News Archives

Inovelli Z-Wave Switch Review

UPDATE 2-15-2019:  WARNING, I HAVE HAD FOUR OF THESE SWITCHES FAIL.  THOUGH INOVELLI REPLACED THREE OF THEM (NO RESPONSE TO MY LATEST FAILURE) I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT DUE TO ITS HIGH LEVEL OF FAILURES! 
 
Inovelli now provides Z-Wave light switches for your home automation projects!  Their switches are an attractive solution for your automated light switching needs in they do not require that you purchase a 'companion' switch for three-way lighting applications.  You can use the existing switch for the companion.  Since the switch costs around $30 this is an attractive choice that our forum members should consider.
 
 
UPDATE 6-23-2019:  I had yet another appliance (on/off) switch fail!

Read story →    13 comments       Z-Wave

Amazon Expanding Alexa SmartHome Team

A CocoonTech member working for Amazon's Alexa Home Automation division has shared that Amazon is looking to fill more positions in this category.   Check this thread for more information.

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Luna: Turn Your Bed into a Smartbed

  Luna is a mattress 'smart cover' which allows dual-zone temperature control, sleep tracking, smart alarm and some other features.  They just launched their product via an IndieGoGo campaign which already met its $100,000 USD goal in a mat...

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HomeSeer unveils Z-NET

HomeSeer unveils Z-NET, an IP-based Z-Wave network interface for advanced home automation systems. Z-NET supports the latest Z-Wave technologies and includes a highly optimized antenna design for superior range and performance. Since Z-NET is IP-based, it may be installed virtually anywhere in the home. The unit includes a built-in LAN port and an optional USB-WiFi adapter is also available.

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Kidde Recalls Smoke Alarms Due to Alarm Failure

I'm sure these are not popular with our forum members, but just in case here is some information I came across FYI.
 
http://www.cpsc.gov/...SmokeCO-Alarms/  

Read story →    1 comments       Smoke Detectors

New HomeSeer Products Announced

HomeSeer announced two new products this week, a Z-Wave to ASCII module and a Z-Wave night-light module/multi-sensor.
 
Both are pretty interesting and should fill some niches in a Z-Wave users automation system.

Read story →    7 comments       Homeseer Technologies, Z-Wave

Thread - a new networking protocol to unite the IoT initiated by Nest, ARM, and Samsung and others.

Things seem to be heating up in the battle to bring the Internet of Things to fruition.  The latest such entry into this market may just be the game changer we've been looking for to start bringing all these different systems together.  We've seen plenty of other attempts at standardizing communication in our homes - but they've all gone their own way trying to create the "best" - and instead it seems we've ended up with too many choices.  the Thread Group hopes to change this.

Read story →    15 comments       Breaking News, Appliances and 3 more...

Consumer Safety Notice for Nest Protect: Smoke + CO Alarm

It looks like certain conditions might trigger the 'Wave' feature unintentionally, disabling the Nest Protect.
 
Nest CEO announced the halt of sales of the Nest Protect Smoke/CO Alarm, as the 'Wave' features is enabled by default, while recommending all customers turn off the 'Wave' feature, which allows a customer to disable the alarm by waving your hand.
 
Nest is working on bringing back this feature, but more testing and new approval from several agencies is required, which can take several months.
 
If your unit is connected to your network, it will supposedly turn the Wave feature off within 24 hours.  See below for the full press release which includes steps to help you disable this feature.
 
This issue was discovered during lab testing, no injuries were reported.

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New ELK Wireless Recessed Door Sensor And Glass Break Sensor Coming Soon

It has been a while since there have been product announcements from ELK, but it looks like we have 2 new sensors on their way, designed to work with the latest 2-way RF transceiver.ELK-6023 Wireless Recessed Door Sensor: a 2-way recessed door sensor,...

Read story →    7 comments       ELK, Wireless, Sensors

INSTEON Announces Connectivity to Nest Learning Thermostat

INSTEON announced they now support the popular Nest learning thermostat via their INSTEON Hub product.  I'm not sure if this is the result of the Google buyout (and relaxing API access), or if INSTEON has a partnership with Google/Nest Labs.
 
Either way, this is pretty interesting, and I'm sure more and more packages will support this thermostat.  See below for the full press release.
 

Read story →    1 comments       INSTEON, SmartHome, SmartLabs and 1 more...

Plum Website Is Now Online, Pre-Order Discount Ending

As previously announced, Ube has renamed their company/product line to 'Plum'.  Their website is now online, and it looks like the pre-order discount is expiring in a week (price going from $79 to $89), so if you have any interest i...

