We have already talked about how smart home devices are reaching out to our homes and how they are being introduced in our lifestyle. Actually, you are probably reading this because you have at least one smart device or your are thinking about getting one.

The first time you buy one of these incredible devices you will need to download an application and connect the smart appliances to the internet.

Once you have everything set up and connected to the internet you can start using your devices. If you have lights, you can control brightness, color, saturation, set routines or charms. In case you have thermostats you can change the temperature in your home using your phone.

But do we really need the internet connection to control our devices? Why do we need to do so? Is it good or not? Can we have local control instead of cloud control for our home devices?

On this blog post I will try to explain some pros and cons of local and cloud control. At the end of the post I will expose my opinion about this topic and how we manage this issue on the Yeti Smart Home Automation app.

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What does cloud and local control mean for the smart home?

To explain the difference between local and cloud control I want you to imagine that you are at home and you turn on your lights. To do that, you don’t need to be connected to the internet, you just send the message directly to the devices.

Now, imagine that you are at the office, take the phone and turn on your home lights. That is cloud control because you are not where your device is.

When you are controlling your devices through the cloud, it is because you are sending a message to the internet and then, your lights are receiving a message saying “turn on” at home (remark: this is only a brief explanation).

So basically, with local control you don’t need the internet to control your devices. On the contrary, cloud control needs the internet connection to work.