4 ms·
There's a big difference between wiring up a new outlet that'll likely last for decades without further effort and will very likely require an identical or near
by brimble 4y ago
There's a big difference between wiring up a new outlet that'll likely last for decades without further effort and will very likely require an identical or near-identical process to replace even 30 years from now, and care and feeding of fully-local "smart home" networks & interfaces.
Most plumbing or electrical work I do will last decades. If I move, the same skills will transfer perfectly to the plumbing and wiring already installed in the new house. The last big innovation in any of that was PEX piping, which takes about five minutes to get completely competent with, and has been around for years already. People who can come out and fix any of that, if I don't feel like dealing with it, can be found anywhere and often work pretty damn cheap (unless you're getting ripped off). Almost all the maintenance is "buy part, replace part", which is fine because (in the scheme of things) most of the parts are very cheap.
Add "smart" devices to any of that, and they're instantly the most finicky and needy part of the whole system.
- jvolkman 4y agoBut any decent smart switch works as a normal switch by default, without any care or feeding. Sure, controlling them remotely and adding them to automation takes additional work, but that's stuff that is just impossible with the dumb switches, and not a requirement to control the light fixtures.
- _0w8t 4y agoThe problem with remotely controlled switches is that they can be (and will be) placed in very inconvenient places. So when the remote part breaks, one cannot just continue to use them because it can be difficult to reach them (like behind refrigerator that has to be moved to use the switch or on a wall in another room).
- jvolkman 4y agoI've never had this problem. All of my remotely-controllable switches are just in spots that people would place normal switches, but they're additionally remotely controllable.
- syshum 4y agoMy design Philosophy around my smart home things has been a model of enhancement. Meaning everything has to work with out the "smart" part, the smarts just add convenience, and and wow factor, but I should not HAVE to use the smart controller to turn on a light, I may need the controller to dim it, or change the color but it should turn on with out it. Alot of smart Switches will work (turn the circuit on and off) with out the controller.
- layer8 4y agoThis is like progressive enhancement: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_enhancement https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_enhancement
- cudgy 4y agoIn what area of the world are you finding cheap plumbers? Little kids can hook up smart devices, but I’d never let a little kid do my plumbing.