Smart Home Blog

If you continuously forget to watering your plants Botanicalls Twitter is what you actually need. Using a simple electric parts and a bit knack you’ll get an intelligent system which will measure moisture level and notify you via Twitter (in case of connecting the system to the Internet) about necessity of watering. That’s really cool, it’s it? But maybe that irrigation system would be more useful because you need just put the water into tank time by time. The rest will be done automatically.

HomeSeer, well-known company which develop Window-based home automation software, announced its new product – Z-Wave Multi-Sensor. It combines three sensors: motion, illumination and temperature sensors in one. The motion detector has a range of 10 meters and the sensor angle of view is 90° (horizontal). The illumination sensor allows to detect the amount of light in the room. The temperature sensor range is 0° – 40°C. So, it can be used indoor or outdoor but in soft environment (like on Cyprus :)).

The Multi-Sensor uses Z-Wave for communication and can placed up to 100 meters from nearest Z-Wave access point. It’s compatible with HomeSeer software. But since it based on Z-Wave chip it can be integrated with other home automation systems such Plutohome.

[via Ubergizmo]

Smarhome offers a 7-day Programmable Digital Thermostat. It compatible with both heat/cool and heat pump systems and my control up to three heat stages or/and two cool stages. The thermostat functionality can be extended by adding phone controller which allows to adjust a temperature via phone. To program your thermostat you can use Totaline EZ Thermostat Programmer. If you prefer to use remote control then you can just add IR receiver for your 7-day Programmable Digital Thermostat.
Finally, you can control a compatible humidifier by connecting the Thermostat Humidity Module to your thermostat. This accesory also allows your thermostat to display relative humidity levels or trigger a dehumidity process. Additional features include an auxiliary heat indicator and the option of adding an outdoor sensor.

The 7-day Programmable Digital Thermostat is available on Smarthome.com at $114.99. If you don’t need the program for 7 days you might be interested in the same model but with program for one day only. It’s chipper but for $30 only.

iRobot Verro poolbots series might be interesting both pool owners and pool cleaners. Because this bot is produced to make the pool clean without human interaction.
There are two models: iRobot Verro 300 and iRobot Verro 600. The iRobot Verro 300 is designed for gunite pools (it may also effective on other pool surfaces). It does hydro-jets ‘pressure wash’ pool surface, vacuum and filter pick up and trap leaves, hair, sand, debris, algae and particles as small as 2 microns. The price of this model is $799.99 with 30-day risk-free trial.
The iRobot Verro 600 is designed for vinyl, fiberglass and tile pools (it may also effective on gunite pool surfaces). It does PVA brushes scrub surfaces, vacuum and filter pick up and trap leaves, hair, sand, debris, algae and particles as small as 2 microns. The price of the iRobot Verro 600 is $1199.99 with 30-day risk-free trial.
So, additionally to your vacuum-cleaner bot you can get pool cleaner bot as well and have a rest during the bots will clean your space.

[via Engadget]

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and Climate Energy, LLC announced the official start of retail sales of freewatt Micro-sized Combined Heat and Power (Micro-CHP) cogeneration system for homes, which features advanced and highly efficient energy management technologies. The freewatt Micro-CHP system provides heat for the home with the added benefit of electricity production. The ultra-quiet MCHP unit produces 3.26 kilowatts of heat and 1.2 kilowatts of electric power. The electric power produced displaces electricity that consumers would otherwise purchase from the local electric utility, saving $500 to $1000 per year on their electric bill. An additional unique financial savings benefit of utilizing the freewatt system is realized through the process of net metering. In states where legislated, net metering allows homeowners to literally sell unused electric power back to the power grid in their community, providing additional savings. In addition, the system produces 30% less carbon dioxide emissions than a conventional heating system with electricity provided from the grid.

[via Fareastgizmos]