The Smart Home Odyssey: A Tale of Automation Triumphs and Tribulations

[DGBQ]

Ah, the nostalgia of a decade-long journey through the ever-evolving landscape of home automation! As I dust off the cobwebs of memory, I can't help but chuckle at the wide-eyed enthusiasm with which I embarked on this quest practically ten years ago like a futuristic George Jetson, navigating the cosmos of smart homes with gadgets instead of a spaceship, I charged into the realm of home automation, dreaming of an 80/20 lifestyle utopia.

Picture it: 80% hands-off automation, where my abode would hum along in perfect harmony without so much as a finger lifted. Voice assistants chirping commands, dashboards orchestrating symphonies of smart devices, and scene switchers conducting a ballet of convenience. The remaining 20%, well, that would be my realm of human intervention, a necessary evil to keep things interesting.

My journey began with Wink and its charmingly named Robots, a whimsical start to what would become a labyrinthine exploration of interconnectedness. Then from Wink with Stringify to SmartThings with Stringify to SmartThings with WebCoRE, each pivot brought new challenges and discoveries. Today, I proudly sit at the helm of Hubitat with WebCoRE, captain of a ship laden with hubs for blinds, shades, ceiling fans, RF gadgets, light switches, and dimmers, along with, of course, my trusty Hubitat Elevation Hub.

But oh, the casualties along the way! Countless smart home devices have entered and exited my domain, like fleeting shooting stars in the night sky. Some failed to deliver on their grand promises, leaving me disillusioned and muttering "promises, promises" almost under my breath. Others, alas, were victims of the cruel march of time, as companies folded beneath the weight of ambition.

As I sift through the detritus of discarded devices, stumbling over boxes of missed opportunities, I pause to reflect on my journey. Have I achieved the elusive 80/20 balance I so fervently sought? Perhaps not entirely, but in the dance of automation and human touch, I've found a rhythm that suits me just fine and keeps me challenged.

So here's to the past decade of tinkering, troubleshooting, and triumphs. May the next leg of my smart home odyssey be as exhilarating as the last, filled with new gadgets, new challenges, and maybe, just maybe, a few less boxes cluttering up my office floor of discarded peripherals. Cheers to the journey!

I encourage you to share your own voyage of automation triumphs and tribulations. Let’s celebrate the ever-evolving world of home automation! After all, as some person not famous at all may have once said, “In this interconnected realm, sharing is not just caring—it's the spark that ignites innovation,” and I think their next-door neighbour said, “A healthy home automation system is built, one gadget at a time”.

Cheers,
David

[SmartHomePrimer]

In the beginning...mistakes were made. I took care of them.

[Sebastien]

Well written!

I started with, of all things, a security system. It was called APX alarm, and then rebranded to Vivint. This system allowed me to connect these new fangled Z-Wave switches, and most importantly some keypad locks.

From there, I acquired a Wink, then a Wink 2 and added Lutron devices. I did a lot of home control, but not much in the way of home automation.

As I started seeing signs of failure with Wink, I decided to jump to another platform… but which to chose! There was Samsung Smart Things that could connect to Lutron, Z-Wave, etc and was on sale! But I did some more research and found Hubitat. It was a though choice until the Smart Things sale ended… and the rest is history!

With Hubitat, I was able to enter the realm of true home automation, and started adding more and more sensors… From motion, to door, to window. I also found that I could integrate to Ring, and hence decided to add it to my echo system. Month after month, I added new devices, until I reached the point of saturation - the point where everything was automated and buying more meant replacing older devices. I continue on this path, and have reached a point where most devices are using newer technology. And now I work on improvements, adding mmWave, whole house shut-off valves, integrations to solar and EV’s, etc.

Through all working with an awesome community of like-minded individuals who love (or hate…) to spend time on fixing up and also improving their home automation experience.

[lairdknox]

@DGBQ

Wink with Stringify

Stringify was great for getting my exterior lights working the way I wanted. Then when I was out of town for two weeks my internet connection went down for a week and my security lights no longer worked. This led me to Hubitat for a system that was fully local so that I didn't have to worry about an outage. Thankfully I missed the removal of Stringify and the fall of Wink.

The funny thing is my internet has not gone out since, but if it does I'm ready.