New to Smartthings... few questions

[JDRoberts]

If you want rules that run locally, SmartThings is not a good fit. There is a very small amount of local processing, but SmartThings is primarily a cloud-based system. For example, you cannot use the Smartthings mobile app at all without Internet access, even if your phone is on Your home Wi-Fi. Technically it would be possible, and there are other systems would do allow for it, but smartthings does not. The only things which one locally are the official smart lighting frapture and some parts of the official smart home monitor feature. Even the official routines features don’t run locally. And if you are using the base hub, you can neither arm nor disarm the security features unless the cloud is available.

The biggest strength of Smartthings is the ability to use custom code, but no custom code runs locally. And sometimes things which did run locally, stop running locally because they change the stock device type handler without warning.

Local Processing in Hub V2

Continuing the discussion from What's the deal with Nest?: Correct. I was answering this question below in the global sense. i.e., There will always be the possibility of various benefits available to Official Device Handlers and SmartApps that are not available to un-certified Community Developed ones. At the moment, the local processing benefit is inapplicable to Nest in either case. I’m not sure ST has guaranteed that community developed SmartApps/Device Types will be included in local processing right after certification. Yes, it may be included down the road, and this is not yet clear on how or what the process is to enable community developed stuffs to run locally.

Every system has pluses and minuses, and it can certainly be challenging to find one that meets all of your own requirements. It’s good that you’re doing your research ahead of time. All the marketing materials look about the same, but there are some big differences in the details.

We also need to note that the original smartthings hub just isn’t very good as a security system, and it sounds like you are expecting a lot of security – related use cases.

They have just this month released a new version which is cobranded with ADT and which fixes some of the previous deficiencies, but we don’t know all the details on it yet. And it does cost much more than the original hub.

ADT partnership: ST-ADT touchscreen hub and devices (discussion thread)

[image] $550 kit at BestBuy [image] Looks like there are several new ADT/SmartThings branded devices too that say “Requires an ADT security hub” on box… contact, motion, keychain remote, smoke, CO and leak For ADT response you have to use these new devices (encrypted?). Other devices/sensors can still be used but won’t trigger ADT call. Details on hub (7" touchscreen, siren, battery and cell backup, pro monitoring by ADT optional):

(BTW, I have moved this to projects so you can get personalized responses based on your own needs and preferences.)

As far as lighting with excellent response time that also works with Alexa, I would look at Lutron Caseta devices. (And you can even get custom engraving if you want that ). Lutron is an engineering Company holds many patents on lighting, and quick response time is one of their top priorities. Their system will work with many other systems, including Alexa, HomeKit, and smartthings. Light control rules themselves all run locally, but there is an Internet bridge So you can also get Alexa integration and Geofencing even without another hub.

Of course that doesn’t meet the requirement for a security system, but the basic SmartThings hub doesn’t really either.