Home Automation Trojan Horse
My Hub
SmarthThings has been my hub for home automation for years. I got it well before Samsung bought it. It very much had a RadioShack feel…with the GitHub integration that was supported by a large community. I am still very much sold on the product.
Buyer Beware
However, their is definitely a “buyer beware” on buying products that integrate with it or any of the other major platforms.
Not all integrations are created equal.
Integration Types
With integrations, there are two major types
Zigbee/Z-Wave
This is (or was) the de-facto standard. It replaced X-10 as a reliable, battle-hardened communication platform for home automation.
- Secured
- Does not require Internet (think about turning on lights when your internet is out)
- Nearly instantaneous (because no internet latency)
- Nothing else to install
- No additional accounts
- Reliability
API via Internet
This is the Trojan Horse of home automation. Not only is this a poor user experience, it is also a possibly security risk. Even with a “secured” experience, the user has to create yet another account and download yet another app.
I recently got some ceiling fans that has full integration with Alexa, SmartThings, etc. But in reality, it was through an API integration over the internet. Totally unnecessary.
- Clumsy setup
- Another user account
- Another app
- Slow response to simple things like turning on lights
- Adding an additional vendor to the mix of “trusted” partners
- Possible privacy issues with data collection policies
Conclusion
Even simple things like plug controllers for Christmas lights often “feature” WiFi enabled…buyer beware…insist on Zigbee.