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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?
What's your network infrastructure like? I have my network segregated across several VLANs, and IoT devices are blocked from the internet on their own network(s).
I do similar. And keep some devices (like my kasa plugs) from hitting the internet altogether.
And others that need it go on its own DMZ with the roku TVs and like. They have no inbound access.
Biggest thing is making sure you have wifi coverage cause boy the amount of shit I have on network now has kinda gotten out of control
If any of it uses cloud services or requires internet access to function, then it's harmful. It will be gathering lots of personal data that will be sold. It will stop working if the company goes out of business or just decides to stop supporting your hardware or if they ban your account for whatever reason they want.
If it's all self hosted on your LAN, then it can be convenient, provided that whatever it controls can be manually operated if there is a problem. It's even better if you are using all open source hardware and software.
I like mine. It has a lot of nice convenience features, and it feels good to have stuff happen automatically based on your presence. Scripting useful automations if a time-consuming hobby though, and if you're mostly just interested in doing voice control for lights it may not be worth it.
I'd recommend staying away from anything that connects directly to the wi-fi if possible. ZigBee lets you isolate the garbage hardware from the Internet so they can't be used as zombie devices in a botnet or worse, and have home assistant be the one point of contact.
HA is pretty nice, but has a pretty big learning curve.
As for avoiding turning your internet into a IoT botnet, you need network gear that can segregate clients and prevent internet access, and to pick devices that have a local-only API which is not something everything has.
The real question - and this is coming from someone who spent way more time than I'd like to admit with HA automating things - is what you're expecting. I absolutely wouldn't bother doing a setup again because once the shiny wore off, all I use this for is setting a temperature and turning lights on and off: two things the hardware vendor apps does just fine.
It's great, unless for some reason it doesn't work, and that's kinda an unfortunate state of things for what is still pretty early software. Matter should help simplify things since it'll be less 100 vendors, 100 APIs you have to support which is kinda the state of being right now.
Also don't buy anything from Belkin, screw those guys.
I'm not a fan. Any exploitable issue with the software, and my house can be viewed by anyone from anywhere.
I've got zero smart devices at home, to the point of even using my TV as a simple screen only.
The only smart objects I have are some light bulbs. I think, some processes are good to automate and put software in control of, and some things I want to have explicit control over (I.E. Door locks, Safe locks, AC settings, Heating). Technology can break in fantastical ways, but a lock should just freaking work.
It's a great and rewarding hobby! But having cloud connected devices on the same network as your sensitive information is an issue.
Use a vLAN and IoT devices capable of local control. Use a self hosted hub like Home Assistant. Keep devices that collect sensitive information (like a camera) out of sensitive areas (like the bedroom). Then you should be reasonably secure.
As someone who has spent many years working on my smart home, I suggest, as do others, KEEP IT LOCAL.
It's convenient but it's less secure and less reliable. Imagine being locked out of your house because the Internet is down.