Home automation - why?
I am failing to see the interest in having tons of IOT devices to manage, connect, segment, etc… Why would someone want to do it? To be clear, I have friends deep in it but… I still don’t understand. Can anyone try to explain the magic I am failing to see?
Edit: Thank you all for sharing your experiences! The ones I found more interesting are those that can easily translate in reducing or tracking consumption. The rest I hear but makes more sense when I look at it from an hobbyist perspective.
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I'd only like smart windows and lights, since I like low yellow light at night and to open the windows in the morning and to close them later. But I don't like the idea of Amazon or Google having my house (and conversations, internet traffic, etc.) even more at their disposal, that's why I avoid to invest on IoT devices right now.
Also, there's the getting locked out of your own house: https://medium.com/@bjax_/a-tale-of-unwanted-disruption-my-week-without-amazon-df1074e3818b
But you can totally build a smart home without Google or Amazon having to do anything with it. Just use HomeAssistant.
Oh, of course! I was referring only to Google and Amazon because I'd need to invest a lot more if I want an independent and open smart home, which is unnecessary and expensive for me right now.
Alexa and Google Assistant are the default option in México, shipping alternatives is both expensive and hard :)
FYI, you can run homeassistant on a raspberry pi or even cheaper hardware, or on an existing or old machine.
Hmmm... the price difference is almost non-existent. Do some research, I am sure you can find a cheap server (Raspberry Pi maybe) and a cheap Sonoff Zigbee hub for not much more than an Amazon Echo 4.
I guess prices may have changed since the last time I checked, but I think some Raspberries still cost more than $60USD, plus the rest of the hardware.
I'll check again when there's money to afford it lol, thx for the suggestion btw