I've been in tech for a while, and I am very reluctant to jump in on "smart" appliances. Having said that, I have dipped my toe into things by tackling things

I've been in tech for a while, and I am very reluctant to jump in on "smart" appliances. Having said that, I have dipped my toe into things by tackling things I can fully control and maintain. I also make sure it is simple to bypass as not everyone who lives with me is interested in learning or troubleshooting issues with something like a light fixture or thermostat. Cloud is absolutely out for privacy reasons and for the simple fact that no device should be dependent on my ISP functioning. So I keep the smart stuff to things like lamps or shades. All things that are easy to maintain and are not required to function to enjoy the home. Shades are on Z-Wave Plus and I have just 4 shades that are motorized and it's not easy to maintain. The only other thing I use is Tasmota on some cheap plugs for lamps and holiday lights. All of these devices are controlled by a web panel built on a NAS that has an easy to remember local lan address. Control via cellphone is easy so long as you are on the lan. I just haven't been totally sold on the idea that the convenience offered by IoT devices that are locked in or require cloud services outweighs the maintenance and hassle over the long haul.