Read story →    0 comments       Ube, Wi-Fi

Leviton Launches Universal Z-Wave Dimming Switch

Leviton announced an updated Vizia RF+ VRMX1 Universal Dimming Switch today.  The switch supports the latest LED/CFL lighting, as well as halogen and incandescent bulbs.  The new switch also incorporates the 4.5.4 Zensys Z-Wave library.  See below for the full press release, or check the Leviton Vizia RF+ website for product details.

Read story →    2 comments       Leviton, Z-Wave

Homeseer Technologies Announces Android TableTop Touch Screen

Homeseer just announced they are now offering a tabletop Android touch screen.  Customized to run HSTouch upon boot-up, the unit seems to feature average specs, but it does look pretty nice and price isn't bad either ($149 with coupon TT-20)....

Read story →    10 comments       Homeseer Technologies and 1 more...

Savant Systems Introduces All New Smart Series Line

Savant's Smart Series products are available to order now, and installations through Savant integrators will begin March 17, 2014.  Read below for full press release.

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Control4 Announces Support for 5 Manufacturers of Surveillance Hardware

Control4 just announced that they are now able to integrate with 5 'leading' manufacturers of surveillance hardware thanks to these companies adding support for Control4's  Simple Device Discovery Protocol (SDDP), not to be confused with Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP).  The companies are:

• LILIN
• Planet
• Channel Vision
• QNAP
• SnapAV

 

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Project Update #29: How Plum is Securing the Internet of Things

It's disappointing whenever we hear about yet another security issue with devices/service we use every day.  But one of the advantages of this type of exposure is that other companies will sometimes pay attention and learn some lessons.
 
It looks like Plum (formerly known as Ube, personally, I still can't get used to this name) is using this opportunity to share their security strategy in a KickStarter update.

Read story →    0 comments       Ube

Belkin WeMo Home Automation devices contain multiple vulnerabilities (CERT ID 656302)

It just keeps getting better.  Mike Davis @ IOActive posted a document about several major security issues discovered within the Belkin WeMo platform.  It's so bad CERT actually posted a bulletin about it.
 
While I don't want people's homes to be compromised, I can't say I'm surprised, considering how many people are trusting internet based services to control all aspects of their home, or punching holes through their firewall for remote access to alarm systems, etc.
 
See below for the CERT bulletin.

Read story →    2 comments       Security Notice

Kickstarter Security Notice, Change Your Password!

I just received this notification in my Inbox. If you have a Kickstarter account or campaign, you need to read and heed the following message:  Kickstarter, for those of you who don't know, is a crowdfunding site for projects of all kinds includi...

Read story →    7 comments       Security Notice, KickStarter

CQC President's Day Sale

CQC is having their once-a-year sale right now. Save 25% now through Feb 24th on new purchases and upgrades.

Read story →    1 comments       CQC

Ube Reports Progress, Rebranding to 'Plum'.

It looks like Ube is making great progress, and is still right on track (and ahead in some cases) with their light switch.  Current Schedule:  Tooling Kickoff - January - *Pushed to FebruaryFirst PCB in lab: March - Slightly Ahead of schedule...

Read story →    5 comments       Ube

Venstar Announces New Built-in API for ColorTouch Thermostats, Enabling Third-party Application Integration

Venstar recently announced that they are opening up their API for their ColorTouch thermostats, making it very easy to integrate these thermostats with your existing home automation platform.  The API will give you control of the schedule, modes, temperatures and other settings.
 
See below for the full press release.

Read story →    0 comments       HVAC, Software

Savant To Enter DIY Market?

It looks like Savant is shaking things up, as they are trying to bring a cheaper version of their high-end home automation platform to the 'masses'.  They'll start by offering a Linux based version of their system (instead of relying on the more e...

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CES 2014: Exclusive Update - HomeSeer Technologies

HomeSeer Technologies was showing their new capabilities with HSTouch mobile apps including automatic video camera support and voice command/recognition during the CES show held in Las Vegas, NV.

Read story →    0 comments       Homeseer Technologies and 4 more...

CES 2014: Exclusive Update - Black Sumac's 'Piper'

Black Sumac is ready to launch their IndieGoGo campaign for their Z-Wave all-in-one "Piper" product which features a multitude of sensors as well as a camera.

Read story →    0 comments       CES, Breaking News, Hardware and 2 more...

When Smart Homes Attack ...

CNN is reporting that a collection of over 100,000 IP enabled gadgets have collectively attacked a target over the internet.  Gadgets include compromised routers, smart TVs and even a fridge!  Check the press release below for more info.
 
I can't say I didn't see this one coming, hopefully it will convince people that they need to treat each device connected to your home network as an insecure computer, especially with 'Internet of Things' becoming a popular term.

Read story →    3 comments       Security Notice, Warning