May 24, 2016
Do Home Automation Hubs Require Internet?
There are a number of automaton controllers supporting technologies including Insteon, Zwave and Zigbee, and a number of different popular home automation controllers. While it makes sense that an Internet connection can be used for remote control, email or SMS alerts, many automation controllers require Internet access for much more. We can break this down into two groups. Group A use the Internet for remote access, alerts and firmware updates. Group B REQUIRE the Internet to function in one way or another. In some cases the automation controller won’t even run scheduled events without the Internet. So let’s look at some of the most common automation hubs and how they use the Internet.
| Automation Hub | Internet Required? | Internet Details |
|---|---|---|
| Vera | Required | Cloud based login, requires Internet but schedules and triggers processed locally and will run if Internet connection goes down. |
| Hometroller | Optional | Can run without any Internet connection. Optional cloud remote access. Schedules and triggers processed locally without Internet involvement. In-house phone/tablet apps can work without Internet. |
| ISY994 | Optional | Can run without any Internet connection. Optional cloud remote access. Schedules and programs/triggers processed locally without Internet involvment. In-house phone/tablet apps can work without Internet |
| Insteon Hub | Required | Cloud based login, requires Internet. |
| Wink | Required | Cloud based login, requires Internet. Schedules and triggers (Robots) function via remote calls to a cloud server and do not work without Internet. Basically stops working without Internet. Some lag during Internet handshaking. |
| Smartthings V1 | Required | Cloud based login, requires Internet. Schedules and triggers function via remote calls to a cloud server and do not work without Internet. |
| Smartthings V2 | Required | Cloud based login, requires Internet. However some schedules and triggers can be processed locally so they are faster and work if Internet connection goes down. However many functions still require Internet cloud. |
