[TorqueDog]

If you're the type to tinker, Home Assistant is very powerful home automation software that you can use to control Z-wave, Zigbee, and WiFi-enabled smart home products. You just install it onto a Raspberry Pi and add the requisite Z-wave / Zigbee radio USB adapters depending what protocol(s) you need to interact with, and away you go.

If you're looking for something a bit easier but still quite powerful, a Hubitat smart hub will do much of the same with less of a learning curve.

Or if you want the easiest possible solution, the Samsung SmartThings hub will make everything braindead simple at the cost of some customization and flexibility that Hubitat and Home Assistant offer.


I started my smart home deployment with SmartThings and planned on migrating to Hubitat but paused that when I realized SmartThings still did everything I needed it to right until I sold my house. I think for your needs, SmartThings is the way to go with some good Z-wave locks (I loved my Schlage Connect code locks) and some WiFi cameras. If you have a larger house, add a Z-wave smart-switch or two as these will act as signal repeaters so you have more flexibility in where you put your hub. I used a smart-switch and a door open sensor (reed sensor) to automatically turn the light in the pantry on when the door was opened, and turn it off once it was closed. Very handy.