Securing Home Automation

There’s hardly a gadget that can’t be automated, especially in home appliances. From locks to lights and security cameras to speakers, homeowners love the convenience. Smart homes are not only more convenient and energy efficient, they’re also just plain cool. Unfortunately, studies show that industry growth has sometimes been more important than maintaining adequate security measures. Thankfully, homeowners don’t have to choose between an automated home and security, because with these easy tips, you can have both.

Read more: http://www.hometoys.com/article/2017/03/navigating-security-concerns-in-smart-home-automation/36356

10% of households have smart home security device

800,000 Dutch households have a smart home device for security. IP security cameras are popular, used in around 5 percent of homes, according to research by Multiscope. Survey finds potential in smart smoke and CO alarms. Over half the households said that additional security was an important reason to acquire smart home devices. This was followed by the ability to control home devices remotely

Read more: https://www.telecompaper.com/news/over-10-of-dutch-households-have-smart-home-security-device--1193417

Security, Privacy of Smart Homes

Recently, two stories have hit the news regarding security and privacy issues. Security is paramount to the success of the smart home. Feeling safe in your own home is a fundamental human need. However, if these devices do not carry the required level of security then at best they can be rendered ineffective, and at worst can make the home more vulnerable to attack. Criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and remaining one step ahead of them is a complex business. However, when vulnerabilities are spotted, the companies concerned must act quickly to close loopholes and reassure customers that any issues have been corrected.

Read more: https://www.telecomasia.net/content/security-privacy-concerns-still-haunt-smart-home-market

Consumers got "smarter" in home automation

Consumers see more clearly how smart home devices can benefit their lives and plan to purchase such products in the future, according to survey by PlumChoice and the Z-Wave Alliance. Survey also highlights the need for companies to provide consumers a user experience that allows their smart home devices to fit easily into their lives. The report helps device makers and their partners understand current connected and smart home device ownership, interest in future purchases and perceived smart home device benefits.

Read more: http://www.securitysales.com/article/smart_home_device_adoption_awareness

Smart Home Security by CleverLoop review

The CleverLoop Smart Home Security System consists of cameras and a base station that keep tabs on what's going on inside and outside your home. The security cameras are easy to install and deliver great image quality, and they store event-triggered video locally and to CleverLoop's free cloud service. Motion detection technology did an excellent job of reducing false alerts in testing. System comes with a required base station, two indoor cameras, and two outdoor cameras, but you can mix and match the number of indoor and outdoor cameras to suit your needs, each base station supports up to four cameras.

Read more: http://www.pcmag.com/review/353158/cleverloop-smart-home-security-system

Samsung's Smart Home products

Samsung has a smart device in many homes: The TV. Apple never entered that now-struggling category despite predictions to the contrary. For a platform company, TVs create a lot of upgrade drag. Things may be even worse for other products in Samsung's extensive home product portfolio that largely features appliances such as refrigerators, ovens, washing machines... Samsung has a better shot than many to become the strongest influence in the smart home, particularly given the phone's important role in controlling it both within and beyond the domicile. But the smart home is developed by consumers taking chances on isolated use cases often tied to security and lighting. Samsung also makes products here, but through a commercial group that has even more tenuous ties to its mobile division.

Read more: http://www.zdnet.com/article/samsungs-smart-home-slog/

Impact of Smart Homes in Buildings

According to Dave Pedigo: “Homes and commercial buildings alike are typically not smart yet – they’re connected and programmed by smart people. What I mean by this is that most buildings that have some aspect of automation are built using conditional logic; for example, press this button and this will happen – or if this door opens, turn on the lights ... I honestly don’t see a huge difference between commercial and residential other than scale and how they are managed,” he continues. “There are many nuances between residential and commercial, but it is more regarding the client and the magnitude of the job. The technologies on the back end share many more similarities than differences.”

Read more: http://www.installation-international.com/smart-buildings-industry-impact/

Contractor: Most homes retrofitted with Smart Home locks, lights

Times are changing with smartphones now able to combine the power of interoperability, connectivity and machine intelligence for smart home technology. By connecting devices and appliances to everyday tasks, from opening the garage door to detecting break-ins to providing security for our property, to switching on and off lights our smart technology solutions are creating connectivity solutions that offer remote monitoring and more. How cool it is there is smart technology on the market that lets users check the contents of the refrigerator while at the market, turn on the air conditioning on the way home from the office and even lower the oven temperature so the main dish won’t burn when meetings run late. Securing the smart home starts with connectivity from the DIY easy-install automation products and/or building your new home with automation products installed at the onset.

Read more: https://www.dcourier.com/news/2017/apr/21/ask-contractor-most-homes-retrofitted-smart-home-t/

Home Automation and Virtual Assistants

Until the release of these virtual helpers, home automation consisted of professionally installed systems that controlled everything, or managed services that provided monthly monitoring of things like alarm systems. Both are still available, but the revolution in the smart-home market is playing out in the individual components and smart devices that homeowners can control with these ubiquitous virtual assistants. Siri is the backbone for Apple's HomeKit, the smartphone app that can be used to control a variety of smart-home products. This platform provides a variety of helpful features to simplify the process of adding devices and labeling "Favorites." You can also organize the various components by "Rooms" and create "Scenes" that will control multiple devices with one command.

Read more: https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/04/19/sierra-wireless-latest-buy-puts-it-into-a-multibil.aspx

Smart Home may make it easier to sell real estate

Smart home technology may make it easier to sell homes and real estate, especially to younger audiences. A recent survey revealed that 86 percent of millennials are willing to spend more money to rent a place with smart home technology already implemented. If they’re willing to spend more on rent, it stands to reason they’re willing to spend more for a home purchase. That same survey found 65 percent of baby boomers are willing to spend more to rent a place with smart home technology. Although that number is significantly less, it’s still pretty substantial. If anything, it shows that smart home technology is quite popular these days. In fact, that 80 million smart home devices were delivered globally in 2016, which is a 64 percent increase from the prior year.

Read more: https://www.inman.com/2017/04/19/5-smart-home-trends-homebuyers-want-in-2017/