AutomationsShipped
Rules keep running
Time of day, sunrise and sunset, temperature, who is home and what a sensor saw all keep firing in the box.
Guide
Smart home hub without the cloud
A local hub runs your home's automation inside the house, not in a data centre. Here is what that means, what keeps working when the broadband drops, and why it matters.
Shipped running on production boxesIn beta on test boxesNext in development
The basics
What a local hub actually is.
Most smart homes are apps talking to somebody else's computers. The bulb, the plug and the thermostat each reach a maker's cloud, and the routines that tie them together live there too. When the connection drops, the intelligence goes with it.
A local hub is the opposite. One computer in the house holds the rules, the history and the device connections. It speaks Zigbee, Bluetooth, 433 MHz radio or your own Wi-Fi, and decides what happens next without asking a server. The internet becomes useful rather than essential. HuZe is built that way: the box is the hub, the automation runs on it, and the record of your home stays in your home.
When the broadband goes
What keeps working.
A local hub is judged on the bad day.
Scenes and buttonsShipped
The wall button still works
A button by the bed runs its scene without a phone, an app or a round trip to the internet.
Presence and climateShipped
The house still knows you are in
Presence can trigger your own heating and lighting rules.
Sensors and radiosShipped
Local devices stay local
Zigbee sensors, 433 MHz devices, Bluetooth buttons and beacons, and Wi-Fi kit with local control keep reporting.
The honest edge
What still needs a connection.
NotificationsShipped
Reaching your phone
The box runs without the internet, but an alert cannot reach your phone with no connection at all, so alerts need a connection and the box tells you when it has lost one.
VoiceShipped
Alexa needs its cloud
Alexa voice control of your devices, and box automations you mark as scenes can be started from Alexa (they run on the box). Alexa's own routines run in Amazon's cloud.
Maker-cloud devicesShipped
Some devices only talk through a cloud
Tuya, Meross and BlueAir are supported. Glowmarkt is next.
Why it matters
Local keeps its promises.
It keeps working. Broadband faults and router reboots stop being house-wide events. It is private. Your household's rhythm is data in your house, not a profile held by a company. It lasts. A hub that owns its rules can keep supporting devices long after an app is retired; a 433 MHz receiver picks up compatible wireless sensors (receive only), and remote sockets and doorbells are next.
The Home page shows every feature with its status. To ask a question first, write to hello [at] huze-automation [dot] co [dot] uk.
Questions
Local hubs, answered.
What is a local smart home hub?
A computer in the house that holds your automations, device connections and history, instead of a data centre.
Does a hub work without the internet?
A local-first one does: automation, scenes, presence and local-control devices carry on, though reaching your phone from outside still needs a connection.
What happens during an internet outage?
Timed routines, sunrise and sunset, sensors and presence keep running in the box until the connection returns.
Is it more private than a cloud hub?
Yes, by architecture. Your household's behaviour stays in your house, and any offsite backup is encrypted before it leaves.