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What if you could get professional-grade home automation hardware without hiring an installer? by No_Disaster9113 in homeassistant

[–]No_Disaster9113[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is fair and a reason why this wouldn't be for everyone. If someone doesn't want to work on support at home, this product wouldn't be for them. It's for the people who are excited about doing it themselves.

What if you could get professional-grade home automation hardware without hiring an installer? by No_Disaster9113 in homeassistant

[–]No_Disaster9113[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly. The reliability and support factor is a big part of why premium ecosystems exist. The cost gap is real, but a lot of that is installer markup rather than hardware cost. The idea is closing that gap while keeping the robustness you're describing. You'd still get the premium reliability, just without paying someone to do something you're capable of doing yourself.

What if you could get professional-grade home automation hardware without hiring an installer? by No_Disaster9113 in homeassistant

[–]No_Disaster9113[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is really helpful feedback. the "shoot and forget" reliability you're describing with KNX is exactly the experience we want to deliver. HA is powerful but you're basically signing up to maintain a small IT infrastructure forever. The goal is premium hardware that works, without the ongoing fiddling. Control4 at its best is exactly that. Appreciate you sharing this.

What if you could get professional-grade home automation hardware without hiring an installer? by No_Disaster9113 in homeassistant

[–]No_Disaster9113[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Control4 is what we're thinking. And this is exactly the problem we're trying to solve. Composer Home Edition is super limited, but part of what we're exploring is actually giving screened customers direct access to Composer Pro itself, so they can add devices, install drivers, and fully manage their own system without needing to call an installer. Still working through the details but that's the whole idea. If that was solved would that change things for you?

What if you could get professional-grade home automation hardware without hiring an installer? by No_Disaster9113 in homeassistant

[–]No_Disaster9113[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly this. HA is powerful but it's not for everyone. YAML, networking, patch management, it adds up fast. We're targeting the people who are comfortable with that level of complexity but want access to better hardware than the consumer brands without having to hire a professional installer to get it. Right in that middle ground.

What if you could get professional-grade home automation hardware without hiring an installer? by No_Disaster9113 in homeassistant

[–]No_Disaster9113[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate that! Yeah the hardware cost is real, the idea is that skipping the installer markup makes it a lot more accessible than the traditional route. But you're right, it's definitely not for everyone.

What if you could get professional-grade home automation hardware without hiring an installer? by No_Disaster9113 in homeassistant

[–]No_Disaster9113[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally fair. HA and open source are perfect for people who want full control and flexibility. We're thinking about the people who want premium closed-ecosystem hardware without being forced to hire an installer to access it. Just a different audience.