I’m going to add another $0.02 on this topic, which with everyone else that added $0.02 is quickly becoming the core financing for HA
I came from a commercial home automation platform and have been sandboxing HA for a couple of weeks, about ready to switch completely over.
In a commercial platform where I needed a piece of software for $250 + $80/year plus a dedicated computer to run it on (if I wanted the performance), I expected a certain level of stability and response to issues - and I got them. I went into HA knowing and understanding that it is open-source and, as such, meant I lost that safety net. I knew I would be at the mercy of community support and open source developers who do this in their spare time.
My switch from accountability to open-source was intentional. As a developer the open source appeals to me because I know I can jump in and easily contribute (and did so on my paid software for many add-ons I wrote for them). I know that if I don’t like something or want to add functionality then I can write it myself, albeit with a bit of a learning curve.
This is to say that you have two options: pay for software and the support that comes with it and be at the mercy of the development cycle of that product or get a free system with hundreds of contributors where the development cycle is not as “structured” but gives you tons more options.
I can say that my last system was fantastic, it was well vetted and tested and was solid as a rock - however their integrations were about half what HA has and I wanted that extra integration. The fact that you have two Z-Wave options is not a bad thing, it’s a good thing because it gives people different options depending on their needs. And if you don’t like it, you can roll up your sleeves and contribute your own version.
Is either system perfect? No, but neither is commercially developed software. Almost all of my Z-Wave devices have been obtained because the software devs wrote the code to support them, not because it was my first choice. It worked out well enough, but there have been cases where I had an unsupported device that I waited six months or a year to get full support for. While they gave you some options to tweak your own Z-Wave commands, HA allows me to actually tweak the source if I want.
There’s a few devices I want in the HomeKit integration, having written the entire HomeKit integration for my last software I’m familiar with the protocols and intend to contribute to that project once I figure out the HA structure.
The point is, open source is a good thing if it’s maintained and while Z-Wave might be idle at the moment, anyone at any time can jump in and kickstart it again and from what I can see, HA is maintained open source, not some pet project that lays dormant until the person who started it decides they want a new feature for themselves. That is why, out of all the various open source home automation platforms, I chose HA.