Articles Tagged with ''smart homes''

A new smart home study released by Lowe’s found that more than 70 percent of smart phone users in America just wish they could control something in their home from their mobile device without getting out of bed. Lowe’s 2014 Smart Home Survey examined Americans’ attitudes and experiences with home automation.

Direct Energy, one of the largest retail providers of electricity, natural gas, and home services in North America, has launched a partnership with SmartThings to bring the smart home to energy customers in Texas.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire SmartThings, a leading open platform for the smart home. Samsung said that, with its resources, SmartThings will be able to expand its platform and support even more devices.

In only a few years, the number of connected “smart” products for the home has increased exponentially as homeowners have shown more and more interest in being able to monitor and control their homes from nearly anywhere.

The home automation market is growing globally at an incredible pace. The prevalence of these products can be seen with a quick trip to the hardware store, where anyone can find an array of Wi-Fi-capable home automation products, including thermostats, door locks, lights, video cameras, and more.

In June, Microsoft Corp. and American Family Insurance announced the launch of a business accelerator for tech startup companies that are focused on home automation. The goal of the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator is to provide mentorship, resources, and workspace to startups.

Revolv Inc., a home automation app developed to unify control of smart home devices from a single app, has announced its new support for Android and official integration with the Nest Learning Thermostat™. In addition, the company released an updated version of its iOS app.

EcoFactor® announced that it has been awarded U.S. Patent 8,751,186 for the use of connected thermostats to calculate the dynamic thermal properties of buildings. The company said it is the 20th patent it has received for its approach to energy management and intelligent home automation.

Technology companies Atmel Corp., Broadcom Corp., Dell, Intel Corp., Samsung Electronics, and Wind River announced they are joining to establish a new industry consortium focused on improving interoperability and defining the connectivity requirements for the numerous devices that will make up the Internet of Things (IoT).

New research from Parks Associates shows young consumers, those with children, and those in a home for three to four years are leading the adoption of Internet-connected smart home energy management devices.