Building out my own home automation network was an incredibly rewarding project. It provides high levels of customization and control over how I and everyone else within the home interact with all our smart home tech, be it a bulb or space heater. An issue we can quickly run into with smart home gear, however, is a reliance on proprietary hardware — namely, smart home hubs. It’s understandable why hubs exist. Companies want a way to make their hardware approachable to everyone, even people who don’t consider themselves tech-savvy.