Category: Home Automation Control

Being smart is part of today’s trend. Technology these days makes it easier for us to perform some tasks. Smartphones and other gadgets make our life much simple and no doubt add some experience to it. However, your home also needs some attention and Home automation can provide that much needed modernisation. It can include a number of things like the control of lighting & appliances, more adaptive heating control, added security and other systems which enable you to have all the comfort and security whilst improving the energy efficiency of your home.

There is nothing new about home automation, X10 was developed back in 1975 by Pico Electronics in Scotland. The technology has been improved and is still useful for home automation projects today. Increasingly the demand is for affordable products which are reliable and easy to use. These devices can be controlled using your smartphones as well as tablets and computers. What else could you want.? Well, one of these home automation devices you may of heard about is the Amazon Echo.

Amazon Echo is a small and cylindrical in shape with a 9-inch speaker and 7 piece Microphone array. It’s basically a command device that as the name shows is from amazon.com. This device contains many functions like answering questions, music playing, providing news, weather, traffic and sports reports, as well as controlling other smart devices using voice commands. However at the moment this is limited to Wink, WeMo and Phillips Hue devices.

The device gets started as soon as it notices the wake word. When in default mode, the device initiates and responds to the name “Alexa”, nonetheless, this can be changed once the user knows how to operate it. Though till now there are only two options, one Alexa and other Amazon.

This device is an interesting choice for those interested in home automation for their home, however you have to wonder if this is another way for Amazon to sell product, as another feature is the ability to purchase products from them.

Voice command has been available for some time now with varying degrees of success and has not previously been taken up in a big way. For the serious Home automation user you may want to look at Homey a far more versatile device than Echo, providing control of a vast range of devices like Z-wave, Zigbee, X10, 433Mhz modules, Infrared and more.

We may not be at the stage of HAL from 2001: A space Odyssey but technology is moving in that direction!

Merlin is a well known and well established brand for anyone who needs a remote control garage door opener. Through UK Automation, the company offers a number of options for those who want the ease and security of a remote control for their garages and lock-ups. The first offering is the 2 Channel Full Size Garage Remote which is priced at just £36.00. This is one of the company’s most popular items, and is used for Merlin Prolift range of garage doors. The product is a new generation transmitter which features high security code hopping technology. What this means in layman’s terms is that they have the capacity to transmit a unique code whenever the buttons are pressed. Both 2 or 4 channel models are available enabling the user to operate additional Merlin garage door openers. The large button makes for easy operation and there is a holster for wall or visor mounting.

Keyring Remote

For those who prefer the comfort of a keyring remote control, Merlin has two versions. The 2 channel remote control retails at £25 and is designed specifically for fit on a keyring. This compact device can also be placed as a wall mounted push button. Easy to use, the key are manufactured from soft feel silicone rubber. Again, the same technology is used as with the full size version, with its unique code. The Merlin 4 Channel Key Ring Remote is exactly the same but obviously, as the name implies with four channels, and is priced at £40.00.

For the safety conscious, there is the Merlin Beam Sensor available for a mere £39.00. This safety beam sensor is only compatible with the Merlin Prolift 230 and Prolift 430 garage door openers and offers all the benefits of a safety beam sensor. Safety beam sensors give peace of mind and are connected to the bottom of the track. When the infrared beam is broken, even though nothing may come in contact with the door, the door is reversed.

Finally UK Automation offers the Merlin Remote Control Upgrade Receiver. For just £50, you can upgrade an existing Merlin remote control system to high security. Simply add the receiver, which fits directly onto Merlin products via spade terminals, screw terminals and plug on looms included for easy connection to other products. This upgrade is extremely useful for older Merlin door openers with obsolete radio transmitters. More importantly it can also be used on other brands of garage door openers although the receiver may need a DC power supply. For these and all other garage door openers, visit UK Automation for the best choice.

According to a report from the research agency IDC, the Internet of Things is set to be worth $7.1 trillion in five years time, more than twice the size of the smartphone, PC, tablet, connected car and wearable market put together. Which means big companies like Amazon are already harnessing the power of the IoT in their new product development.

Amazon is branching into the home automation market with the launch of its hardware and a cloud-based service, both of which support web-enabled devices around the home. The Dash button is a physical device which was introduced last week across America, on a purely invite-only basis, and if successful, will become readily and globally available in time.

Dash Button

The plastic device is a little bit bigger than a human thumb and it connects to Wi-Fi; when the Dash is pressed, it allows the user to automatically order items from Amazon Prime. At present, Amazon has partnered with a mere 18 companies, including big names such as Gillette, Olay, Huggies and Bounty. Each Dash button acts a one-click entry point to these branded items on Amazon, and the button can be “tweaked via the main Amazon app to order products, but only from that one brand. Shoppers can choose whether pressing the Gillette Dash button would order another 5-pack of shaving cartridges or a 10-pack, for instance.”

The aim is that Dash buttons will be scattered around the home, so that if you are running low on an item or run out, then a simple press of the button will enable you to re-order exactly what you want in less time than it takes to actually access the item’s website.

Amazon’s interest in this is pretty clear: the organisation makes for loyal customers who have the ease and comfort of ordering items from one place. As for the shoppers, could anything be easier? Or indeed, lazier.

DRS

The second launch is a new cloud-based service is called the Dash Replenishment Service (DRS), which is expected to be introduced, again in the US, by autumn. According to a report on the Mashable website “If the Dash button is a physical, one-click access point to Amazon, think of DRS as a budding ecosystem of third-party devices, all running software that connect back to the tech giant.”

So far, Amazon has linked with four companies: although this is expected to change drastically once the concept is launched. Initially, Brita water is one of the inaugural four and its filters will feature a sensor that measures usage, and when necessary, will connect to Amazon and reorder water filters. The other companies include sellers of household products and again, when the product is running low, the sensor will inform Amazon and reorder.

The Internet of Things is set to revolutionise smart homes and Amazon is only one of many companies that are leaping eagerly into a new market. Shopping from home may become even easier in the coming years and in order to make sure your home is up to date and geared up with everything needed to ensure it can handle smooth transition to innovations, check out the home automation products that we offer.