There are a wide variety of technology platforms, or protocols, on which a smart home can be built. Each one is, essentially, its own language. Each language speaks to the various connected devices and instructs them to perform a function. Choosing a smart home protocol can be tricky business. Obviously, you want one that will […]
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So you went out a bought a Nest smart thermostat. You open the app a couple of times each day to turn the temperature up or down, and feel good about the money and energy you think you’re saving (this article states that for most users, a Nest will pay for itself in two years, […]
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Today’s DIY smart home systems, from companies like SmartThings, Wink, Lowe’s Iris, iRule, Universal Devices, Vera, Insteon and others are fairly easy to install, setup and use. They’re also getting more affordable, so no longer are home automation systems only for the wealthy. Of course, there’s a difference between what a DIY smart home system […]
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Picking a thermostat for your home used to be a no-brainer. When you moved into a new home, if there was a thermostat on the wall, your selection process was done. Now smart thermostats and Wi-Fi thermostats, along with an increased awareness of the need to save energy and money, has brought more attention to […]
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In 2014 Apple announced that Homekit was coming to iOS, and predicted that it would enable broader adoption and easier implementation of the Internet of Things in the home—the smart home. Now Google, which already had its hands in the home automation cookie jar (Google owns Nest Labs and Dropcam, and Nest is one of […]
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Table lamps, wall sconces, and recessed ceiling fixtures—they all do one thing really well: illuminate your home so you can see what you’re doing. By tying these lights to a control system (see below), operating them becomes more convenient, efficient, and useful—not to mention increasingly multi-faceted. In addition to simply brightening the dark spaces of […]
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The home automation systems of today, especially the DIY smart home systems, differ from the professionally-installed systems of several years ago in that newer technology is primarily wireless. We’re all so accustomed to wireless access 24/7 through our home Wi-Fi networks and our cellular data networks that we expect our smart home systems to be […]
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One of the biggest challenges of adding technology to a home is finding and comparing the many options available. You can scour the Internet for hours and still leave scratching your head. While the selection of home automation systems may not be as immense as stereo speakers or smart TVs, it’s still impressive … and […]
Get the GuideInsteon Apple HomeKit-Enabled Automation Hub Insteon is offering a smart home hub that works with Apple Homekit, as well as a new app that works with the Apple home automation platform. Announced in June 2014, HomeKit allows users to control devices individually or in pairs, all via Apple’s Siri voice assistant. This means you can […]
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What’s the use of having a smart home system if you can’t access it from remote locations? Almost every device has some sort of smartphone app these days. That said, Toshiba wants to make it part of the PC experience as well. Starting at the end of this month, all new Toshiba laptops will come […]
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