Smarthome - General question of meaning

I'm up for it. Quite simple.

And as already said, a light or a blind with an app has absolutely nothing to do with [Smarthome].

Overall, I see little sense in the typical smart home functions.

I am completely with rick2018 on this, you quite obviously confuse remote controllable and automated (let's just leave the "smart" aside, it only causes confusion, your questions are the best proof).

Even this statement of yours alone offers plenty of room for speculation and confusion. Because in my experience, what you consider typical functions are child's play for someone else and futuristic for a third party. I want to imply that there are no truly "typical functions," since even in lighting alone the range is so wide that nowadays you basically need a doctorate to grasp everything.

The devices that can actually be sensibly controlled via app,

Basically an oxymoron. Nothing that can be sensibly controlled basically needs an app. Because it suggests that before the pre-smartphone era there was nothing and everyone had to wait until this liberating device was finally invented.

In every room, there are corresponding light switches or motion detectors.

Yes, and now imagine in an automated house these end devices communicate with each other and with the lamps and with all kinds of other sensors. The resident only needs to reach for the light switch if something does not go according to their liking... and that should then happen very very rarely in a truly automated house. Almost as often as a solar eclipse occurs. That’s the whole point. To achieve as little interaction of the residents with the technology as possible without losses in quality but with considerable comfort gain... in normal operation the residents should actually forget that these things even exist...

And no, an app on the phone does not create a comfort gain but quite the opposite. Because it makes you dependent. Many of these so-called apps are nothing more than a replacement for a usual remote control and still require operation by the residents. Certainly, there are then rudimentary logic functions and automatism on board but they operate according to your own parameters and are always dependent on further data. Or, for heaven’s sake, a constant internet connection for their own cloud. This has absolutely nothing to do with an automated home and is often just a pathetic attempt to imitate what others have long been able to do, with mediocre success.

What bothers me most is the multitude of protocols and the proprietary technology and manufacturer-dependent software.

For this reason, one also leaves this electronic waste aside and goes for open and manufacturer-independent standards.

nowadays Wi-Fi capability and a suitable app, for that I don’t need an elaborate smart home system. For example heating system/heat pump, photovoltaic system, charging station, video intercom system, vacuum cleaner robot, etc.

And here lies the problem. Because that is exactly what you should not do. For many reasons, among others, for example, from the environmental aspect that mentions. Resources are finite and do we really need a Wi-Fi access point at every socket now?

besides the unpleasant feeling that a hacker could get into my house,

You only have to fear that if you also allow it. Granted, with all these simple systems from the bargain bin or the startup around the corner, which rely on an internet connection, there often is no other option than to leave the accesses as wide open as barn doors. But that doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to surrender to the clicky-colorful and data-hungry faction. You can also go for systems that work wonderfully completely autonomously and without unauthorized external access, and indeed manufacturer-independent without being forced to choose one or the other.

but my impression is: automation becomes absurd at a certain point and behind it stands, in my feeling, a misunderstanding of what is beautiful about life.

Absurd is what’s going on out there right now with dozens of protocols and even more products that are hardly compatible with each other. Not to mention that many stick a bunch of boxes onto themselves and acquire plug adapters that do not exactly please the eye and often barely last beyond the warranty period. Here lies the problem. In the waste of resources.

In every room there are corresponding light switches or motion detectors. The control of the blinds/roller shutters is unnecessary for me because I have consciously decided against using roller shutters (with the exception of two large south-facing windows).

This is where your automation begins, with the motion detectors. They detect your presence based on movement and switch the lights on for you.
That’s not particularly comfortable yet, but it’s the first step. With presence detectors, your presence is detected almost independently of your movement; with timers and dimmers, you can then find your way to the toilet at night without the shock of bright, sudden light. Without shading, highly insulated houses practically don’t work. If you regulate (not control!) this shading, you have comparatively bright conditions in winter and comparatively cool ones in summer (aside from the energy savings). And despite your conscious decision against roller shutters, you actually use two of them. Depending on preferences and environmental conditions, they make more or less sense (for example, I can’t sleep in a bright room and there’s almost a streetlamp right outside my window).

What I want to say with this is that an automated home can certainly bring great comfort gains if you carefully consider which daily routines can be sensibly automated and look at what it brings—to me personally, because I don’t have to think about it, save time, and increase comfort, but also to the house, keyword energy consumption. But the important thing is the automation of processes and not remote control!

The more complex the house becomes, the easier it is for the costs of the smart home to pay off. However, I also think that the additional comfort gain decreases more and more with higher complexity. That’s why I see the gain with the roller shutter and lighting control significantly higher than with the TV scene. If I were to build a house, then definitely with home automation, but NOT down to the last detail.

And what I find very interesting is that many people consciously decide against a smart home, but drive a new car where a lot of special equipment is mandatory. There is Keyless-Go, so you no longer have to take the key in your hand, the climate control regulates the temperature, the convertible roof opens at the push of a button, the headlights stay on for 30 seconds after leaving the car to illuminate the way to the front door ... These are extras for which we are willing to pay a lot of money. I know not everyone has these features, but by now a very large part does, and even in used cars people enjoy the comfort gain. And something like central locking and at least the remote key and air conditioning are installed in almost every car, even old ones. I sit in the car about 1.5 hours a day (and I claim that is more than average). I spend significantly more time in my home.

And what I find very interesting is that very many people consciously decide against a smart home, but drive a new car in which a lot of optional equipment is mandatory.

Classic. If you calculate how much people invest in optional equipment for their car without batting an eye percentage-wise and compare that with the share of optional equipment in the house, it gets even more extreme. And you drive the car for ridiculously short periods compared to the time you live in a house. But when it comes to the house, savings are made at every corner where possible, instead of investing in the comfort you use daily.

is that it (I think) is irresponsible consumption of rare raw materials. Our planet does not provide electronics and circuit boards without limits.

I find it quite remarkable what "arguments" people come up with to oppose technology… Please don’t drive cars from before the year 2000, there are already too many ECUs/boards in them.. ;)