Smart home security is still in its infancy. Every large tech company has thrown their hat in the ring. This is a good thing; it means we have a lot of options to choose from and competition is still healthy.
Aside from numerous ‘turnkey’ options, there are also some pretty cool DIY options as well.
Product Criteria
- Going Concern Risk – There is a lot of discontinuation and grandfathering happening right now in the smart home technology space. Which is natural, given it’s immaturity. The risk of the product/company going bust has to be low, or its a deal breaker for me.
- If the system required a monthly fee, or if system functionality is severely crippled without paying a monthly fee, I won’t consider it.
- Autistic Tech Needs – It has to solve problem the specific smart home security needs of an autistic families. And it has to have the flexibility of keeping the good people inside the house almost as well as it keeps the bad guys out.
Platform Summary
| Platform | Configurability | Relative Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Smartthings | Medium | Medium |
| Ring | Low | Medium |
| Home Assistant | High | Low |
| Konnected.io | High | Medium |
Ring Alarm
If you already own an Amazon echo, this one is a no-brainer. I feel pretty comfortable with this platform because it’s backed by Amazon. So far, I’ve been pretty impressed with their integrations to other platforms.
They have a few starter packages available, which I really like. Most families with small or autistic children will want to protect every door and window so you will probably need a minimum of 10. Motion sensors I could take or leave; in my opinion they are really only useful for vacations.
SmartThings
If you like to tinker, code, or mix different products, then this one could be a winner for you. The eco-system of available code and discussion comments is huge. I was able to integrate every smart product I own. Even the cheaper Chinese sensors I bought off AliExpress.
Advantages
- The community is huge! Unlikely that you won’t find an app for your device.
- Code your own (using a java-like language called Groovy) app, device interfaces when you can’t find one
- Not locked into one of the “big guys”, but works with the “big guys”
Disadvantages
- If you add code from the community, or write your own, you will incur occasional maintenance to keep things updated.
- Most devices make it a priority to integrate with Google Home, Apple, and Amazon. Some don’t integrate out of the box. Hence my comment above.
- Their mobile app isn’t as fast or reliable as what it should be from a big tech company.
Home Assistant
This is probably my favorite option, because it is the most configurable. However, be warned that I would only recommend this option if you have plenty of time to setup and get it running smoothly. It doesn’t do “security” out of the box. You’ll need to source the various sensors and spend time with configuration.
What You’ll Like
- You can literally integrate anything into this system.
- If you are comfortable with a little code and configuration, you can make it work exactly the way you want
- You can build your own smart switches, garage door openers, misc controls and easily connect them to this platform
- You could take just about any old PC and re-purpose it to run the Home Assistant platform
What You Might Not Like
- You might need to build your own Raspberry Pi if you don’t have an old PC around
- You will need to maintain any custom code/modules
- If your smart home vendor doesn’t have an open API, you might be out of luck connecting it
Konnected.io
I wish I’d found this option when I first moved into my house. If you have a pre-wired alarm system that you don’t want to pay a monthly subscription on, check this solution out. The kit they sell will wire to your existing alarm system and make it “smart” and should integrate fairly easily into Home Connect or Smartthings.
