This article addresses the issues with cloud based smart home devices and the many problems with them (privacy and obsolescence). It suggests that the software Home Assistant has gotten much more user-friendly than it has been in the past.

As I mentioned in the webinar about data sovereignty, we intend to add solar panels and batteries to our set up. An important aspect of that for us is to have hardware that is compatible with Home Assistant. That will allow us to avoid reliance on cloud based software.