Ask HN: What home automation platform should I get started with? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What home automation platform should I get started with?

7 pointssource998 comments

What systems have people had good experiences with?

I'd like to control lights and thermostat at a minimum but also would be good to have some help in the kitchen and with media.

Thanks

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I work for a successful IoT company and my advice is: don't. State of the art in home automation is: impossibly insecure & rarely helpful. The so-called "smart" home is anything but smart; it takes lots of manual configuration to make it perform as intelligently as you'd wish (and if you have a knack for coding, you'll end up reimplementing your vendor's hideously expensive "smart home hub" that was supposed to do the work for you). The industry is simply too young and immature.

Speaking of security: You have no bloody idea how easy it is for anyone with some crypto/security background to break into an IoT appliance or its vendor's cloud services. In the era where an average web development Joe knows a lot about SSL certs, CSRF, XSS and all that stuff, the average embedded developer's idea of encryption is AES in ECB mode (but not too many bits - "our MCU won't handle that!").

The market is in an odd phase right now. People recognize the insecurity but continually pump out insecure products that early adopters keep installing so we wind up with these crazy hacks that take out huge swaths of IoT devices.

The reality is the market is not mature so whatever you choose will likely change and you are likely responsible for implementing proper security controls at the Router to prevent stupid mistakes from being internet accessible.

This will resolve itself and as a tech home automation will become secure, but right now it is still relatively early in the cycle, so be prepared to make it secure on your own. Also be aware that likely there will be many things you have to integrate at some level, as there doesn't seem to be a real standard yet.

I once worked with some automation stuff back during the dot-com boom, before "smart home" was a thing. At the time the only players in the industry were "Lutron Homeworks", AMX, & Crestron control systems. A guy in our office used a language called "SIMPL" to create the touchscreen interfaces' UI.

...And, yes they were insecure. I remember the Chinese would take over 1 particular media distribution system regularly, at a local community college. They'd plaster anti-western political messages on every TV in every classroom. Took a week or so tinkering with hyperterminal to fix it. Lol

System: HomeKit + ATV4

Lights: Lutron Caseta, uses normal wall switches + Lutron Smartbridge Pro for HomeKit

Thermostat: ecobee3 for HomeKit + remote sensors

Door lock: Schlage Sense for HomeKit

Security cam: upcoming Canary https://blog.canary.is/homekit/

A/V: Logitech Harmony

Bridge to non HomeKit devices like the Harmony: homebridge

Apple first party Home app

Optional: Third party Home app for detailed HomeKit DB edits

Siri and Echo can both control all the above, simultaneously

1. Homebridge: https://github.com/nfarina/homebridge + https://github.com/KraigM/homebridge-harmonyhub

2. HomeKit accessories: http://selfcoded.com/home/buying-guide/, http://www.apple.com/shop/accessories/all-accessories/homeki...

3. Third party HomeKit DB app: http://selfcoded.com/home/

An example of why you don't want to do this: https://twitter.com/ow/status/789515155877027840

Don't use any. It's insanely insecure (free DDoS for everyone! not to mention strangers on Internet controlling your house) and a bit of a waste of money. Think of all the exercise you get walking to the light switch and back ;)

Is there a reason this is such a hard problem? Decent home automation that doesn't have you locked into one company that might disappear in a few years has been pipedream for decades now.

SmartThings has been great. I've tried all the hub's.

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