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Inovelli Z-Wave Switch Review
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News Archives

Inovelli Z-Wave Switch Review
Jan 04 2018 03:07 PM |
BraveSirRobbin
in News
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!

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Amazon Expanding Alexa SmartHome Team
Mar 31 2017 10:23 AM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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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5 comments






Luna: Turn Your Bed into a Smartbed
Jan 27 2015 04:59 PM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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
Jan 07 2015 10:56 PM |
BraveSirRobbin
in News
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
Sep 18 2014 03:25 PM |
BraveSirRobbin
in News
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/
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1 comments






New HomeSeer Products Announced
Sep 08 2014 02:19 PM |
BraveSirRobbin
in News
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.
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7 comments







Thread - a new networking protocol to unite the IoT initiated by Nest, ARM, and Samsung and others.
Jul 16 2014 11:27 PM |
Work2Play
in News
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.
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Consumer Safety Notice for Nest Protect: Smoke + CO Alarm
Apr 04 2014 09:17 AM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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
Mar 14 2014 02:58 PM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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,...
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7 comments







INSTEON Announces Connectivity to Nest Learning Thermostat
Mar 14 2014 02:42 PM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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.
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Plum Website Is Now Online, Pre-Order Discount Ending
Mar 11 2014 03:28 PM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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...
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Leviton Launches Universal Z-Wave Dimming Switch
Mar 11 2014 03:03 PM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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.
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2 comments







Homeseer Technologies Announces Android TableTop Touch Screen
Feb 28 2014 09:26 PM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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)....
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Savant Systems Introduces All New Smart Series Line
Feb 26 2014 01:30 PM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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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0 comments





Control4 Announces Support for 5 Manufacturers of Surveillance Hardware
Feb 26 2014 08:20 AM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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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2 comments





Project Update #29: How Plum is Securing the Internet of Things
Feb 25 2014 02:13 PM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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.
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Belkin WeMo Home Automation devices contain multiple vulnerabilities (CERT ID 656302)
Feb 18 2014 02:55 PM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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.
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2 comments






Kickstarter Security Notice, Change Your Password!
Feb 16 2014 08:41 AM |
pete
in News
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...
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CQC President's Day Sale
Feb 14 2014 06:27 PM |
Work2Play
in News
CQC is having their once-a-year sale right now. Save 25% now through Feb 24th on new purchases and upgrades.
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Ube Reports Progress, Rebranding to 'Plum'.
Feb 13 2014 12:12 PM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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...
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Venstar Announces New Built-in API for ColorTouch Thermostats, Enabling Third-party Application Integration
Jan 30 2014 08:15 PM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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.
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Savant To Enter DIY Market?
Jan 28 2014 08:12 PM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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
Jan 18 2014 08:23 PM |
BraveSirRobbin
in Events
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.
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CES 2014: Exclusive Update - Black Sumac's 'Piper'
Jan 18 2014 07:54 PM |
BraveSirRobbin
in Events
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.
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When Smart Homes Attack ...
Jan 18 2014 07:03 PM |
Dan (electron)
in News
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.
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