automation

Apple enthusiast will be able to feast their eyes on Savant’s latest home control and automation solutions at this year's CES, in Las Vegas. The show starts next Tuesday the 10 of January and is one of the biggest consumer electronics show kick off the New Year. Savant promises to showcase its whole-home control and automation packages which feature SmartMedia, TrueCommand, Savant Select, TrueImage Control, Savant Sound and SavantEnergy Monitor.

With the run up to CES 2012, Control4 has launched a home control app for Android-based smartphones and tablets.  The new App. extends the flexibility of the Control4 home control platform, to provide control over security systems, lighting, music and video using Android.  MyHome for Android has been added to Control4’s MyHome for iPad and iPhone, giving the customer to option to use which ever device they choose to use.

AT&T has decided to get in on the home energy management action by indicating that they will be launching their own home energy management platform in the near future.  Jeffery Dygert, the company’s Executive Director of Public Policy broke the news during a panel discussion on the Broadband Breakfast Club; moderated by GigaoM reporter Katie Fehrenbacher. Jeffery said they want to offer the solution so that its customers can get more information about the energy they use within the home.

Mac-based home automation software provider Perceptive Automation today announces the release of Indigo 5. New with this update is a Python-based Plugin API that allows Independent Software Vendors (ISV) to create native device types, trigger events and actions which are fully integrated into the Indigo User Interface and server.

Like Verizon and Rogers Cable, Swisscom is planning to offer a home automation and monitoring service to its Swiss customers.  They have teamed up with iControl Networks, the provider of the OpenHome platform to develop the “Smart Living” solution for the Swiss and European markets. Both companies said through the Smart Living platform customers will be to stay connected with their home when away and be able to control home electrical appliances.

Control4 has release an upgraded version of its home automation operating system software, OS2.  The company said OS2.1 comes with a host of new features that allow for easier and faster installs. One of the core enhancements is an advanced diagnostic tool “Detective Suite”, which is an installer’s tool set.  Home users can expect better performance, stability and the option to have customised user interface for each room in the house.

The entire energy sector eyes are on Hawaii’s second largest island of Maui.  The island's electricity provider Maui Electric Company (MECO) and the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii (HNEI) said they want to reduce their dependency on imported Diesel Oil.  Currently 15 percent of the island’s electricity is generated by renewable energy and they have set themselves an ambitious target of increasing this number to 70 percent by the year 2030. Therefore, Maui Island has become a test bed for the latest in smart grid technologies under a Japanese-businesses and US joint partnership.

The Portuguese are building a city that has never been see or built before, except in the minds of the designers.  A place where the environment feeds off us and wee feed off it. Through the use of the Urban Operating System (UOS^tm) the physical structure will be fitted with embedded sensor technology that allows it to manage it resources based on feeds it gets from us and the other systems, such as other machines and the atmosphere.

For a while Google and Microsoft were encouraging utilities and consumer to get connected through their solutions to learn more about their energy use.  Google launched the Google PowerMeter through it iGoogle platform, Microsoft launched Microsoft Hohm and Cisco launched the Home Energy Controller gadgets and software. They all promised information at our finger tips so we can make more informed decisions on how we use our home energy.

Opower and Honeywell announced plans to collaborate on the development of a home energy management solution.  Honeywell will offer its expertise in control system and Opower, their data analysis solution.  The first solution expected from the partnership is a Web-connected programmable thermostat that measures, analyze and reports on the homes' electricity use.