Smart-home devices that work without the cloud, by category

Check the integration class before buying

A label such as "Works with Home Assistant" on the box does not say whether the device works locally. The integration's page on the Home Assistant website does. Each integration declares an IoT class, which tells you what happens if the vendor's servers go offline. Classes change with software releases and vendor firmware, so we check them again when a project is specified.

• Local Push or Local Polling: the device is controlled over your own network. This is the preferred result.
• Cloud Push or Cloud Polling: control passes through the vendor's servers and depends on the internet and the vendor's service.
• Not in Home Assistant core: a community-maintained integration is required, which carries more maintenance risk.
• Hub integration: the vendor's bridge is also required, as with the Lutron and Hue bridges.

Wireless protocols compared

Most local devices use one of four wireless standards or a network cable, and many homes use more than one.

Brick party walls and plaster-and-lath walls, common in NYC row houses and pre-war apartments, weaken 2.4 GHz signals. Sub-GHz Z-Wave often carries better through them.

Matter in 2026

Matter is a good tie-breaker between products, but not yet a reason to replace a working Z-Wave, Zigbee or Lutron system.

• Matter is local by design and supports several controllers at once. Home Assistant recommends devices that support at least five controllers (fabrics).
• Matter 1.5, announced on November 20, 2025, adds cameras, closures such as shades and garage doors, energy tariffs, and EV charging with bidirectional charging. Product and platform support arrives gradually.
• A Thread logo does not mean a device supports Matter.
• Each vendor forms its own Thread network, so Apple, Google and Home Assistant networks can end up separate. Home Assistant can import Thread credentials through its Companion app.
• Matter needs IPv6 multicast and may not work well across VLANs. Firmware updates through Home Assistant currently do not work for Thread devices on a network with any Apple border router.

Local or cloud status by device

The table lists common products by their Home Assistant IoT class. Where a cloud product has a local alternative, the note says so.

Source: Home Assistant integration documentation and manifests, checked October 25, 2026.

Solar, batteries, electrical panels and EV chargers

• Enphase IQ Gateway: production, consumption and per-microinverter data are read locally. Firmware 7 and later requires a one-year token from the Enphase cloud; Home Assistant renews it automatically unless multi-factor authentication is enabled on the account. Since firmware 8.2.4225, battery mode and reserve level can no longer be set through the local API.
• Tesla Powerwall: Powerwall 3 exposes a more restricted local API than Powerwall 2. Power flow, charge level and lifetime energy remain available locally; the backup reserve, off-grid switch and per-battery data do not, and changes go through Tesla's cloud.
• SPAN panel: SPAN opened an official local API as a public beta on February 23, 2026, starting with the MAIN 32 panel. SPAN provides it as is, without warranty or support coverage, and plans to end its older undocumented local APIs on December 31, 2026.
• Shelly: all four device generations communicate directly with Home Assistant without a cloud connection.
• EV chargers: OpenEVSE offers full local control and the Tesla Wall Connector Gen 3 shares sensor data only. OCPP chargers can connect through a community integration that makes Home Assistant the charging server, which can remove vendor app features. If a charger is enrolled in a utility or rebate program, confirm the program's requirements before changing its backend.

Energy meters, panels, chargers and smart switches connect to line voltage and are installed by our licensed partner electricians. We design so that nothing safety-related depends on a beta or community API.

Heating, cooling and lighting

• ecobee: for local control, pair the thermostat through Home Assistant's HomeKit Device integration after removing it from Apple Home, since a HomeKit device pairs with one controller at a time. Confirm with ecobee that your model supports HomeKit.
• Google Nest: first- and second-generation Nest Learning Thermostats lost app control and updates on October 25, 2025, although they still run their schedules locally.
• Local thermostats: Z-Wave thermostats, Venstar thermostats and Daikin air conditioners connect locally. For ductless mini-splits, local options differ by brand and adapter and are confirmed model by model.
• Safety: automation adjusts setpoints only. Boiler and heat pump safety controls stay as the manufacturer designed them, and control wiring is completed by our licensed HVAC and electrical partners.
• Lutron systems connect locally through the bridge or processor using certificate pairing. In our experience they are among the most dependable options for the setup effort involved.
• Zigbee bulbs and relays pair directly with your own coordinator. Owners who prioritize privacy should avoid cloud-only Wi-Fi switches.

Locks and cameras

• Local locks: Z-Wave locks with S2 security, Matter-over-Thread locks, and Nuki through its bridge. Model support changes often, so we confirm it before specifying a lock.
• Every entry door keeps a mechanical key or a keypad code that works without a network. In multifamily buildings, NYC's Tenant Data Privacy Law prohibits requiring a smart access system for entry to a tenant's own unit.
• Reolink cameras record locally without a cloud subscription or account and keep working in Home Assistant with internet access blocked. Newer models set up as account devices must be switched to local devices in the Reolink app.
• UniFi Protect requires a local user account rather than a Ubiquiti cloud account, and can restrict access to the local network. Any ONVIF or RTSP camera can also connect, and Frigate adds a local recorder with AI object detection.
• Ring, Blink, SimpliSafe and EZVIZ depend on their vendors' clouds. For local cameras, we block internet access at the firewall when the vendor app is not needed.

Federal rules restrict government purchases of certain Chinese camera brands, and the FCC has stopped approving new models from them. That does not make owning one illegal, but it affects availability, firmware support, and some building owners with federal contracts or grants. We install brands that are not on the FCC Covered List.

The purchasing rule is Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, implemented as FAR 52.204-25. It bars federal agencies from buying, and federal contractors from using, equipment from Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua and their affiliates, including products with covered components, which some white-label cameras contain. This is general information, not legal advice.

A local-first starting set

• Controller: Home Assistant Green ($199) with a Connect ZBT-2 ($49) for Zigbee or Thread and a Connect ZWA-2 ($69) for Z-Wave, or a mini PC for larger systems.
• Lighting: Lutron Caséta in the main rooms.
• Entry: a Z-Wave lock with a keypad and a mechanical key.
• Heating: an ecobee paired through HomeKit Device, or a Z-Wave thermostat.
• Energy: Shelly meters, or local monitoring of an existing Enphase or SPAN system.
• Cameras and power: wired PoE cameras from Reolink or UniFi recording to an NVR or Frigate, with the network equipment and controller on a UPS.

This is an example, not a quote; prices are manufacturer list prices as of October 2026. We review the devices you own or are considering, mark which run locally and what wiring each needs, and price the installation, which is performed together with our licensed partner trades.