Future of HA lighting

yeah good ideas... I see your points, but with existing technology its easier than you think...

replacement bulbs thats easy. with the $16 LimitlessLED smart LED bulbs you just press the light switch within a few seconds of replacing the light bulb. simple as. and then the light switch is synced back up with the replacement bulb. LED will last at least 10 years between light bulb changes. The user uses this method now currently to organize bulbs into any groups/zones/switches they like.

New rf Light switches coming out this year are just thin wafers that you just stick to the wall with 3M double sided sticky. the dual batteries in them last 5 years. RRP $7 each, No wiring. you could even stick it over the top of existing light switches or side by side. or just keep the switch in your pocket, or on your wrist.
 
NewZealandHome said:
here is the reality:  replacing a light switch is too scary for 99% of people.  the user interface of a light switch, umm hello, apple already invented the mouse, and now invented the touch UI to redefined how we interact with others.  Light switches are *NOT* the future User Interface for lighting. The future UI is geolocation presence keyring sensors, phones, smartwatches, and the lightswitch will not even be hardwired to the lights in the future. only power for rf and full color touch devices will be at the wall.  There will just be velcro-like light switches on the wall that can control anything in the home. Place them anywhere you like.. stick them to the sidetable next to your bed. even stick the light switch to the sideboard of your bed.  then you don't have to worry about where your bed is positioned in relation to the headboard and light switches.
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Apple invented none of those things.  They weren't even the first to implement them.  Many, many others did them before and in greater numbers.  So don't rest on that crutch.  But that's a whole other argument, let's not go there.
 
The ultimate?  No.  When you're bare-ass naked wandering around the house you want to KNOW where the switch is.  Not where someone left some velcro attached gizmo, or a touch-screen remote or wonder whether the battery in it has been kept charged.  
 
Lighting is a basic and fundamental safety issue.  Yes, keyfobs and the like are really cool ideas... in theory.  In practice they pretty much suck.  They're terrific add-ons for the gadget-lovers among us, but real people just do not want or buy them, at least not in significant enough numbers to even come close to anything resembling quantity-of-scale volumes.  
 
Once upon a time folks thought flying cars were going to be the future. If people can't navigate safely in 2-D what makes you think we'd EVER want to have them FLYING?  A bit of the same analogy applies to lots of fancier home automation stuff.  People eventually fall back on the reality that most of it just isn't worth the adventure.
 
 
We're all still waiting for genuinely reliable occupancy detection.  It's damn hard to figure out just whether a person is present and what to do about it.  And this is a really basic fundamental things real people expect automation to be able to accomplish... 100% of the time.  Lose their trust more than a scant few times and they're straight back to the wall switches.  Thus the argument comes full-circle back to them.  They're here and they're going to stay.
 
az1324 said:
Those "LimitlessLED" are all over Alibaba. Interesting, but skeptical of the quality and brightness.
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off topic. but yes we market them under the brands LimitlessLED, MiLight, and EasyBulb.  Check out the feedback comments on our LimitlessLED home page if you are skeptical. I'm not, brightness is good, and quality is high using SamsungLED latest technology, with long factory test times for every bulb. Speed is instantaneous lighting control.  

anyway, back on topic...
Yeah lightswitches are here to stay.. I think you are right. but some home builds may opt to only use wireless light bulbs, and would use only light fittings that support such. It would do away with expensive dimmer and relay packs though.  we'll see how this landscape pans out, as more bulb base type are supported by wireless bulbs in the future as SamsungLED technology gets more lumens and cooler running LEDs.  Replacement Light Switches are still not an option for those that are renting. And landlords probably will not oblige :)
 
Most of the listings for those bulbs have the white at 560 lumens and the color at 180-280 lumens.  But LimitlessLED has 820 and 600.  Saw a comment on smartthings forum saying they weren't very bright.  Hard to tell who is the real manufacturer and who are just resellers.  Most likely no agency or safety approvals either.  White limited to 4 zones and color limited to 1 zone are pretty big limitations.  But still nice to see activity at the low pricepoint.
 
Controlling a bulb with an iPhone is neat, but I'm not going to walk around with a iPhone just to turn on my lights.  And motion sensors suppliment lighting control at best.  I'm afraid light switches are here to stay.  In addition, wireless controlled light bulbs don't do a whole lot to control a pool pump or a ceiling fan.  HUE and LIFX are nice, but just a rather small peice of the whole puzzle.  Another tool but not the full story.
 
True,  but you will stick a wafer rf 4way switch to the wall when it can make your lights change color and dim to any levels without the need for an expensive wall dimmer switch. and gives you home automation lighting nearly for free.  and the smartphone is just that.. its smart.  you now don't need any expensive home controllers, you don't need any expensive dimmer packs, all things that made home automation prohibitive for a huge percentage of the population before.

