re: Smart switches and locks for new construction

i'll only offer that i'm done with the whole mess i have

my wife repeatedly moves lamps with zigbee bulbs around the house which breaks the MESH because you have to 'pair zigbee in place' for it to network properly. she and the kids also flip the can lights on and off too many times in a row causing them to reset from the wifi network and pretty much any 3-way switch is a lost cause if you don't buy a 'slave' switch because once power is cut to the smart switch from the other switch its dead.

also the novelty of colored bulbs has worn off. tunable-and-dimmable-white i'm definitely down with but color is really not something you'll use much except in novelty locations.

you're right to avoid hubs. all of 'em. nothing good will come from constant tinkering with a hub.

at the end of the day, most of my stuff is automated through my alexa app; except for the more complex integrations. it gets to be a pain wondering where you set up an automation routine when there's more than one location but given how most devices now have their own apps with an alexa skill its just much easier to group things there because EVERYTHING is there.

speaking of which, not sure alexa is going to make the move with us. she is the digital version of that annoying person laying on the couch ringing a bell for service. my wife is forever announcing to all the dots in the house from the shower "hey can you check our son's chicken nuggets?" "hey can you bring me the shower scrub" "hey would you let the dogs out" "hey i need you to go down to my car and grab my purse"

i'm like a pavlov dog that cringes everytime i hear alexa say "announcing". it always means have to get off my arse and do something. she gets it from our 7 year old too though "mommy come here" is probably announced 173+ times a day.

but yep its super convenient to tell alexa to shut off all your lights if you're going to bed early and have her automatically close the garage doors & lock up the house every evening but of course, this comes with the price of jeff bezos sitting in front of a wall of monitors where he knows what every single person in the united states is really doing.

to recap; if i was single my home automation would be a thing of beauty and convenience. but having a wife and kids means its nothing but a hassle all the time. nothing i set up stays fixed for long. i've probably renamed the same bulb 15 times in the last 5 years.

my advice; get whatever the newest smart lock is that is from a well known company (not some fly-by-night company that will be gone in a year) and put in a few WiFi switches.

AND STAY OFF MY LAWN