Google Home is a tough contender for the Amazon Echo, but it launched with much less third-party support. Now, the company’s added Belkin WeMo and Honeywell to the list of supported devices.
Ikea is finally getting into the home automation game with its own system for smart lighting. The new range of products is called Trådfri — which means “wireless” in Swedish — and is built around the ZigBee Light Link standard for connected lights (the same as Philips Hue). The system seems to have rolled out to select European countries last fall, but will be seeing a larger release at the end of March.
Security companies, of course, for years, have provided remote monitoring of our homes to those willing to pay for it. Many companies like ADT, FrontPoint or AT&T Digital Life are expanding into at leastoffering some home automation gadgetry.
With the advent of affordable home automation, people are looking for more than just “security.” We want to be able to monitor and adjust their smart homes, themselves, even when remote. Want to look in to see how the puppy is doing, from work? Turn on the lights before you get home… You get the idea. That means that WE need the ability to do our own monitoring, even if we are paying a company for security monitoring. And we want to be able to make sure we locked the door when we left, or closed the garage. Or turned down the thermostat.
Proper lighting is essential for any home. It is important to maintain balance between personality and the functionality of the room when it comes to lighting the living room. One can transform the entire atmosphere of their living room within the proper use of lighting. One should remember that lighting not only has aesthetic and mood enhancing values, but play an important functional role in illuminating important task areas in the living room.
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