In reply to a comment that was deleted (maybe it was getting downvoted?)<p>I think (hope) the difference will be the utility to the the average user of these devices. We&#x27;re basically in the infancy of IoT and are already seeing useful consumer grade devices. Going back to the home hubs as an example: You can grab a z-wave light switch from a big box store, a generic z-wave thermostat from Amazon, the hubs go from free to $200, and The only knowledge you need are to be able to replace a light switch in your house and the knowledge you would use to install a new WiFi router, you can have your outside lights come on only when it&#x27;s dark outside and your thermostat respond to outside temperatures or vacancy just like Nest does. All in, you&#x27;re less than the price of a Nest Thermostat, are (probably) more secure, and have a real shot at actually reducing your electric bills- and that&#x27;s just with what we have right this second.<p>Is it saving the world today? No. Is there WAY too much hype. Heck yes. Are there some REALLY useful devices out there today? Yeah, once you wade through the crop.<p>Admittedly we&#x27;re in the super early adopter phase, but there are real non-superficial benefits to making our biggest home energy appliances smarter with respect to consumption. There are attempts to interface with the power providers to have things like dishwashers and washing machines automatically wait for lower usage times to run- which means we can use slack in the energy network instead of firing up more coal or bringing more turbines online. It&#x27;s a bit of a rosy picture as its well understood that residential use doesn&#x27;t compare to local industrial use, but let&#x27;s get any efficiency we can.<p>As I&#x27;ve said to friends that are dubious on global warming- even if it&#x27;s not a real threat, is it really a bad thing to use less energy and tear up less of our environment? Even if our residential efficiencies barely make a dent, assuming our privacy and security aren&#x27;t completely compromised, is it bad to make our homes work just a little better?