Smart Home Blog

AlertMe is planning to release a new Energy Saving kit additionally to its Home Security line. That kit will include Smart Plugs to control individual appliance, the AlertMe Heating Controller, the AlertMe clip on electricity meter and the AlertMe Keyfobs. All those devices will communicate with AlertMe Hub (just like the Security system). The hub will send information from them to the AlertMe servers, which in turn make it available to the user via a simple web interface. That’s it!

The new Energy Saving kit will be available in November and will need AlertMe Hub + Security package. But from the beginning of 2009 consumers will be able to skip security part and buy just Energy Saving kit including its own hub.

Good expansion by the way. The next step can be added a simple lighting control system based on the wireless home automation protocol ZigBee. It seems that it’ll be possible.

[via SmartPlanet]

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mControl, well known Windows-based home control system, recently announced supporting of CentraLite JetStream devices. CentraLite JetStream uses Z-Wave competitor ZigBee. The system is fully expandable and can be integrated with other automation products such as thermostats, entertainment systems, and security equipment.

Actually JetStream functionality was added some time ago. But wasn’t announced till devices weren’t started to sell on the market. To see mControl and JetStream in the action see that video presentation.

mControl already support Insteon, Z-Wave, Rako, and X10. So, CentraLite JetStream will be good addition to that list.

[via eHomeUpgrade]

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Recently I found an interesting wireless lighting control system which doesn’t need a separated controller. Its name is JetStream. It uses reliable mesh network ZigBee to communicate between devices. Here is a few main features of the system:

• Up to 100 scenes
• Up to 50 timed events (requires RS-232 or Ethernet Bridge)
• 512 dimming levels
  • Preset dimming levels for each load
  • Every load is capable of dimming
  • Soft On/Off: 0 - 800 seconds each control
• Simple installation and configuration
• Intuitive PC configuration software accessible (requires USB Bridge)
• Configuration is stored in each device. A backup file is also created on the PC during configuration.

The system includes two 3-button dimmers, three 1-button dimmers, one car remote and has four pre-programmed scenes Welcome, All on, Goodnight and Entertain. All of that is $700. Additionally tabletop 8-button keypads, lamp modules, IR receivers and USB/RS232/Ethernet bridge can be added. Also the JetStream can be easily integrated with JetPak security and HVAC control system.

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Control4 has added Linux-based, ZigBee-compatible home automation/media networking controller - HC-500. It’s positioned as the mainstream controller choice in between Control4’s low-end HC-300 and luxury HC-1000. The primary goal of producing of HC-500 is a media server, intended for large home theaters requiring extensive I/O connections for device control. However, it also will coordinate lighting, temperature, video cameras, and manual controls such as blind- and garage-door openers. The HC-500 sprots a 160GB hard drive which is, in my opinion, extremely small even for modern media center. Additionally it’s equipped with two USB ports, one Ethernet port, four serial ports (DB9), analog and digital audio I/O jacks, and ZigBee and optional WiFi adapter (Control4 chooses ZigBee because it’s an open standard, unlike Z-Wave, and has more bandwidth. However, support of Z-Wave is gonna be added as well).

The HC-500 can be controlled via on-screen GUI on TV, a various touchscreens or web interface. Using Windows-based Composer Home Edition application, users can customize the system according to his/her requirements.

The HC-500 is shipping now and tagged at $1500.

[via LinuxDevices]

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British based company Energy Optimizers Limited offers an elegant and efficient way to monitor of energy consumption named Plogg. This a bit ugly looking unit can measure energy consumption in desired socket (and appliance, of couse) and transmit data to PC or controller via Bluetooth or ZigBee. Thanks to it the Plogg can be integrated with whole house automation system or with just standalone application on your PC.

The Plogg looks similar to Kill-A-Watt but the last one doesn’t have possibility to connect to PC. The price for unit is about 60 GBP (depends on using wireless technology). The application of the Plogg is reasonable if you need to see of energy consumption of specific device (or group devices). Otherwise the using of whole house energy monitors is more preferable.

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