The first step to establishing a smart home system is to choose an excellent smart home platform. Selecting the right hub or platform may seem to be an overwhelming task since various options are available in the market. Here, we discuss the different types of smart home hubs available to determine which one is best for you.
Hardware-based smart home systems
This is the most popular and the most potent type of smart home system that you can get your hands on. It is a physical hardware unit that serves as the central communicator for all the different smart home devices that you have in the house.
Every hardware-based hub comes with its own app that you can download on your smartphone. Through the app, you can control and monitor any smart device connected to the system, whether you are in or out of the house.
The hardware hubs have communication radios within them, and they use radio waves to send signals to smart home devices. The wireless connection can be made through WiFi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Z-Wave.
Software-based smart home systems
Software-based hubs are easy to use, and they are very simple. All you have to do is install the app on your smartphone then use it to connect to the different apps of your smart home devices. Once this is done, you can operate every device from the software hub’s official app instead of various apps. Everything is kept into one place – this makes it easier to manage your devices.
Due to its simplicity and ease of use, software hubs are recommended for those who are still new to home automation services and are still exploring. Take note, though, that they are not as flexible or versatile as hardware-based smart home systems – connectivity options can be limited for some smart home devices. Suppose you enjoy using the software-based smart home system and find that you need more connectivity options. In that case, you can upgrade to a hardware hub later.
Hybrid smart home systems
The hybrid smart home system is a mix of the hardware- and software-based smart home systems. It is more of a software hub, but they also include a piece of hardware. Like software-based smart home systems, hybrid smart home systems come with an affordable price tag.
For hybrid smart home systems they do not communicate to smart home devices directly through radio waves. Communications are done through WiFi connectivity.
If you are serious about building a permanent smart home system, you should invest in a hardware-based hub. If you just want to give the smart home system a try without making any serious commitments, then you should purchase a software-based hub. If you like a little mix of both, then you should get a hybrid smart home system.
Now that you know the different types of smart home systems available in the market, you can determine which products you should consider. Make sure that these hubs come from a reliable and trusted white label smart home manufacturer so that you will be getting your money’s worth.
