If you have a router in your house, you’re familiar with Wi-Fi, the communications protocol that enables your smartphone to stream music from the backyard and your laptop to access email from the living room couch—or wherever you happen to be in your house. This wireless networking standard has untethered us from cabling for our communications needs, and has become so pervasive in American homes that manufacturers have implemented the technology into all kinds of devices. With a Wi-Fi chip embedded in it, a light switch can be controlled from an app on your smartphone, for example. But as most people have likely experienced, Wi-Fi can be finicky. Connections can drop unexpectedly, products located far away from the router might lose signal, and as more and more devices join a Wi-Fi network, the communications highway becomes increasingly congested and slow.
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A Pound of Ham and a Home Automation System
When Insteon, the Irvine, Calif.-based developer of hundreds of automation and control products, announced recently that it would be selling many of its smart home devices at Meijer, I couldn’t help but think about deli meat. At the time, I needed a pound of shaved honey ham to make sandwiches for my kids’ school lunches. Oh, and we were also almost out of coffee. Then there were the track spikes my son needed for his running shoes and a birthday card for my brother. Meijer, which moved into my neck of the woods a few years ago, has become a convenient spot to pick up miscellaneous items, including groceries, on the fly.
Get the GuideInsteon Hub Review: A Simple DIY Smart Home System
The Insteon hub is best for controlling a house full of lights with custom scene settings.
Get the GuideInsteon Wireless Thermostat Monitors More Than Just Temperature
The wireless thermostat also works with duct dampers, sensors, ceiling fans, and more.
The wireless thermostat also works with duct dampers, sensors, ceiling fans, and more.
Get the GuideInside an AT&T Digital Life Home
What does home monitoring and automation for the masses look like? EH checks out AT&T’s new Digital Life solution.
Get the GuideWhat Makes Smart Lighting Smart?
A primer on smart lighting and why you want it in your home.
Get the Guide2015 Products of the Year: HOME AUTOMATION
Electronic House announces the winners for the 2015 Products of the Year awards. The Products of the Year awards recognize the best technologies, products and services for the Electronic House. The award submissions were reviewed by a judging panel of several credible industry leaders along with the editors of Electronic House and CE Pro who […]
Get the GuideDimmer Switches Get Smart: The 10 Best Lighting Control Dimmers
The 10 best lighting control dimmers for a smart, automated home.
One of the core features of any residential lighting control system is its ability to dim the intensity of your home’s lights. Doing so saves electricity, improves your home’s aesthetic qualities, and enhances the overall functionality of the lights. Ordinary dimmer switches are able to accomplish these tasks, but why not invest in a switch with the additional smarts to adjust the brightness of the lights automatically and offer other innovative features? The following 10 dimmers switches (in no particular order of importance) are some of the brightest stars in the home lighting market. Be sure to check them out when you’re ready to swap your home’s old light switches for something smarter.
Get the GuideRoomie Home Automation Software Upgrades to 3.1 Version
The popular home automation software for iOS devices adds new devices, fixes, and other features.
The popular home automation software for iOS devices adds new devices, fixes, and other features.
Get the GuideApple HomeKit Smart Home Devices Unveiled at CES
Although Apple didn’t exhibit at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this year, its home automation platform, Apple HomeKit, was well represented by several companies that introduced new HomeKit-enabled products. These recent additions strengthen Apple’s play in the home automation marketplace and will likely encourage future developments from other manufacturers still scratching […]
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