Yeah, there are definitely multiple ways to accomplish most of this functionality. There are a few reasons why this particular setup works better for us (for in

Yeah, there are definitely multiple ways to accomplish most of this functionality. There are a few reasons why this particular setup works better for us (for instance, it's not uncommon for no one to go downstairs for a couple hours, which means the Nest doesn't notice that we're up). At the end of the day though, it's mostly the fact that I like having a single unified dashboard and framework that consolidates everything, rather than having to use a half dozen different apps/devices/panels.