In our current system we don’t really have a choice. FPTP basically ensures there will only be two viable candidates and they’ll come from the established parties.

I’m very familiar with homeassistant, been using it for ~5-6 years. First primarily z-wave but now primarily zigbee with a tiny bit of wifi-backed matter mixed in.

That’s a lot of work to replace the sensors that are built into the fridge. 2 temp sensors for the fridge and freezer separately (I’m still not convinced I wouldn’t have issues with the connection being unreliable), a power clamp (you probably don’t want to use a plug since the relays fail open), 2 door sensors, and a fair bit of automation to get notified, not to mention you’ve now added a maintenance task for all those batteries. Especially when the alternative is to connect it to the internet and you’re done. I do connect my homeassistant install to their cloud service so I can get long term tracking and whatnot but the part I need is done with just the internet connection.

Why would I risk the security of my network by giving Samsung or GE or LG a backdoor into my network

That’s just it, with either client isolation or a dedicated and isolated IoT SSID (nearly all modern home routers have one of these) they’re not actually on your network and can’t communicate with any of your other devices, only the internet. I’ve been building enterprise networks for ~20 years now and this is how it’s handled at that level and should be more than enough for a home network.

I do 100% agree for cameras though, that’s all local or not at all.

On the other side of the spectrum packet loss is a key feature of some of the layers below tcp, like path-mtu discovery.

Refrigerators are damn near Faraday cages. Zigbee devices are going to have a hard time getting their 2.4ghz signaling out.

A failed compressor doesn’t necessatily use less power. If it’s simply lost pressure and hasn’t seized the motor will still cycle and appear to be working from a power usage perspective.

And if the coordinator doesn’t have network connectivity, how is it ever going to alert me to problems when I’m away?

I get that you’re very afraid of the security implications of iot devices, but none of the ideas you’re proposing are actually solutions to the problems a truly connected device can solve.

security vulnerabilities outweigh any possible gains for me

Definitely a valid choice, just not one that’s for everyone. I’m content that they’re on a separate IoT network and can’t reach into my main network and will make that trade for the QoL improvements that it buys me.

The zwave alliance disagrees that it’s not an IoT platform (https://z-wavealliance.org/ Literally the title of the page calls it IoT). Also, how much power it consumes doesn’t necessarily tell you if the fridge is running and it certainly doesn’t tell you what the temperature inside the refrigerator is. Even a compressor pump zero refrigerant still inside the loop can consume power just spinning the motor.

Edit: Apparently saw zigbee and read zwave but the point stands https://csa-iot.org/all-solutions/zigbee/ (the standards body that controls the zigbee protocol).

“not that iot device, use this one instead and get less function out of it”

Wrinkle cycles don’t work as well as getting the laundry while it’s still hot. It reduces it some but not as much as getting the laundry when it’s still hot. It also wastes a fair bit of energy to run the dryer for another 15 minutes instead of just telling me when it’s done.

And it’s not a dementia thing, it’s an adhd+generalized anxiety thing. Piece of mind is pretty valuable to me and mine.

In my 40 years on earth it’s happened to me 3 times. 2 times the food was lost. The most recent time I saved the food because I knew about it and could ask someone for help. Progress.

“not that iot device, use this one instead and get less function out of it”

My anecdote at least happened. Your hypothetical by definition never did. The internet connection I haven’t thought about since I installed the fridge. Not sure where the hassle is.

Also I don’t understand why you think refrigerators are incredibly reliable. Compressor pumps and start capacitors are damn near consumables now days.

You’re making up a hypothetical situation where it might not work. I’ve literally done this and my brother saved hundreds of dollars of food from spoiling while I was on vacation by moving it to his fridge/freezer.

Sure it is. I have family friends and neighbors.

*crappy turd

What security exposure? Any modern router has a way to isolate iot devices. I’m risking people knowing when I open my fridge?

Alarm is going to have to be pretty loud for me to hear it many miles away.

I’m OK with it for some things tbh. With a wifi fridge for example I can know if it stops working and the temp starts rising before I have a fridge full of spoiled food. With an oven I can know if I left the house with it still running. With the washer/dryer I can get notified when I need to fold the cloths before they get wrinkled. I think connected appliances have more useful applications than people give them credit for.

Or it was just your area reverting back to the prevailing trend. Microeconomics vs macro.

Your house matches their estimates and you’re questioning their numbers?

There will always be ignorant asshole neighbors. It’s law enforcement’s responsibility to uphold your right regardless of what calls they get. If they’d investigate more before taking action they might get more trust from the public.

At least when they’re bought then it won’t be for the rest of my fucking life.