Home Tech: There's an Easier, Affordable Future for Home Automation
Say goodbye to the headaches and high price of current systems, and hello to home automation products for the masses
Houzz Contributor. I'm a Silicon Valley-based writer, columnist and blogger, covering technology and culture. http://elgan.com
Houzz Contributor. I'm a Silicon Valley-based writer, columnist and blogger,... More »
Home automation has been around for years, but the systems have been expensive and difficult to install and use.
They require an integration contractor, and even then, installation often results in a complex, confusing system that either doesn’t work right or that nobody can figure out how to use. These systems also usually cost thousands of dollars — or for elaborate systems, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Why so complicated and expensive? Because there are so many components that go into a home automation system. First you have to decide what to control: home entertainment, security, heating and cooling, appliances and lighting. Then you need to choose a platform. Decisions have to be made about what the interfaces will be — including remote controls, touch tablets or proprietary keypads — and what the connectivity will be, such as wireless, wired or a combination. And finally, everything has to be connected and programmed with some nontrivial, custom-written software.
Of course, expensive and complicated custom-installed home automation systems will always exist. But the future promises something better: simple, inexpensive home automation products for the masses.
They require an integration contractor, and even then, installation often results in a complex, confusing system that either doesn’t work right or that nobody can figure out how to use. These systems also usually cost thousands of dollars — or for elaborate systems, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Why so complicated and expensive? Because there are so many components that go into a home automation system. First you have to decide what to control: home entertainment, security, heating and cooling, appliances and lighting. Then you need to choose a platform. Decisions have to be made about what the interfaces will be — including remote controls, touch tablets or proprietary keypads — and what the connectivity will be, such as wireless, wired or a combination. And finally, everything has to be connected and programmed with some nontrivial, custom-written software.
Of course, expensive and complicated custom-installed home automation systems will always exist. But the future promises something better: simple, inexpensive home automation products for the masses.
Clunky, proprietary and complicated home automation solutions will be superseded over the next few years by low-cost, intelligent, easy-to-use and programmable products.
Instead of needing custom programming, systems will learn. Instead of using proprietary user interfaces like keypads or special tablets, they’ll instead use smart-phone apps and voice commands. They’ll use standard connection interfaces, like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
And instead of an intelligent core commanding dumb appliances from a centralized computer hub, the devices themselves will have all the intelligence they need, thus eliminating the need for a hub.
A great first example of the future of all home automation is the Nest thermostat. Nest installs on your wall like any other thermostat (though it looks way cooler) but uses sensors, algorithms, machine learning and cloud computing to figure out what you want. It looks at the time, the temperature, the day of the week and other factors. It notices what time you get up, go to work and come home, what temperature you prefer and when you prefer it.
It has smart settings for when you’re away. And you can override the automated controls with an app on your phone.
If Nest supported voice command, it would be a perfect example of what’s coming for the whole future of home automation. One by one, home entertainment systems, washer-dryers, heaters, air conditioners, lights, shades and more will become available with intelligence, true automation, wireless connectivity and mobile phone control.
The whole home automation scene will evolve from being a specialized pursuit to simply being a capability that comes with the electrically powered stuff you buy for your home.
Instead of needing custom programming, systems will learn. Instead of using proprietary user interfaces like keypads or special tablets, they’ll instead use smart-phone apps and voice commands. They’ll use standard connection interfaces, like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
And instead of an intelligent core commanding dumb appliances from a centralized computer hub, the devices themselves will have all the intelligence they need, thus eliminating the need for a hub.
A great first example of the future of all home automation is the Nest thermostat. Nest installs on your wall like any other thermostat (though it looks way cooler) but uses sensors, algorithms, machine learning and cloud computing to figure out what you want. It looks at the time, the temperature, the day of the week and other factors. It notices what time you get up, go to work and come home, what temperature you prefer and when you prefer it.
It has smart settings for when you’re away. And you can override the automated controls with an app on your phone.
If Nest supported voice command, it would be a perfect example of what’s coming for the whole future of home automation. One by one, home entertainment systems, washer-dryers, heaters, air conditioners, lights, shades and more will become available with intelligence, true automation, wireless connectivity and mobile phone control.
The whole home automation scene will evolve from being a specialized pursuit to simply being a capability that comes with the electrically powered stuff you buy for your home.
Yes, someday everything electrical will also have an electronic brain and a wireless connection, controllable from your phone. And don't think the consumer electronics industry is going to wait for the appliances and home entertainment industry.
A company called Belkin, which makes a variety of small, inexpensive electronics accessories, recently announced a line of home automation products under the WeMo brand. In a nutshell, WeMo products contain all the electronics that appliances of the future will have. They contain tiny computers and motion sensors, and have wireless connectivity. You plug them into outlets, then plug lamps, music players etc. into the WeMo unit.
All the WeMo products do is turn things on or off. But this can happen from motion, on a timer or controlled from your phone.
You can even use a popular online service called IFTTT (which stands for “if this then that”), which lets you get creative with control. For example, you can program it to turn on your TV when CNN’s Twitter feed uses the words “breaking news” or have a million other creative customizations that can integrate “events” on Facebook, email, the phone, weather apps and others.
Best of all, it’s inexpensive and easy to use. Once you’ve paid for the hardware — each connected wall plug is about $50, and each motion-sensor ones is about $100 — you’re done spending. The app and the IFTTT service are free, and no contractor, service provider or programmer is needed.
A company called Belkin, which makes a variety of small, inexpensive electronics accessories, recently announced a line of home automation products under the WeMo brand. In a nutshell, WeMo products contain all the electronics that appliances of the future will have. They contain tiny computers and motion sensors, and have wireless connectivity. You plug them into outlets, then plug lamps, music players etc. into the WeMo unit.
