Home automation
In building my home over seventeen years ago, I had it wired specifically to a home automation standard that Clipsal had designed. It was in the very early days of home automation so the programming of the devices was quite clumsy and the interface left a lot to be desired. At the time, there was really only HPM dabbling and Clipsal fiddling in the home automation space. One of the major downsides to both systems was the fact that it was difficult to retrofit a house so they were largely relying on new builds to increase their market. Despite the forward-thinking ideas from these companies designing these systems last century, home automation really hasn’t taken off and I know when my kids have visitors they still find some of the devices in our house a novelty.
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Things are about to change though.
When Apple released iOS 10 a new icon appeared on the screens of iPhone users across the world. It can be confusing. iPhones have a Home button (or pressure sensitive pad on the 7) and they now have a Home icon. The Home icon is Apple’s foray into the home automation market. When an iconic Aussie brand in Clipsal entered the home automation market, a few progressive sparkies took notice. When the world’s highest valued company enters home automation, the world takes notice.
The major focus of the modern take on home automation is that the devices now increasingly becoming available are designed to plug into your existing infrastructure.
I can hear you asking already. What devices are available now and what are the compelling reasons that you would want to add some of these devices? My number one test for new technology is easy. Is it cool? I accept that most people might need a little more than that.
Consider some of these devices.
I have written before about the cost of devices sitting on standby being in in the vicinity of $80 per year. The Belkin WeMo Insight switch plugs into a power point and allows you to toggle the switch via your phone or program it to turn off at certain times. I can see a great use for these plugged into all of the TVs in your home to save hundreds of dollars each year. The August Smart Lock allows you to lock (and unlock) your front door from the convenience of your phone and you can combine it with a device such as the SkyBell Video Doorbell which allows you to see who is at your door from your iPhone – and then unlock the door if you want to allow the person in. The Nest thermostat has already gained a reputation for being able to dramatically reduce your power bills by using a thermostat and combining learning algorithms and the location of your phone to only change the temperature of your home when necessary. The Schlage Sense deadbolt will sense when your phone is within a certain range and automatically unlock your front door to give you the convenience of entering your home with your hands full. I particularly enjoy my ‘All Off’ button I have programmed into several locations in my house and in my phone that allows me to turn off every light and standby device with the touch of a button. No more running around the house to make sure every light is turned off before I leave in the morning.
There are a number of brands on the market that you will start to hear more from – and I am sure more players will be constantly entering the market. Brands such as Nest; SmartThings (now owned by Samsung); Philips Hue; Ecobee; Belkin; Sonos; Lutron and iRobot are increasing their presence in the market and the Apple Home icon will encourage an entirely new range of compatible products.
So the next time you are sitting in a café in Prague enjoying a coffee and a tradesperson calls you from outside your garage, you can simply open the correct app, open the garage door, turn on the lights and use the CCTV cameras to direct them to the problem area. It may sound like something from a James Bond movie but it is happening right now.
