Why should you consider "local" control for your devices?

 

You've heard me speak on it, and there are plenty of other home automation aficionados that talk about it as well... local control of your smart home, or IoT, devices.  But is this just a tin hat conspiracy, or are there really a number of good reasons to favor local devices over those that operate in the cloud?

Move a switched outlet with two smart devices and simple wiring

 

Have you ever wished that a switch in a room controlled a different outlet?  Of course, you can go into the attic or crawl space (if possible) and reroute all the wiring.... or you can move the switched outlet just by upgrading the switch and using a smart outlet.

Hexagonal LED Wall Display

 

This is a companion article to my YouTube video on building a "Nanoleaf®"-style wall display using WLED and a custom controller.  Only supporting information (like parts used) and a high level overview of the build are provided in this article.