Today I have jumped in to the HA game. What a crazy market/ecosystem. Just to read about a product (In my case a hub) on the internet is a real pain. Every article I read seems to refer to a different iteration of product, sometime a completely different capability or roadmap or hardware vendor. Always make sure to find the date of the article of discussion of these products!
This has been my experience as I have recently researched and attempted to buy the Staples Connect (software by Zonoff).
Originally the Staples Connect was a hub by Linksys, whoever they are these days. I used to use a Linksys router before they were bought by Cisco, now they are spun off again? Anyway that product is obsolete although Staples still sells them.
The new product is called the same thing but is made by D-Link.
http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/marketing/staples-connect/staples-connect.html
I also used to use one of D-Links 655 routers. This new Staples Connect "powered by" D-Link falls into the category of thermos-shaped PCs, routers, and hubs : Apple, Google, Amazon all seem to have bought into this new trend. SO D-Link has black cylindrical routers and this wireless hub with a wired connection to your router looks like them.
I chose this product for a few reasons:
good ecosystem
better than Wink
wired connection to my router
does not need to get on the internet/cloud to work
works with multiple phone/tablet ecosystems
seems to be getting more and more compatibility
Staples also is selling the Amazon Echo, Amazon used to sell this thing
Seems to work best with all the Lutron/Pico stuff
I went to the one of the local Staples store (the first one didn't even have Home Automation stuff - rant for another day about terrible brick and mortar marketing people and usually not stocking what is cheerfully marketed on the web) and of course they only had the obsolete Linksys ancient looking hub. The store prominently features the new hub bolted to the display shelves with a slew of different home automation products. Did they have any of them in stock or now ANYTHING about them? Of course not OK I am ranting now. So I had to come home and order this thing from my computer and wait until well after the weekend is over to get it. After they told me they had one in stock.
Now, I am also considering getting the Amazon Echo because I feel that while walking around controlling things with a phone or tablet when I am 13 feet away from a switch is a little silly sometimes, saying "turn off the overhead lights" while typing or gamiing or cooking or watching a movie could really be nice. My hope is that Echo will integrate with the Staples Connect as it is with some other devices and hubs.
Even if it doesn't I will likely own both the Staples Connect and the Echo because I am thinking they both are worth using for convenience as well as for entertainment.
I am not ambitious in my plans for home automation right now. I have an older home with old windows and older appliances (except for my nice LG washer). No basement, no flooding issues. I have a honeywell programmable thermostat and I don't think I can save any more money on heating and electricity with out getting all new windows.
So I just want to start small and stable, control some lights and maybe a few cameras outside.
So after reading a few recent reviews where the SC was praised as a very good all-around hub and this quote from reddit
I have a mixture of Lutron and Zigbee. I started with Wink, but switched to Staples. If you want to control a non-Lutron device with a pico then the Staples hub is the only way I've found to do it.
With Wink you can only directly use a Pico remote to control a Lutron switch or lamp module. You can then create a robot to watch that other device and turn other things on/off. At least as of February that's how it worked. It was also painfully slow. Tap a button on the pico and it would take 3 - 20 seconds to turn on GE Link lights.
The same setup with Staples Connect allows me to map the Pico buttons to any activity (or change modes). I have two rooms that only have GE Link lights and Pico remotes. And when I hit the button on the Pico the lights come on within a second. You usually can't tell the difference between that setup and just hitting the button on a wired Lutron wall switch. It really makes the system "real" where when I used the Wink it felt like a toy.
I don't have any z-wave, but the Staples Supports them. I'll probably start adding some micro switches next month. It also integrates with my Nest, although it can't use the home/away to trigger events at this time, although you can use activities/modes on the connect to set those on the Nest.
I've recently installed Picos in our cars so that when we leave the house the off button sets the Nest away, and turns off all the lights. The on button then sets the Nest to home, and turn on the entrance lights to the house.
I don't see many people discussing Staples Connect here, so let me know if you have any questions as I'm now using it to drive everything in my fledgling system.
I read that the SmartThings was very complex to setup and change (and with this HA you will always be changing things). Also it seems that with Wink and SmartThings, your automations are kept in the cloud? No thanks. I want to be able to turn on emergency lighting when there is no internet.
Here is a quick non-technical review from this month from someone who actually has three of the top hubs. As for me I don't want to spend hours and hours concocting a super deep hierarchy of groups and systems. If I did I would be developing my own HA system! And also I deal with this kind of architecting/infrastucrure stuff a lot at work!
http://zatznotfunny.com/2014-08/battle-of-the-home-automation-hubs/
I pulled the trigger on the SC.
Who's with me? </Pirate emoji>