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A lot of home automation is overrated and gimmicky...if it's not truly useful, it's a gimmick. I'm not a snowbird so none of that is necessary for me. My light switches are thoughtfully placed and I live in a good neighborhood so I have no need to turn on my lights before I get home.
My first home from 1990 had a programmable thermostat that I could set for each day of the week and weekends...and hold the temp for vacations...nothing new there except I guess if you forget to set it you can do it from the road...or if you cut your vacation short so you don't have to "endure" a few hours while your home gets up or down to the desired temp. I guess I'm just not so picky that I need that level of control...<shrug>.
I do have a webcam so I can watch my backyard squirrels and rabbits frolicking while I'm at work from my phone but that was super cheap and easy.
So I'm not going to replace appliances that are still fine with expensive smart ones or get a new colorful thermostat...or install an expensive home security system (why would I choose to live in a neighborhood that I feel I need an alarm system in?).
When I retired, my wife and I decided we'd had enough of the city, the big houses, the expensive gadgets. We wanted more of the things that money can't buy, that aren't for sale at any price... peace and quiet, fireflies in the evening, lakes and mountains, views of nature. We ended up on 33 acres of off-grid solitude in northern Maine. We do have solar panels, and all the conveniences of home.
We own properties, some with small homes, in 4 other states. Most of them are on grid, but none are "smart". We don't worry about them while we are away. We don't have wifi anywhere, and neither of us has a smartphone.
The price of managing our lives manually? Free.
The view of Mount Katahdin over the lake? Priceless!
Nobody "needed" a remote control (or clicker when they were first out) to change the TV channel.
Nobody "needed" a cordless telephone when we could buy 50 feet cords (or even touch tone phones when they had a dial).
Nobody "needed" keyless entry for a car, or now push button start.
Nobody "needed" digital buttons on a microwave when the analog dial was working just fine.
Nobody "needed" touch screen smart phones when the blackberry track-ball was available.
All of these things and tons of others just makes life a little simpler, a little more convenient and more pleasurable. Some more than others.
At its worst, home automation just makes things a little easier and more pleasurable. At its best, it can save precious resources (water, electricity), save money, provide additional safety, and increase comfort. Which and how much will depend on your lifestyle.
As far as "hacking" a door lock, or device, as been noted earlier in the thread it is so easy to break into almost any house, that its not a relevant point. Also as noted, for anyone that carries a smart phone, you are carrying around a device that has a GPS, camera and microphone everywhere you go, and most people have tons of apps from all kinds of companies, each open to their own issues or subject to their own privacy policies. Seems much worse to me than a single device, with a single company, without GPS, or a camera (for most).
Everyone is obviously free to decide the value for themselves and some will "resist" forever, and some will adopt technology that eventually flops (I still like my 3D TV ) As a "general" rule though, if something is becoming very popular and you don't see the value, that's probably more specific to you and your situation, than the technology itself.
Nobody "needed" a remote control (or clicker when they were first out) to change the TV channel.
Nobody "needed" a cordless telephone when we could buy 50 feet cords (or even touch tone phones when they had a dial).
Nobody "needed" keyless entry for a car, or now push button start.
Nobody "needed" digital buttons on a microwave when the analog dial was working just fine.
Nobody "needed" touch screen smart phones when the blackberry track-ball was available.
All of these things and tons of others just makes life a little simpler, a little more convenient and more pleasurable. Some more than others.
At its worst, home automation just makes things a little easier and more pleasurable. At its best, it can save precious resources (water, electricity), save money, provide additional safety, and increase comfort. Which and how much will depend on your lifestyle.
As far as "hacking" a door lock, or device, as been noted earlier in the thread it is so easy to break into almost any house, that its not a relevant point. Also as noted, for anyone that carries a smart phone, you are carrying around a device that has a GPS, camera and microphone everywhere you go, and most people have tons of apps from all kinds of companies, each open to their own issues or subject to their own privacy policies. Seems much worse to me than a single device, with a single company, without GPS, or a camera (for most).
Everyone is obviously free to decide the value for themselves and some will "resist" forever, and some will adopt technology that eventually flops (I still like my 3D TV ) As a "general" rule though, if something is becoming very popular and you don't see the value, that's probably more specific to you and your situation, than the technology itself.
Oh please...I'm certainly not a Luddite and am frequently an early adopter of some selective technologies. It will have to get a LOT cheaper and even easier to set up for me to recoup enough to consider much of it actually useful... As I said, programmable thermostats are not new - and I have absolutely no need to change it all the time "from the road" with my phone. So why would I replace my thermostat. Now, if I build another new home I might put one in...but it comes down to cost and utility - I'm just not there yet.
OTOH, if I have lots of money and lots of time and considered it a "hobby" of course I'd NEED it. It's in the eye of the beholder. Is it truly a need or is it a want? Many appliances have gotten more efficient over the years....but it takes 20 years to recoup the cost - why would I be in a hurry to replace those before it's needed? So I'm not in a hurry to make my home smart. Everything gets cheaper over time so I'll wait.
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) As a "general" rule though, if something is becoming very popular and you don't see the value, that's probably more specific to you and your situation, than the technology itself.
