It was surprisingly easy, Jesus Molina discovered, to take control of the home automation network in a 5-star hotel and then control every room from his laptop.
Electronic gadgets in U.S. homes are estimated to have used 12 percent less energy in 2013 than they did 2010, even though there were nearly a billion more devices. The decline is due in large part to a significant decrease in electricity used by televisions and computers, according to a new report, which analyzed 46 types of consumer devices commonly used in homes.
Tado, a European competitor to Google-owned Nest and local smart thermostat companies, such as the UK’s Heatmiser or Hive from British Gas, has topped up its funding today, disclosing a new €10 million (13.6m) round. The new investment comes from existing backers Target Partners, and Shortcut Ventures, along with a number of other unnamed investors, and will be used by the German startup to bring its smart heating and AC products to more European markets.
Google, through its Nest Labs home automation division, today announced another major step toward the formation of an ecosystem for connected home devices and apps.
Nest, along with Samsung, ARM, and four other partners, today announced a new home automation network protocol called Thread, along with a new industry group (the “Thread Group”) that will guide the adoption of the new protocol, the companies say.
The lock maker Yale Security, chip makers Silicon Labs and Freescale Semiconductor, and ceiling fan maker Big Ass Fans round out the group’s founding members.
Comcast has acquired PowerCloud Systems, according to Tyson Marian, who works in Strategic Development at Comcast. The company is not disclosing any financial information related to the deal.
PowerCloud Systems builds web monitoring tools and analytics software, including Wi-Fi management system Skydog. Last week, Skydog noted on its website that it had been acquired but didn’t provide further details. Earlier this morning Tech Crunch surmised that Comcast bought the company in a bid to offer new services to its growing audience.
The battle between Google and Apple is moving from smart phones to smart things, with both companies vying to provide the underlying architecture that networks your appliances, utilities, and entertainment equipment. Earlier in June, at its annual developer conference, Apple announced HomeKit, a new software framework for communications between home devices and Apple’s devices.
If you stepped out for a glass of water during Apple’s WWDC keynote last week, you might have missed the company’s foray into home automation.
HomeKit, a framework that will let connected home gadgets speak to each other and iOS devices, barely got any stage time. But long after we’ve moved on to the umpteenth versions of OS X (maybe we’ll finally see OS XI) and iOS, last week will be remembered as the first time Apple made a significant play for the connected home.
A través de colaboración con la startup española Wattio, Leroy Merlin continúa apoyando a las pequeñas y medianas empresas y ofreciendo soluciones a los consumidores que permitan controlar el gasto energético de casa y ahorrar en la factura de la luz.
Wattio es un kit completo para el control y monitorización de la calefacción y la electricidad a través del móvil o internet, que permite reducir la factura energética de la casa. Se compone de diferentes dispositivos fáciles de instalar y de utilizar: un gateway con pantalla táctil a color (GATE), un termostato inteligente conectado a internet (THERMIC), un monitor de electricidad para controlar el consumo del hogar (BAT) y un enchufe inteligente (POD) que mide la energía eléctrica en los enchufes y elimina el standby.
Samsung is reportedly (via WSJ) preparing for a smart home control interface that uses your smart TV to recognize basic hand gestures, directed at the objects you actually want to control. So, for example, it would allow you to point at a lamp to turn it off or on, or to other nearby objects to affect them in different ways.
