Security arming/disarming and camera functions are two of the many controls via HomeLogic’s iPhone app
I keep thinking back to that day—that awful, terrible day. We had just gotten back from a weekend ski trip. It was late and everyone was tired. Nobody would be hitting the sack very soon, though.
We had hours of work left to do. Seems while we were enjoying ourselves on the slopes, a pipe in our rec room had burst. Floors, walls—basically the entire room—was ruined.
We’ve since renovated the space, but I still feel apprehensive about leaving the house for more than a couple of hours at a time. If that pipe burst once, it can surely burst again, right?
The marketing folks at HomeLogic must have felt my angst. A few weeks ago they mailed me a sample of their home monitoring application. The app came preloaded on a brand new iPod touch, so I immediately knew what to do: Click the HomeLogic Mobile Control icon on the welcome screen.
While sitting at my kitchen table, I was able to view the current temperature the status of the lights in a demonstration home hundreds of miles away in Marblehead, Mass. The app also connected me to a few surveillance cameras dotted around the house. I could see what was going on (nothing) and pan, tilt and zoom in for a better look. This is exactly the type of key technology in home automation that a worry wart like me could benefit from.
Like any remote monitoring system, the HomeLogic Mobile Control requires the installation of a few key elements at home. For starters, you’ll need a HomeLogic controller. This is the piece that facilitates communication between your home and portable iPod touch.
To that controller you can connect all kinds of devices—water sensors, light switches, thermostats and security systems, to name a few. They must be compatible with the HomeLogic system, but according to VP of sales and marketing Joe Lautner, there’s a huge selection of products from which to choose. The pieces and parts you choose to connect into the HomeLogic controller is up to you—and your home systems installer, but for a basic system that will alert you to problems at home and let you peek in on the property expect to spend between $3,000 and $7,000 (excluding labor), says Lautner. I would have gladly paid $3,000 to have prevented our rec room from being trashed.
It seems I’m not the only one who sees the benefit in something like HomeLogic Mobile Control. Lautner says as many as 400 people download the free app from the Apple iTunes App Store store each week. Mind you, they’re just testing it—just as I did with the preloaded iPod touch HomeLogic sent me, but that number proves strong consumer interest in remote monitoring. This free downloadable HomeLogic app demonstrates just a few ways you can keep in touch with and control your home remotely.
There are many others, which Lautner shared based on comments received from HomeLogic customers and his own experiences using Mobile Control:
The HomeLogic log can even be used to confirm that the snow plow service cleared the driveway of your home like they were supposed to while you were gone, or that the house cleaners didn’t shortchange you by working for 45 minutes instead of 3 hours.
three thousand bucks to do simple monitoring? Sheesh! what? We’re all made of money?
Look, If you want to turn on and off your lights and appliances remotely, look at the SmartHome or X-10 systems…for under $100 you can get a dozen control modules, and a controller module. If you want cameras, they also have cameras. There are usually deals where you can get them ini bundles for about $200 for 3 or 4 cameras..Or you can get IP cameras to place around your home…and if you have a wireless network, the installation is as simple as plugging in the power and setting the password on the camera! You can get these from Dlink or Linksys for under $100 each! And they come with security monitoring software so you can assign when you want the cameras to record or you want them motion activated…
And what’s cool about the x-10 and Smarthome systems is that they’ve been around for the last 30 years so there is a very robust community of users and applications available to rely on if you have problems!
For $3000 to $7000, these things should be gold plated!
Name:
Email:
Remember my personal information
Notify me of follow-up comments?
Please answer the question below:
Type the 2nd letter of the word "speaker":
Electronic House is now available in a digital edition. Learn more.
Interesting Post…If you are looking for security system then i would suggest… 
Stay up-to-date with home electronics. 
Weekly email offers tips, info and product news.
Get the content that's important to you.
One thing that is nice about the home logic system is that it is a system that integrates all of the separate aspects of control, the solution presented by ekemmel is plausible and cheaper yes, but those are all separate systems that are not truely integrated and to not incorporate any automation. The home logic system is much more than just remote access or a security DVR. You can in part see this by testing the application this article is referring to. And for an automation system 3-7k is very reasonable and cheap in comparison to systems that are big dogs in the industry which could set you back over 100k easy. Even HAI a decent all in one home automation will cost you around 10k