{"id":263621,"date":"2021-05-31T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-is-a-smart-home-hub\/"},"modified":"2021-05-31T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T12:00:00","slug":"what-is-a-smart-home-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-smart-home-hub\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Is a Smart Home Hub?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2717c1829b3\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2717c1829b3\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-smart-home-hub\/#Lets_Talk_Protocols\" >Let\u2019s Talk Protocols<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-smart-home-hub\/#Its_All_Happenin_at_the_Hub\" >It\u2019s All Happenin\u2019 at the Hub<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-smart-home-hub\/#Hubs_Arent_Perfect\" >Hubs Aren\u2019t Perfect<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-a-smart-home-hub\/#Do_You_Need_a_Hub_in_Your_Smart_Home\" >Do You Need a Hub in Your Smart Home?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#What Is a Smart Home Hub?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage wp-image-730785 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/smart-home-hub.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Smart home hub.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"555\" data-credittext=\"Aeotec\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\">Aeotec<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Getting started with smart home\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> is daunting. There are many different paths you can go down. A common component of smart homes is the central \u201chub.\u201d What exactly is a smart home hub, and do you need one?<\/p>\n<p>Deciding whether you need a hub is just one of the many choices that you have to make when building your smart home. It\u2019s arguably one of the bigger choices that you\u2019ll have to make, though, as it has a big effect on the devices that you can add to your home. We\u2019ll explain what a smart home hub is so that you can decide whether you should go down that path.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Lets_Talk_Protocols\"><\/span>Let\u2019s Talk Protocols<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When it comes to smart homes, a number of different protocols can be used. These protocols are what decides how the devices in your home connect and how they can be controlled. For our purposes, there are three protocols that most smart home owners should understand.<\/p>\n<p>The first is what you\u2019ll find in many of the basic smart home gadgets: Wi-Fi. These devices, which include light bulbs, switches, outlets, and many typical smart home things, connect to the wireless network in your home.<\/p>\n<p>Each one of the devices is on your Wi-Fi, and that is how it communicates with the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a> on your phone or the Alexa or Google Assistant smart speaker. All you need to set up these devices is your Wi-Fi password. You don\u2019t need any additional hardware.<\/p>\n<p>The other two protocols are Z-Wave and ZigBee, and these are what typical smart home hubs use.\u00a0These protocols are wireless as well, but they don\u2019t use Wi-Fi. Z-Wave and ZigBee devices create a \u201cmesh network\u201d that allows them to communicate with each other. This means that you\u2019re not limited to the range of your router.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of every device being on your Wi-Fi network and communicating independently, Z-Wave and ZigBee devices are all connected to the hub. The hub is the only thing connected to Wi-Fi. You communicate with the hub, which then sends commands to connected devices.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>What Are &#8220;ZigBee&#8221; and &#8220;Z-Wave&#8221; Smarthome Products?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Its_All_Happenin_at_the_Hub\"><\/span>It\u2019s All Happenin\u2019 at the Hub<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The term \u201chub\u201d is the perfect description of what a smart home hub is. It\u2019s the centralized device that everything else in your smart home is connected to. When the hub goes down, so does your smart home. It\u2019s the heart of the system.<br \/>\nThere are plenty of benefits and downsides to this type of setup. If you have dozens of smart home devices in your home, a hub allows you to keep them from crowding your Wi-Fi network. They connect to the hub rather than to your router.<br \/>\nThis also makes it easier to add new devices to your smart home. With Wi-Fi devices, you usually need a third-party app and Wi-Fi credentials to get it set up. However, once you have a hub set up, it\u2019s just a matter of plugging in a new device and waiting for it to appear in the app for your hub.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of apps, this is another benefit of a hub. Wi-Fi devices typically require you to use third-party apps from the maker of the device. These apps are then what you use to control the devices. If you mix and match brands in your home (as many people do), you have a few different apps to remember.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, there are ways that you can consolidate Wi-Fi devices into a single interface with something like the Google Home app (or Apple\u2019s Home app, for devices that support HomeKit). This requires extra work, however, and it\u2019s not always possible with every brand.<\/p>\n<p>With a hub, everything can be done from one app. Devices are connected to the hub and then they show up in the app. You\u2019re always using the same familiar interface. Hub apps typically are more powerful as well, including tools for routines and complex automation.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hubs_Arent_Perfect\"><\/span>Hubs Aren\u2019t Perfect<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We\u2019re talking up hubs a lot here, but the truth is, they aren\u2019t without problems. Smart home hubs can be finicky, annoying devices at times.\u00a0The hub controls everything, so if the hub goes down, your entire smart home is down.<\/p>\n<p>That might seem like an obvious thing, and the same applies to Wi-Fi devices. No internet means that your smart home isn\u2019t very smart. The difference with a hub is that it can sometimes go down for other reasons. For example, if Samsung\u2019s SmartThings network goes down, the hub won\u2019t be able to connect to devices, even if your Wi-Fi is fine.<\/p>\n<p>Like a lot of things, the more complexity you add to a system, the more chances there are for failures. Using a smart home hub opens you up to a whole new world of possibilities, but that does come with some extra challenges as well.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_You_Need_a_Hub_in_Your_Smart_Home\"><\/span>Do You Need a Hub in Your Smart Home?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The big question that many people have when starting a smart home is whether they should invest in a hub. You\u2019re looking at an extra upfront cost that seems to make things more complicated. How do you know if it\u2019s worth it?<\/p>\n<p>The truth is, that\u2019s a very personal question. It really depends on the type of smart home that you\u2019re looking to create. Most people don\u2019t need to bother with a hub. If you just want a handful of smart light bulbs and switches, you don\u2019t need that extra complexity. Add a smart speaker and you have a pretty nice, simple system.<\/p>\n<p>When you start getting into the more serious side of smart homes, that\u2019s when a hub becomes necessary. If you\u2019re thinking about replacing all the light switches in your home, adding motion sensors in multiple rooms, and building\u00a0crazy projects like fake windows, you should probably look into a hub.<\/p>\n<p>Which hub is the best? Well, that\u2019s another tough question to answer. There are several competing platforms available on the market today. The one that seems to have the broadest appeal is Samsung\u2019s SmartThings platform. It\u2019s been around for a long time, is backed by a major company, and supports many popular smart home brands.<\/p>\n<div class=\"product-box\">\nWorks as a SmartThings Hub<\/p>\n<div class=\"product-img \">\n<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" role=\"presentation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B08TWDNQ5Q?tag=hotoge-20&amp;linkCode=ogi&amp;th=1&amp;psc=1\" onclick=\"fbq('track', 'Buy Button'); if (fb_t_convert){fb_t_convert();}\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41ldEFvhZxL._SL160_.jpg\" height=\"147px\" alt=\"\" role=\"presentation\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"product-add\">\n<div class=\"product-add-price\">\n<p class=\"product-price\">\n$124.99<br \/>\n<br \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"12\" width=\"42\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,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\" alt=\"\" role=\"presentation\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A hub can make your smart home even smarter, but that doesn\u2019t mean that your home is <em>dumb<\/em> without one. It\u2019s up to you to decide how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How to Build Your Own Artificial Natural Light Window<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/730617\/what-is-a-smart-home-hub\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#What Is a Smart Home Hub?&#8221; Aeotec Getting started with smart home\u00a0technology is daunting. There are many different paths you can go down. A common component of smart homes is the central \u201chub.\u201d What exactly is a smart home hub, and do you need one? Deciding whether you need a hub is just one of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":263622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/smart-home-hub.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-263621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}