Hello all, I've been subscribed to here for a few months and I really want to stat automating. I have a Raspberry Pi 2 that I got as a Christmas gift so I figured I'd use that to start. All I'm looking for right now is simple light timing but I want to eventually expand from there. (Renting so limited options with what I can do right now)

My question is, I already have the Pi and I really want to use it, but I realize it doesn't have the controllers to communicate with protocols like Z-Wave or Zigbee, so what would be my best option? Should I buy the add-on boards like Razberry and work from there? Or should I just shell out the money for a hub? Can a bug like Vera communicate with the Pi board so I could route everything through the Pi?

I'm in the tech field so I'm not afraid of figuring things out but If it's way to much hassle maybe I'll just forget it and use already existing software. (Only know a little coding)

Thank you for the help.