Modern "smart" homes are dumb; your lights shouldn't stop working because your Internet is down, and your new doorbell shouldn't compromise your network security.

A smarter and more secure home doesn't depend on cloud services or a disparate array of apps to function, and it's easier than you might think to achieve total local control. A dash of technical knowledge, a dab of DIY elbow grease, and this session are all you need to get started.

In this session you'll learn how to choose and install a local hub (Home Assistant vs Hubitat vs HomeKit), which devices work best (Zigbee vs Z-Wave vs Wifi), and how to integrate lights, plugs, sensors, and switches without the cloud. You'll also learn how to add smart features like remote control and push notifications to your existing "dumb" appliances.

Come take a tour through the land of smart, local home automation and stop being dependent on someone else's computers!

This talk grew out of a ton of research I did during quarantine when I adopted a new hobby and started playing around with Raspberry Pi and home automation.

My goal is to give attendees all of the basic knowledge they need to get started in an accessible and entertaining way. I cover the different types of device protocols people need to know about and how to do some cool things, such as adding notifications to legacy appliances.

I first presented this at StirTrek in 2022 received a lot of positive feedback. Slides are available at https://github.com/spetryjohnson/AutomatingSmarthomeWithoutCloud

Thank you for your consideration!