Shopping for home automation devices can certainly be exciting. It is easy to have visions of a frictionless future powered by devices that respond to simple voice commands.
Dreams of high-definition video doorbells and locks that deactivate at the touch of a finger can make you feel like you’ve stepped into a whole new world.
Perhaps you have. But for so many homeowners, the polished shine of a new home automation device can be suddenly stripped away once the 30-day trial has expired.
I say that because so many devices hide their best features behind a paywall. That is not necessarily a bad thing.
Device manufacturers and home security providers have to make a living, too. But making such features available during a limited free trial sets consumers up for a frustrating fall once the trial is over.
My advice is to study how the industry works before you begin spending. Learn how to decode app subscriptions and cloud storage fees by looking at the finer details of the products you’re thinking of purchasing.
If you can look past the initial sticker price for the hardware, you will have a better idea of what you will actually spend on your smart home.
It’s Really About Value
Before getting into the actual decoding process, there’s a fundamental truth every consumer should understand before going down the smart home road.
It’s basic and simple: your choices are less about bottom-line price and more about value. For the purposes of this post, value describes what you are getting for your money and whether the price you pay is worth the features you’re getting.
Spending thousands of dollars on a smart home system is fine if your budget can support it and you believe the value is there. Also understand that value is subjective.
What represents value to you might seem worthless to someone else. That’s okay. We all see the world just a little bit differently.
Plenty of Brand Choices
Well-known brands like Vivint cater to customers who insist on quality equipment and professional installation. Their systems are a worthy investment.
And yes, Vivint also offers a budget package for people looking for an entry-level price without sacrificing professional installation and monitoring.
Those who don’t want to spend as much have a full selection of DIY brands. Of course, there are also ecosystems from companies whose core businesses have nothing to do with home automation and security. Think Google and Amazon.
For the truly adventurous, there are open-source home automation platforms that can be downloaded free of charge and installed on old computers or newer mini PCs. Homeowners would then start shopping for devices compatible with that platform.
The Post-Purchase Shift
With the idea of value out of the way, it is time to talk about the post-purchase shift that hits so many homeowners unexpectedly.
That shift is the result of an evolving strategy within the electronics industry. Manufacturers and service providers are increasingly adopting the Hardware-as-a-Service (HaaS) model.
Under this model, they no longer offer physical devices as one-time purchases. Instead, the devices serve as gateways to a service infrastructure built on subscriptions.
And because the subscriptions are cloud-based, that’s what you’re really paying for when you buy a device.
This is one of the downsides of purchasing home security and automation devices piecemeal. Imagine you purchase a premium video doorbell as your first home automation device.
You install it, download the app, and you are good to go. But what if you want to store recorded video? Now you have to pay cloud storage fees.
Core Functions and Paywalls
Ensuring that the HaaS model continues unabated is the primary motivation behind paywalls. Device manufacturers want customers to begin relying on their cloud-based services.
If that reliance is strong enough, customers will continue paying their monthly subscription fees.
As you might have guessed, the most savvy manufacturers hide core functions behind that paywall. If you don’t want to pay for service, you only get access to basic features.
The unfortunate reality is that piecemeal home automation creates a fragmented DIY ecosystem that ends up being a financial trap for most who pursue it. Here is how it happens:
- You start with a doorbell camera and a monthly subscription that doesn’t cost much.
- You add floodlights and a camera to the garage a month later. There’s another subscription fee.
- A few months after that comes the smart lock from a different manufacturer. You need a separate subscription and cloud gateway.
Every independent device you add to your system could potentially require a new paid app or cloud account. And every new app and account could potentially come with another fee.
When all is said and done, you could be paying far more for a DIY system than you would have paid had you gone with a provider that offers full packages.
Premium or Open Source
Avoiding the subscription creep that comes with piecemeal home automation isn’t hard. It begins with avoiding the piecemeal model altogether.
If you haven’t yet started building a home automation system, settle that right now. Piecemeal DIY doesn’t work unless you are willing to go the open-source route.
Open-source home automation is the cheapest option. However, you need a certain amount of tech savvy to make it work.
You need to set up your own home server capable of hosting your home automation platform and cloud storage. But if you know how to do it, you’ll never have to pay for cloud services.
Most people aren’t able to build open-source systems. So a better option is to stick with a premium brand.
A premium brand costs more upfront; there is no denying it. But in the long term, a premium brand is likely to cost less thanks to unified equipment and cloud infrastructure.
You get everything in a single package and just one subscription.
Monthly subscription fees and paid apps are part of the modern home automation environment. If you’re not careful, they can creep up on you and devastate your budget.
