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So, you've browsed the README files, possibly even my blog, and you're wondering why this started, and what my approach is?

Priorities

0. Don't break normal behaviour - eg a light switch must turn lights on and off
1. Automate
2. Voice control
3. Manual control via a phone, tablet, or whatever

In the beginning

Our last house was many decades old when we moved in, and it was in a heck of a state. It needed just about everything doing, wiring, plumbing, windows. When we did the rewiring we put put outside lights in, with switches where we wanted them.

Then we moved to a newer house, that was in a good state, but without any outdoor lights. Putting in traditional outdoor lighting would have required a disruptive rewire, and redecorating, and more money than I wanted to spend. There was a hole in the wall for satellite cabling, with enough room for a power cable, but it was nowhere near the back door.

By this point I'd already been following the home automation field for years. I'd been wanting to explore it for a while, but not had a reason, until now.

Let there be light

It all started with a 50M long LED strip, a Z-Wave socket, and a Z-Wave remote in early 2016. The remote could act as a controller, and directly control the socket. After a few months I started my search for an automation platform and ended up installing Home Assistant.

I didn't move the devices over to HA initially, taking the opportunity to learn the platform first. When I did move them over, I made use of the fact that Z-Wave supports Association allowing the remote to still directly control the socket. Most of those initial automations were experimentations in presence detection, and interacting with media players.

Moving on

From there, I added some more sockets, and experimented with lighting automation, then door sensors and since then it's been a slow, steady, iterative approach of little improvements and changes. Adding new sensors, physical or logical, new things to control (sockets, lights), and yet more automations.

The Seven Ps

All of this has been based initially around two very simple things:

1. What annoys us (that we can automate)
2. What do we do manually many times a day

Later I added two more points:

3. What would make things easier
4. It mustn't require people un-learning behaviours

I've not bought anything until I've identified the problem, and worked out the possible solution (or solutions). Once I've identified the options for solving the problem, I'll work through the devices or software that can be used, with a preference towards Z-Wave and Zigbee (since I'm already using those protocols). Then I'll check the reviews of the options, read forum threads on people's experiences, etc. Only when I'm happy that it'll work the way I want, reliably, will I buy anything.