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What do you guys think of the idea of smart homes? I could make a basic setup using https://home-assistant.io to control my home temperature and lighting; the tools for doing this are everywhere nowadays and implementation doesn't seem too horrific anymore.
But setting aside what I "can" do, is this something that I "should" do? How can a person implement this without connecting any devices to the internet?
Using home assistant since 2017. As you add stuff there's more synergy, like a network effect. I have automations and services that:
Adjust the bathroom floor thermostat according to the prevailing hourly energy price
Adjust the colour temperature of lighting during the day so blue light is reduced in the evening, allowing natural melatonin production to function
Announce on a local speaker when our child gets to school in the morning using their phone location
Operates festive lighting in the winter with reference to sunset and sunrise
Turns off all lights when leaving; or sometimes if I'm feeling more paranoid
Replays lighting patterns from a previous week to simulate* occupation
Sends me an alert if motion is detected and nobody's home
Turns off the picture on the TV if nobody's in front of it for a while using a 60GHz radar sensor
as well as a few other things. I don't want a smart home that's just remote operation with a phone. I want to use capabilities to automate things so I don't need to be concerned about them.