All the WeMo products do is turn things on or off. But this can happen from motion, on a timer or controlled from your phone.
You can even use a popular online service called IFTTT (which stands for “if this then that”), which lets you get creative with control. For example, you can program it to turn on your TV when CNN’s Twitter feed uses the words “breaking news” or have a million other creative customizations that can integrate “events” on Facebook, email, the phone, weather apps and others.
Best of all, it’s inexpensive and easy to use. Once you’ve paid for the hardware — each connected wall plug is about $50, and each motion-sensor ones is about $100 — you’re done spending. The app and the IFTTT service are free, and no contractor, service provider or programmer is needed.
A small company called SmartThings is raising money on Kickstarter.
The SmartThings product line includes an app, a hub, a cloud service, a development environment (for software makers to create software) and most interestingly, a “maker’s toolkit” that enables engineering-minded people to “hack” their appliances, connecting a wireless smart chip to everyday things that were never designed to be controllable by phone.
Inevitably, some hobbyists will use the toolkit to customize their own appliances. But others will use it to invent products, which can be sold to other SmartThings customers.
The company plans to sell a wide range of sensors, such as motion sensors, moisture sensors and so on, which can be used by the system to figure out what’s going on and enable a certain action. For example, a simple sensor on the door combined with motion sensors can tell the system nobody is home, triggering a shutoff of all lights and cooling and heating appliances, and setting the security alarm.
The SmartThings product line includes an app, a hub, a cloud service, a development environment (for software makers to create software) and most interestingly, a “maker’s toolkit” that enables engineering-minded people to “hack” their appliances, connecting a wireless smart chip to everyday things that were never designed to be controllable by phone.
Inevitably, some hobbyists will use the toolkit to customize their own appliances. But others will use it to invent products, which can be sold to other SmartThings customers.
The company plans to sell a wide range of sensors, such as motion sensors, moisture sensors and so on, which can be used by the system to figure out what’s going on and enable a certain action. For example, a simple sensor on the door combined with motion sensors can tell the system nobody is home, triggering a shutoff of all lights and cooling and heating appliances, and setting the security alarm.
Another Kickstarter project, the Ubi, is a simple box that plugs directly into an outlet. It’s an Internet-connected minicomputer that listens for voice commands. By plugging these into several rooms in your home, you can control home appliances, send email and do Internet searches by simply talking.
Like the inventors of SmartThings, the creators of Ubi intend to create a “platform” upon which other companies can invent and build features and functions.
And, of course, the Ubi will be usable with SmartThings devices, enabling voice command control of appliances connected to the SmartThings system.
More: Switch On the Phone-Controlled Home
Like the inventors of SmartThings, the creators of Ubi intend to create a “platform” upon which other companies can invent and build features and functions.
And, of course, the Ubi will be usable with SmartThings devices, enabling voice command control of appliances connected to the SmartThings system.
More: Switch On the Phone-Controlled Home
Ideabook updated on Sept. 18, 2012.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
What is NOT happening is any sort of industry standard control interface and command language that can do for home automation what RS-232 and then USB did for the computer industry.
As long as every design is incompatible with every other design, home automation will go nowhere.
Personally, the question is whether I would display any of those products in my home. My criteria are features and design, in equal parts. Only the NEST would pass the test as far as I'm concerned. At the same time, I have a soft spot for Kickstarter projects, so I'm hoping that the products shown here will get better with time (I tend to wait until version 2 before buying any Apple products).
We also had motion sensor lights under the kitchen cabinets for nighttime and the cats turned them on so much that it would run the batteries down in a day. Now it sounds like we have a herd of cats but only two. Anyone have experience and/or solutions to this problem. If this article is accurate, I could see my cats setting off the coffee maker, lights and washing machine by the time we got back home. :)
Home automation should be like underwear ...invisible and well-fitted. I don't want to have any obvious control devices sitting like wall-warts, clogging up my outlets.
A while ago (before dirt) I worked in the computer dept in a Silicon Valley company, and we created Bills of Material for assembling the units we sold. A Bill of Material is a list of parts requirements to create a finished product, much like a recipe. Computers were still very new then, and I remember telling my boss how well a Bill of Material system could work in the kitchen, because you could put all your "staples" i.e. spices, condiments, etc. on a min-max basis, plug in all your receipes for the week, keep an inventory of your ingredients on hand, and then before you shop run a Materials Requirement Plan. This would tell you exactly what you need to buy.
My boss left the company shortly after that, and that's exactly what he was working on before he passed away.
Wish I could create such an App or know a programmer who can......... perhaps one is reading the suggestion and creates one.
Bobbi -
I still have hope because we are inching closer. I now have a refrigerator and freezer that will let me know if it is not functioning correctly (i.e. the door has been left ajar).
Also, Belkin already makes an iPad mount for the kitchen. I don't think I'd place it near the range hood, though, due to heat and moisture problems.
I'm waiting for the next iPad. I hope to mount it underneath a cabinet and use a spare Apple bluetooth keyboard with it. For the time being, I use my iPhone.
Control4 is another HA system that has all the bells and whistles. Remote monitoring of IP cameras, email notifications if motion is detected, lots of options.
There are wireless-enabled electronic locks already in the marketplace, could be programmed to unlock when the home router detects the bluetooth signal from your phone, as well as turn on lights and other items in the home.
There are apps coming out that allow control by phone, locally or remotely, but it is complicated to set up everything in a home and not for the layperson. Face recognition is available too, so it is possible to have a tablet device inside your front door that will recognize you and turn on various items in your home set to your preferences. Sounds like a lot of setup work though.
I still want my own Dick Tracy Video watch, but the phone skype app is pretty close.