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.

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 eighty dollars 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. This can
be from the convenience of your couch or from a café in Prague. 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. Keep an eye out for how you can make your home ‘smarter’.

Mathew Dickerson

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