Interoperability is one of, if not the biggest, challenges to adoption of home automation (HA) in the non-geek market. In order to get to this segment, or most people, we need to solve the “how do we get devices to talk to each other” problem. The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) is trying to solve exactly this via an open source […]
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In every conversation I’ve had since returning from CES ’18, LifeDoor has come up near the top of my list of interesting products that we saw at the show. And, the response has been universally positive as well. After all, what’s not to like about a simple, easy to install, device that listens for a smoke alarm, illuminates the room, […]
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No need to create IFTTT applets to call Stringify flows anylonger. Insteon is now available in the Google Assistant Home Control Device list. Insteon Now works with the Google Assistant We are happy to announce that today, Insteon-compatible lighting and electrical control devices (dimmers, switches, outlets, and thermostats) can now be controlled by the Google Assistant on voice-activated […]
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The first time I went crazy with Z-Wave at my house, I had to build my own garage door controller. It was not hard, involving a Z-Wave switch, some components from Radio Shack and a door sensor – all tied together with a couple scenes. As I am sure you all know, time has been very kind to the home […]
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I have an older home. One thing about older houses is pull chain lights, many, many pull chains. Anyone who has walked around a basement in the dark or near dark fishing for a light pull chain can attest that it is a massive pain. After one stubbed toe too many, I turned to home automation as a lower cost […]
Read moreWhen Amazon announced their new Echo Plus, I was immediately intrigued, and then a bit put off by the decision to use Zigbee instead of Z-Wave (although both radios would have been better). Afterall, Z-Wave has the biggest pool of devices and [near] guarenteed compatiblity. Aparently I’m not the only one who doesn’t get the choice – CEPro just does […]
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Ring offers a variety of different doorbell cameras, with options available for those without a doorbell ($200), power-over-Ethernet (PoE) ($500, I imagine for new builds or challenging wireless environments), and the Ring Pro for those with an existing low-voltage setup. The $250 (can be found for $190 occasionally) Ring Pro, is not quite in impulse buy territory. But, if it […]
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Having recently moved into a new[ish] house, the process of installing some “smart” gadgets has begun. The list is long, but with a couple decidedly unsmart thermostats present it was important to get that sorted ASAP. There are a few smart thermostats available; each with their own plus/minus. For me the most important feature was a strong multi-sensor approach to […]
Read moreI love what Ikea did for the lightbulb market, so if they can replicate that success with a line of Zigbee devices. I’m all for it, as long as they are HAC agnostic, and will play nice with any Zigbee compatible network. Ikea’s current smart home lineup is limited to a handful of lighting products. Nothing so special about that. […]
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I’m more of a total solution guy when it comes to home automation (think HAC + Z-Wave/Zigbee devices), but totally get that there’s room in the market for the less committed. That’s where the smartphone hosted smart devices like this Schlage Android lock come in. Isn’t hard on the eyes either, or wallet. MSRP is $229. Schlage Announces AndroidÔ Phone […]
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