The right/wrong time to start with home automation
One of my main concerns with smart home/home automation/home information technology has always been the maturity. There are a lot of different standards, some open, some licensed, some entirely proprietary.
As a newcomer into the home automation scene, you have to consider a lot of competing “crap”: ZigBee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE), Wifi, Mbus, Knx, HomeKit – and it seems this list just goes on and on and on.
As a consumer this is annoying to say the least, if everything worked together, it would not be that bad. But it does NOT. Buying home automation tech, feels like vendor lock in – and it should not.
Luckily, it seems like we might soon be getting a solution called Matter. A protocol with a lot of the major tech and home automation companies behind it. The list includes Google, Amazon, Apple and IKEA (yes they sell LOTS of home automation stuff!).
Matter is a protocol meaning, it defines a set of actions and re-actions that is predictable between vendors. It sits on top of the IP Protocol (as far as I can glean its IPv6). This in itself is not so new, there have been IP based protocols before, but because of power consumption issues they have NOT been the most prominent.
Since all the heavy hitters are involved, the market expects Matter to be our “final” solution. The thing that FINALLY lets us have home automation products without the worry and hours and hours of research that goes with it. Of course that is not going to be the entire truth, but even the skeptic in me believes this is really going to be the thing that makes home automation “just work”.
Should I buy into the home automation scene now?
Is it the right time to start working with home automation? The answer is going to be a really big “maybe”.
Since matter is a software stack that sits on top of radio tech like ZigBee, Thread and Wifi, many battery based devices that run Thread, ZigBee or Z-Wave today, will not be upgraded to Matter directly. Instead the connectivity hubs they are talking with, will receive updates.
Most Wifi based devices are fed power directly, so many of them will receive Matter compatibility updates, but its totally up to each manufacturer.
Trying to answer the question, I would say no, wait 6 months and see where the market is heading. As soon as the Matter protocol is done, manufacturers are going to spew out hardware and firmware updates, and if you device is not upgraded or connected to an upgraded hub within an additional 6 months, don’t expect it to ever be.
That does not mean its useless, it just means you need to keep using the Hub/Bridge you were using already, and won’t be able to buy a drop-in replacement without some research.
Waiting 6 months will probably save you from buying hardware that is on the way out, without anyone knowing it! Once Matter is finally out, I am confident that it WILL be the RIGHT time to get started with home automation.
That said, lots of home information can be done without these fancy protocols and wireless/radio based devices – and you can always jump onto that wagon.
esben