Home "Automation"... Why?

[Grant H.]

So, the thread about dimmer switches in Ask-A-Member got me thinking, but I don't want to derail that thread.

I legitimately would like to hear some of the thought process/logic behind this crazy rush to home "automation". I put automation in quotes as this doesn't fall into "automation" in my experience, instead this is more gimmicky convenience. Automation takes on a different meaning when you have built truly autonomous systems for O/G, Factories, and other industrial applications.

My question is why?

Light switches, door locks, light bulbs, etc... I put thermostats in a slightly different category, but even then, a programmable thermostat is just as good.

Aside from the "cool" factor, what is the draw?

Some of my lack of understanding comes from the idea of OPSEC for personal lives, and some of it comes from what is the "value" for the cost that you spend on this? As digital threats get greater by the day, what is the draw of giving access to control of your house/appliances/HVAC/lighting/etc? If you can get to to it remotely, someone else can as well.

I am by no means a luddite. I have 10gbps networking in portions of my house (I can over run gigabit networks with several of my servers and my NAS). I have a half rack of servers in the garage. I have lots of tech toys. I work in tech. I just don't understand the draw, value proposition, or realistic purpose of it.

Anyway, just curious to hear the thought process that some of the Home Automation users on here care to share.

[ray1970]

Who the heck wants to have to get up and walk across the room to turn a light on or off?

Enough automation and a guy could just watch Netflix and eat Cheetos without interruption.

[buffalobo]

Home automation, is that like the clapper?

Not a fan of home automation, too much shit to break down, get hacked and stupidly expensive IMO.

[hollohas]

I've got a fair amount. I like that my house looks like someone is home when I'm not there. I also like being able to monitor everything when I'm not there. I like motion sensors that turn lights on and off in places like the garage where I might be headed with my hands full. I like my outdoor lights to be dimmed at night but all to come on full bright when someone comes up to the house.

But by far my favorite system is that I have a networked weather station and I use IFTTT to allow the weather station to work with my irrigation. Rain over a certain amount? Irrigation schedule changes or gets cancelled. Windy outside? Sprinklers aren't very effective in the wind, so they get delayed until the wind stops. No need for me to do anything.

I just got a Roborock vacuum too. Thing is awesome. It automatically mapped my house, knows where everything is down to the table legs even and does a VERY efficient job keeping up with the vacuuming. I could never keep up with two dogs' fur..

[Mtneer]

Because I NEED my espresso machine warm and ready when I get up. Handy for the Xmas lights. Both just wifi and way easier to adjust than old timers

Adjust thermostat frequently based on solar gain; programmable ain't smart enough. HVAC is Honeywell so hopefully secure and at least not connected to anything else.

But that's it. No Amazon or Google voice listening devices, most Apple features turned off. Will never do locks, lights, appliances, etc.

[BushMasterBoy]

Once they build life like robot dolls, I will never leave the house.

[00tec]

I use the nest to tell me if it detects motion indoor when I'm not home. Get an immediate alert. It will also notify me if the temp indoors goes outside my set preferences in case of AC/furnace failure, so I can head home and fix it. I have an elderly dog and an exotic bird. They don't do well in certain situations.

I also have a TP link smart plug. You can use it with Alexa or whatever (I dont have one), but I use it with my weather station (thanks Izzy!), or you can use it with weather.com or whatever to turn on an outlet when the outdoor temp is below freezing. It is for my furnace condensate pump. If it freezes, it can't purge and shuts the furnace down. When cold isn't an issue, I don't have to remember to unplug the thing.

[Aloha_Shooter]

I understand the light switches. It was a pet peeve of my father's and is my pet peeve when my family visits because NONE of them seem to know how to find the light switch when they leave a room or the house. Come home from work and find every dang light in the house except my bedroom on while they've been out all day ...

[Great-Kazoo]

outside of timers for the lights, when we're away and remotes for tv. Nothing is automated. Like you i have serious concern the system can be hacked. Or spoofed in to thinking someone else entering the house, is me.

But i'm also one of the few that does not do on line banking, either at home, or with a phone.

[Gman]

I've got a fair amount. I like that my house looks like someone is home when I'm not there. I also like being able to monitor everything when I'm not there. I like motion sensors that turn lights on and off in places like the garage where I might be headed with my hands full. I like my outdoor lights to be dimmed at night but all to come on full bright when someone comes up to the house.

But by far my favorite system is that I have a networked weather station and I use IFTTT to allow the weather station to work with my irrigation. Rain over a certain amount? Irrigation schedule changes or gets cancelled. Windy outside? Sprinklers aren't very effective in the wind, so they get delayed until the wind stops. No need for me to do anything.

I just got a Roborock vacuum too. Thing is awesome. It automatically mapped my house, knows where everything is down to the table legs even and does a VERY efficient job keeping up with the vacuuming. I could never keep up with two dogs' fur..

I get the irrigation control without having my own weather station with Rachio. Makes testing/swapping/adjusting sprinkler heads incredibly easy since I don't have to run back and forth to a manual timer.

My first exposure was a smart switch that my wife bought after I came home from spine surgery. I could turn my bedside table lamp on and off with my voice, because I could not rotate and reach it. Was very valuable to me.

I like that we can setup unique front door codes for someone watching the house, or cleaning the house, etc., that's active only during specific days/times. Had a crisis where someone watching our cat couldn't find the key and we had to FedEx another from out of town overnight so she could get in the next day. This resolves the issue. I figure the slackers over at Schlage know what they're doing.

My porch lights come on 15 minutes after sunset and go off 15 minutes before sunrise, via Alexa Routines.

My Ring alarm is setup to engage the Alexa Guard mode and devices listen for fire/CO alarms and broken glass and control lighting when set to Away.

If there's activity at one of my cameras, I can tell Alexa to show me the camera and she puts the image on my FireTV connected TV.

"Security" is not absolute. Damn near everything can be compromised, even if it's by physical brute force. Make it difficult for compromise at your comfort level. Not having any of it doesn't mean that you're totally safe.