclusive, I have a few smart lights and I try to plug them into switched outlets so I can turn them off manually and also control digitally.
Controller locally except that one case - also unless you add devices that are cloud controlled (most things that say they are Alexa-compatible, most Wifi things, etc). Which a lot of people may not realize, and it’s a LOT of things). But is totally up to people to use, and there’s often a way to make (or hack) those things to be local-only.
Home Assistant really is best-in-class though for most Home Automation things. It’s super super powerful and supports virtually EVERYTHING, especially if you can put in a little work. And for medium/advanced users, it’s peerless.
They just still have a really long way to go to be as user-friendly as it should be. Even for “advanced” users.
Shameless plug for Home Assistant, here. Everything is controlled locally (unless you pay for their internet pass through service which is basically just a relay), most brands of smart devices are supported, you have extreme customization capabilities, and it’s all open source.
Plus, it can run on pretty much anything.
Shameless plug for just using your little fingies to operate the light switches and thermostats. Everything is controlled locally and you only have to pay for the light and the switch (fingers should be included in your default setup)
The moment I had the ability to turn off all light, A/Cs and what not when I leave the house, I can’t look back, plus I don’t have give up my privacy.
Fingers may be included in most setups, along with actuators like arms or legs often required to approach the finger to the switch, but they still come with a wetware control unit that gets easily distracted by anything from puppies, to the fear of being late for work.
That’s a good point; generally my little fingies aren’t the problem as much as the control unit.
Honestly I’m just a bit of a luddite when it comes to “smart” tech, which I guess is somewhat funny considering I’ve worked in IT for a looong time. Or maybe it’s because I’ve worked in IT I’m a luddite?
I’ve been so deep for so long into the “DIY IoT”, that now I look like an IoT luddite. Funny how that works.
For example, I’ve had the idea of a bistable electro-mechanical light switch on the back burner for so long, that by the time I’ve found a practical solution, decades had passed and it was burned to a crisp, with other stuff having taken center stage.
I’m just going to nod and pretend I understand what this is
They aren’t mutually exclusive, I have a few smart lights and I try to plug them into switched outlets so I can turn them off manually and also control digitally.
Controller locally except that one case - also unless you add devices that are cloud controlled (most things that say they are Alexa-compatible, most Wifi things, etc). Which a lot of people may not realize, and it’s a LOT of things). But is totally up to people to use, and there’s often a way to make (or hack) those things to be local-only.
Home Assistant really is best-in-class though for most Home Automation things. It’s super super powerful and supports virtually EVERYTHING, especially if you can put in a little work. And for medium/advanced users, it’s peerless.
They just still have a really long way to go to be as user-friendly as it should be. Even for “advanced” users.