Another one bites the dust.. Insteon, an early pioneer of smart home lighting controls, has gone out of business. Not exactly earth-shattering news, companies fail all the time. But this happened with no advance notice at all. Not even a few days, let alone a week....
Are you suffering from the irrigation shuffle? I don't have a smart sprinkler controller so this weekend I went through a well rehearsed routine for sprinkler maintenance: Walk to the garageOpen the dumb not smart sprinkler controller boxMove the mechanical dial to...
Stick with the four c’s When I design a smart home automation system, I follow a holistic approach by addressing the four C’s: Interactive ControlLocal ControlRemote ControlAutomatic Control Interactive control The obvious and minimum capability for a smart home....
Don't wait for Spring or Fall! Here are my favorite tips for smart home cleanup at any time of year. Check And update firmware Everything seems to need firmware updates these days - even the darn toaster oven! Check all your devices - computers, smartphones,...
Wall-mounted iPad touch screen interface Can't touch this! As our smart homes grow, it is tempting to turn to a wall-mounted iPad or touch screen for controlling everything. The allure is simple - a touch screen mounted to the wall is infinitely more configurable than...
The Bluetooth range conundrum Bluetooth low energy (BLE) smart home devices can make outfitting your smart home easier but they have a range problem. BLE is low power, so a small battery can power many wireless devices. Your bluetooth motion detectors, door or window...