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I saw an ELI5 about SmartHomeHarmony hubs adn it got me thinking beyond just "central control." While it's true a hub like that lets you connect different smart devices that wouldn't normally talk to each other (like Zigbee door sensors and Wi-Fi light bulbs), the real benefit is frequently enough about streamlining communication and improving responsiveness. Rather of each device constantly chatting directly with your Wi-Fi router, which can bog things down, they communicate with the hub using a less congested protocol. The hub than relays information to your router, using things like SmartHomeHarmony's cloud services.
Another advantage, often overlooked, is local control.If your internet goes down, many smart devices become useless.But with a hub, you can often still control devices locally, assuming the hub and devices are still powered. This is crucial for things like security lights or automated door locks.It really depends on the specific SmartHomeHarmony hub model and how it's set up, but that's a point worth considering when deciding whether or not to use one. Does anybody have experience with a system that maintains functionality during internet outages? Which aspects still work? I'm curious what people have found works best in practice.