Why your smart home doesn't need to run through America

Smart lights, a smart thermostat, a video doorbell. It is handy, and it keeps getting cheaper. But few people know how it actually works.

How do most smart devices work?

When you switch on a light through the app, that signal usually doesn’t go straight to the light. It first travels over the internet to a computer belonging to the manufacturer, often in America or China, and only then comes back to your home.

That has three drawbacks.

1. If the internet goes down, your home stops working

No internet? Then the app doesn’t work, and sometimes the automatic settings don’t either. Your lights, heating or doorbell then don’t do what you expect.

2. If the manufacturer stops, your device stops

It has happened many times: a company stops making a product or goes bust, and the devices people bought suddenly stop working. Even though you paid for them.

3. The company knows when you are at home

A smart thermostat knows when you are at home. A camera sees who rings the bell. A smart meter knows when you get up and go to bed. All of that data goes to the manufacturer.

The alternative: a smart home that works at home

There is another way. A small box in your home that controls all your smart devices. Everything happens in your own home:

• it keeps working if the internet goes down;
• it keeps working if a manufacturer stops;
• your data stays in your home;
• devices from different brands work together in one app.

What can you do with it?

• See what your solar panels generate and what your home uses.
• Turn the heating down automatically when you are out.
• Outdoor lights that come on by themselves at sunset.
• A message to your children if there has been no movement in the morning, without a camera.

Is it difficult?

Setting it up takes some know-how, and that is where I help. After that I make a simple screen with only the buttons you actually use. And I look after it for you, so you don’t have to think about it.