Smart Home Glossary

The terms we use most often in Home Automation Weekly, in plain English. Entries are in alphabetical order, and each one links to the official project or standards page where there is one.

Automation

A rule that makes your home do something without you asking, such as turning on the porch light at sunset. Most automations are built from a trigger, optional conditions, and one or more actions.

Bluetooth

A short-range wireless technology. In the smart home it is used mainly for setting up new devices from a phone, and for some low-power sensors, locks and trackers. Many Matter devices use Bluetooth Low Energy during setup (commissioning).

Related: Bluetooth SIG, Matter

Bridge

A device that translates between one network or protocol and another, so devices on one side can be controlled from the other. A lighting bridge, for example, can expose Zigbee bulbs to a Matter or app-based system.

Related: Hub, Controller

Cloud control

Control that passes through a company's internet servers, even when you are at home. It allows remote access and vendor features, but commands can slow down or stop if your internet or the vendor's service goes down.

Related: Local control

Controller

The device or software that manages a network of smart devices and sends them commands. In Z-Wave and Matter the word has a more specific meaning: a device that manages the network and controls the devices on it. (Matter calls the device that adds new devices a commissioner.) A phone app, a smart speaker or a hub can all act as controllers.

Related: Hub, Bridge

Dashboard

A screen that shows the state of your home and lets you control it, often on a wall-mounted tablet or a phone. Home Assistant has built-in dashboards, and you can also build your own web pages that talk to it.

Related: Home Assistant dashboards

ESPHome

An open-source system for programming low-cost microcontroller boards, such as the ESP32, to act as sensors, switches and other smart devices. You describe the device in a configuration file and ESPHome builds the firmware. It works closely with Home Assistant.

Related: esphome.io

HACS

Short for Home Assistant Community Store: a community-run tool for installing custom integrations, dashboard cards and themes in Home Assistant that are not part of the official release.

Related: hacs.xyz

Home Assistant

A free, open-source home automation platform that runs on your own hardware, such as a small computer on your home network. It connects devices from many brands and puts an emphasis on local control and privacy.

Related: home-assistant.io, HACS, ESPHome

HomeSeer

A long-running home automation platform sold as software and as dedicated hub hardware. It is known for Z-Wave support and runs on your own equipment rather than in the cloud.

Related: homeseer.com

Hub

A box on your home network that connects and coordinates smart devices, often with radios for protocols your router doesn't speak, such as Zigbee or Z-Wave. Many hubs also run automations locally.

Related: Bridge, Controller, Hubitat

Hubitat

A smart home hub designed to run automations locally, without depending on the cloud. It supports Zigbee and Z-Wave devices along with other integrations.

Related: hubitat.com, Local control

Integration

A piece of software that connects a home automation platform to a particular brand, device or service, so you can control and automate it. In Home Assistant, each supported brand or service has its own integration.

Related: HACS, Home Assistant

Local control

Control that stays on your home network: the command goes from your app, hub or controller straight to the device, without a trip to a company's servers. It is usually faster and keeps working when the internet is down.

Related: Cloud control

Matter

An industry standard from the Connectivity Standards Alliance that lets certified smart home devices from different brands work with each other and with platforms such as Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Home Assistant. It runs over IP networks such as Wi-Fi, Ethernet and Thread, and is designed for local control.

Related: CSA: Matter, Thread

MCP (Model Context Protocol)

An open standard for connecting AI assistants and agents to outside tools and data. In the smart home, an MCP server lets an AI assistant read device states or control devices through your home platform, within whatever permissions you grant it.

Mesh network

A network where devices pass messages along for each other instead of all talking to one central point. Each mains-powered device can extend coverage, and messages can take another path if one device drops out. Zigbee, Z-Wave and Thread all use mesh networking.

Related: Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread

openHAB

A free, open-source home automation platform that runs on your own hardware. It connects devices from many brands and protocols and runs automations locally.

Related: openhab.org

Scene

A saved set of device states you can apply in one go, such as "Movie night" dimming the lights and closing the blinds. A scene sets the states; an automation decides when.

Smart home ecosystem

A company's family of apps, hubs, speakers and services that work together, such as Apple Home, Google Home or Amazon Alexa. Standards like Matter are meant to make devices work across ecosystems.

Related: Matter

Thread

A low-power wireless mesh networking protocol for smart home devices, maintained by the Thread Group. It is IP-based, which makes it one of the networks Matter devices can use, and it suits battery-powered sensors and locks.

Thread border router

A device that connects a Thread network to the rest of your home network, so Thread devices can be reached from phones, hubs and apps. Many smart speakers, streaming boxes and hubs have one built in.

Related: Thread, Matter

Trigger, condition, action

The three parts of a typical automation. The trigger is the event that starts it (motion detected), conditions are checks that must be true for it to continue (it's after dark), and actions are what happens (turn on the hall light).

Voice assistant

Software you control by speaking, such as Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa or Home Assistant's own Assist. It turns speech into commands for your devices. Some process speech in the cloud; some can run locally.

Wake word

The word or phrase that tells a voice assistant to start listening, such as "Hey Siri" or "Alexa". The device listens for it locally and normally only processes what you say after hearing it.

Related: Voice assistant

Wi-Fi

The same wireless network your laptop and phone use. Many smart plugs, cameras and appliances connect over Wi-Fi directly to your router, with no hub needed. It is convenient but uses more power than Zigbee or Thread, so it is less common in battery-powered sensors.

Related: Wi-Fi Alliance, Matter

Zigbee

A low-power wireless mesh protocol from the Connectivity Standards Alliance, widely used for bulbs, sensors and switches. Zigbee devices usually need a Zigbee hub, bridge or USB radio to connect to the rest of your home.

Related: CSA: Zigbee, Mesh network

Z-Wave

A low-power wireless mesh protocol for smart home devices, developed by the Z-Wave Alliance. It uses sub-GHz radio frequencies (around 908 MHz in the US), not the 2.4 GHz band that Thread and most Wi-Fi and Zigbee devices use, and it needs a Z-Wave hub or controller.