I'm surprised no one has mentioned Wink. I Started there in 2016, it was the perfect gateway drug; simple to set up, well designed app, ZigBee and Z-wave. In the early days it was stable, then financial difficulties created instability. Most importantly, no backup and restore. It was time to move on. (Even before Will-I-Am)
In early 2019, Hubitat and Home Assistant seemed like the only DIY local control options. Smart Things was a nonstarter, Even though I've always had a bunch of pc's to play with Hubitat seemed like the simpler entry point. My system was pretty simple. A handful of smart switches, smart bulbs and motion sensors. A day of fiddling and I was up and running.
Today:
- C-7 for a few "Does not play well with others devices" and the extensive Ecobee Suite to get the single attribute of the thermostat temperature sensor which the built-in Ecobee app does not support. Built-in Ecobee app lives on the C-8.
- C-8 for everything else. A couple hundred ZigBee, Z-wave, local wi-fi devices, endless virtual devices, rules and integrations.
- Lutron Smart Bridge Pro 2 hub for 3 fan controls and ten Picos. No Lutron switches. Picos may be my favorite home automation device. The perfect button controller for a variety of lamps and lights as well as blinds.
- Hue Hub. After messing with endless smart bulbs, We bit the bullet and paid the Hue tax several years ago and not a single drop out or bulb failure since. I'm still trying to give away a box of 11 Sengleds, all working and reset for the cost of shipping.
- Alexa as a voice remote to trigger a few scenes, specific announcements and easily integrate Blink cameras as motion sensors.
It's been a great journey and I've been fortunate not to have created an "unrecoverable application error" on the Hubitat leg of it.
