I think this is why we see hubs in this space. Like Insteon, etc. AFAIK, these allow for a local network to be created so that control/connection can still happ

I think this is why we see hubs in this space. Like Insteon, etc. AFAIK, these allow for a local network to be created so that control/connection can still happen at a local level. If that's not the case then why the hell am I required to connect all my switches/outlets to a hub? It makes total sense to go with a local solution like yours, however when all the control is done through the cloud (http://home.nest.com http://home.nest.com, Siri, Alexa), it kinda negates the usefulness of it, except for momentary internet connection loss. And it makes it 12x more complicated for the Average Joe ("What's a Raspberry Pie?", "Local network configurations?", "I don't even know my router's password...").