I've had 0 issues with wired zwave gear and nothing but problems with battery powered stuff. I haven't tried any battery powered shit in a while to be fair though.
This guy seems like he's spent several weeks figuring out this stuff so he didn't have to remember to close the door or hit the light switch.
Good he is enjoying himself, but smart home stuff has to offer something more beneficial than that to get people interested.
Ugh, I can relate. My buddy was recommending zwave for years and I ignored him because I got annoyed setting up one of the old USB dongles. The new ones are way better and zwave/zigbee is great.