Imagine using your smartphone to see who’s at your front door while you’re thousands of miles away. Or hearing a unique beep when a door or a pool gate opens. Or having your home’s lights turn off automatically when you leave. Many of these “smart” home features are possible with security systems. They aren’t just […]
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Smart home systems, or home automation systems, once were expensive luxuries (and professionally installed and custom programed systems still can be), but today many DIY home automation products are actually very practical and reasonably affordable. If you hadn’t thought much about adding smart home devices to your home, here are seven home automation ideas for […]
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The latest WiFi thermostat combines a Smart Away mode, the Feels Like temperature option, and more into a tablet-like form factor.
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Smart home automation systems can be DIY projects or custom programmed and installed. Which is right for you?
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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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Originally a school auditorium, this beautiful 4,644-square-foot space is now home to a family of four and is equipped with smart home technology and media systems that are so intuitive to use, virtually no schooling is needed. This cavernous structure was transformed into livable areas with a little ingenuity on the parts of the builder […]
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It’s the best of times for saving energy in your home. There are about a gazillion little Internet of Things (IoT) devices that promise to save you energy and connect to your home systems, your smartphones, and more. Sensors seem to be everywhere today, but few people actually use them in their homes for the […]
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So thermostats are boring, right? The one in your house is probably 20 years old and it still works fine. So why should you change up a perfectly good 1980s thermostat for a new smart thermostat? New Wi-Fi thermostats will do a lot more than simply adjust the temperature in your house when you turn […]
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You use Siri to search for directions, to find nearby pizza shops and to send hands-free text messages, but wouldn’t it be nice to also use Siri for home automation or home control? Sure, there are some patchwork ways to do that, namely with apps like IFTTT and some clever hacking, but I’ve found those […]
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