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.
Various automations, conveniences, and efficiencies that can ultimately save a lot of time &/or money.
1 ) sleep hygiene = a) close the roller shutters or blackout blinds at night b) open them gradually at the same time every day, play the tron soundtrack, and start brewing my coffee. c) drop the temperature by x degrees 1 hour before bedtime.
2 ) house can start growing mould under certain conditions = run the dehumidifier after x amount of time above y average humidity.
3 ) energy efficiency = a) when weather is predicted to rise above 25c, close roller shutters on sunny side of house. b) when temperature is rises above x, or drops below y, turn on air con.
4 ) security = encrypt and upload security camera footage every 5 minutes.
Etc, etc, etc. None of the above should be difficult to set up, nor insecure… We shouldn’t need to go to great lengths to automate our lives for comfort and convenience without our privacy being invaded… but in the age of surveillance capitalism, where corporations are scrambling to monetise everything we say and do, and most hardware and software vendors are actively working against us, our only solution is to tinker, hack, and patch together a multitude of disparate software and systems. Problem solving can be fun, but I’d prefer home automation to be easy and effortless.