Accessories, gadgets and their terminology

[unkle_psycho]

I just realized that by using connectors with more pins, I could use a single set of wires that would send different power levels to different types of strips? Using active cooling I could also use the same wire to power fans?

Yes. But, at some point, it may be better to start using conduit and raceway to group cables, rather than add more and more lines to one connector, especially given that real current us involved.

If you have enough to control, you may want to consider changing your hierarchy, too, and using some IoT, with more local driving and control. With Sonoffs and Shelleys out there, and Home Assistant's feature set and maturity (and Node Red's), you can do a lot of involved things with zero coding, now. If you want easy coding, for more localized decision making, NodeMCU's firmware or MicroPython make that easier than ever. A big power hub may be a bit much, if you can right-size clusters of distributed power supplies, while centrally controlling them with software.

I'll read this again when im sober

[The_Mouse_Police]

Haha. OK, here's a little glossary for the last section. Along with Koada here, there's a great piece of software, with easy to spin up variants (namely Hass.io), called Home Assistant, made for automation using regular networking. MQTT is most commonly used to communicate, but it supports other APIs, including several proprietary systems (such as Ikea's controllable lights). Node Red is a piece of process control software, that uses visual block diagrams to set conditions, rules, etc., rather than having to program things in code (meanwhile, it also includes important features us coding types like, such as unit testing - it's not just a toy). It is well integrated with Home Assistant, allowing you minimize code reading and writing, such that most of what is still used is to make a pretty remote GUI, if you care to. Home Assistant has recently gotten to a point where it is far superior to others, like OpenHAB, to start using.

Sonoff is a brand of cheap hackable WiFi switches and other controllers, using ESP modules. Shelley is a brand of IoT devices made to be used in custom projects, also using ESP modules/chips so there's less involved with making them able to sing and dance, and they expose more features than most other mains-powered generic IoT devices. Espressif (makers of the ESP line of modules) had the genius idea to make a WiFi enabled microcontroller on a board with a WiFi antenna, such that that entire device can get FCC and related certifications. Then, users of the devices as-is won't have to get FCC and related certs to use them commercially in their own devices.

NodeMCU is a firmware for ESP8266 boards (and I think ESP32, now) that runs Lua, an easy to learn and use scripting language, and it includes a bunch of built in peripheral hardware support (like for sensors, motor controllers, and displays). MicroPython is a project to bring Python to little uCs, for easier programming (it's not the only one, but it's out competing the others). Both are alternatives to using Arduino software, which is a stripped down C++ environment.

Basically, at some point, having each tent/fixture/shelf have just mains and networking, localizing all the intricacies, may become a better option than adding more stuff to central hubs.

Just to clarify, I'm personally more of a fan of the LAN of Things than Internet of Things, when it comes to using any IoT devices.

[ATPinMotion]

Great post @The_Mouse_Police