I think it will become like tv's - sure you can walk to the tv and change channel, change volume etc.  but the tv controls are now on the back or top of the tv out of sight... I can imagine a future similar for lights.  you control the lights at the switch when you walk in.. but when you sit down, you take the remote with you.  
 
one thing with 4 light switches on each side of the main living area.  having to walk around all 4 light switches just to turn them off to watch tv..  in cases like this, wireless 2.4Ghz remote lighting makes a huge difference to your actual lifestyle - not just in theory. 
 
sometimes even having to swipe to unlock the iphone is enough of an annoyance to turn off the lights ;)
 
the future will be wafer thin credit card sized wireless remote light switches.

you did bring up motion sensors... I have seen prototypes of some exceptionally good tiny battery operated wireless motion sensors, and I think it is the next big thing after smart lights.  I bet they will be a huge hit.  they txt message you when the batteries need changing.  probably will just work out as often as a battery operated smoke detector, about every 2-3 years.. not too bad at all.
 
wkearney99 said:
Yes, keyfobs and the like are really cool ideas... in theory.  In practice they pretty much suck.  They're terrific add-ons for the gadget-lovers among us, but real people just do not want or buy them, at least not in significant enough numbers to even come close to anything resembling quantity-of-scale volumes.
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You're thinking of the wrong type of keyfob... you're forgetting again, the latest 2013 technology this year where ARM holdings has now made a full PC in a tiny chip worth only a few bucks.   

imagine this type of keyfob:    it contains:  temperature + g-sensor + coin battery + wireless + uniqueid.   so you place it on your car..   now your house knows when all the cars have left. and the house can detect no other movement inside, your home can start self securing, it can turn on/off the lights in your house to make it look like someone is home. and txt you of any movement when there is no cars at home.

this same keyfob can also be used in your baby's cot, to tell you if there has been no movement for a certain amount of time.

this same keyfob can be placed in each room of the house to see how cold it is and humidity.

you can place it on the door of your safe to detect g-sensor movement.

I am fairly certain of significant numbers of this to resemble quantity of scale volumes.
 
No doubt home automation is changing, and wireless is a big part of it.
 
On the color changing, I have to wonder just how useful a feature that is over time. I could see some colored bulbs outside for the holidays, but after a time or two of lighting up your kitchen blue or green, I'm not sure its something you would do more than now and then to impress your friends at a party. 
 
The longer I am into home automation, the more I realize its not what I control that is important, its what sames me time that is really important. I also think that many people confuse "home control" with "home automation."  Like I just had a new HVAC unit installed, and in the process several dealers tried to convince me that because I could access the thermostats of their system with an iPhone app., that was home automation.  I begged to differ.  Home automation is a system that takes into account motion sensors in each room, alarm status, weather conditions, electric rates and outside temps, and controls the system for optimum comfort and energy savings.  If its doing its job, I don't need a phone app.  because I know the system has selected the ideal settings better than I ever could. 
 
NewZealandHome said:
I am fairly certain of significant numbers of this to resemble quantity of scale volumes.
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Sadly, the industry is littered with the corpses of failed efforts 'certain' about significant numbers.
 
What you're imagining only increases the hassles for consumers.  While also putting more landfill polluting batteries in an ever increasing number of gizmos desperately seeking to solve problems that don't exist.  Sounds harsh, but it's true.
 
Start thinking about how the user experience would play out with a constant barrage of devices getting setup, reporting activities and requiring maintenance.  How is this 'significant' consumer audience going to grapple with this?  What about the efforts (and there are a lot of them) are going to be compelling enough to convince them to buy the products in the 'certain' numbers you're estimating?
 
I love gadgets as much as anyone else but just don't share your certainty about the numbers, or even the whole underlying premise.
 
+1 ano. I agree with you completely. Switches and bulbs are going to have to be a whole lot smarter before any automated lighting technology takes over the world. The more I think about it the more I come to the conclusion that this may be part of the future of HA lighting, but not the whole picture. And certainly something that is to early in its infancy too implement in my cocoon.
 
wkearney99 said:
Sadly, the industry is littered with the corpses of failed efforts 'certain' about significant numbers.
What you're imagining only increases the hassles for consumers. 
I love gadgets as much as anyone else but just don't share your certainty about the numbers, or even the whole underlying premise.
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Let me try and explain the shift in HA that is changing... that some oldies might not see yet...
 
This is my vision to reduce hassle for consumers...   
1) online shop for home automation...   plug and play devices.   (currently 90% of the HA industry has no prices on their website.. *urggh* - normally because they are unaffordable.)
2) one page instructions for setup per device.. big font.  lowest number of steps possible.. hopefully insert batteries plus 1 step, and done.  (last generation HA needed an installer)
3) one touchscreen app      (this is different from last generation HA, we didn't have handheld touchscreens that were mainstream)
4) one touch setup plugins for automation.   (this is different from last generation HA, you had large windows installer-only apps with too much setup and programming)

New Generation HA companies that I am assisting the design and architecture with:
SmartThings
Pebble
Lockitron
LimitlessLED
LIFX
MYO

 
Cheers,
Hamish.
-LimitlessLED.
 
iostream212 said:
Really why automate 5 bulbs when I can automate one switch?
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lol, here is a reality wake-up call for ya: I did some quick calculations based on LimitlessLED, LIFX and UBE, Luminode,  5,000 people agree with automating bulbs, and 200 people agree with automating a switch..  thats 25 : 1 ratio in favor of wireless automated light bulbs.
 
I have to agree with iostream.  Plus, this site isn't for the typical i-Sheep that want to be wowed by the 'look honey, i just turned on the light with my i-Phone!" types as after that novelty wears off they will ooooh and awwww over a new headphone jack location on another i-Device, or wow themselves over the 'marvel' of controlling a television via their device.
 
The true do it yourself automation enthusiast wants to have a powerful and flexible system that will incorporate a lot of aspects of daily life, including notifications and enhancements of common tasks.  This will most likely involve incorporating multiple systems and investigation into the ultimate system for their individual needs.
 
This is what CocoonTech is all about!  Others need to just continue grazing in that i-Pasture and continue their ignorance is bliss mentality!
 
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