I have a semi-smart home. Back story - I’m a “Facility Application Engineer”, which is essentially an Automation Tech. I program controls, mostly commercial/educational/hospital setting HVAC controls (large integrated systems). I’m certified in multiple systems.
I bought a Hubitat for my house, and a couple of Z-wave plus and Zigbee devices to control a few things (thermostat, motion sensors and lights so far). I’ve spent more time banging my head against a wall trying to program my house than I ever do a huge air handler with 20+ variable air volume boxes beneath it. But I think that’s because, 1. I’m used to my work systems, and 2. I don’t know Groovy, which is the programming language that the Hubitat uses.
There are a bunch of pre-programmed things you can use, but being the over the top control guy that I am, I get frustrated when I can’t figure out how to do what I want to do. 😆 There are plenty of people out there using Hubitat (and other smart home systems) that have no experience with the stuff that I do, that are MUCH better with the smart home stuff than I am. 😆 The controllers I use at work are way too expensive to buy for home, so I just have to keep plugging away at figuring out the Hubitat. 🤷🏼♂️