Automated Home

Last month in our Synology 1813+ NAS review we mentioned DSM v5 was undergoing beta testing and was waiting in the wings.  Well today Synology have announced the first public release of DiskStation Manager (DSM) 5.0, their latest NAS operating system for DiskStations and RackStations.  Check out the full PR and links below. “Designed with an entirely […]

ImperiHome have announced that the latest release of their Android Home Automation app now supports the Zipato Zipabox.  That’s on top of the support for other smart home systems like Vera, Netatmo, Zibase, Eco-Devices, Sony Smartwatch 2, IP CCTV, Fortrezz Leak sensors,and the IPX800. There’s support for voice recognition and NFC Tags, a chart module and an API too. […]

Logitech have just announced their new Harmony Keyboard. Aimed squarely at the living room, couch potatoes can rejoice as now there’s an easy way to search for shows, navigate menus and browse the Web on a PC or Mac connected to your TV or Internet-connected media devices, like an Apple TV, Roku, PS3 or Xbox. As with […]

Building on the success of their award winning Home Center 2, Polish smart home specialist Fibaro have today announced a brand new home automation controller, the Home Center Lite. The compact unit (90 x 90 x 33 mm) employs a 720MHz Cortex A8 processor and its on-board Z-Wave radio can manage up to 230 devices. The HC Lite ships with […]

The Honeywell evohome system is now officially on sale in the UK. The evohome controller, hot water and under floor heating kits are all available now (HR92 radiator zoning kits are available to pre-order today shipping in April).  The ’Connected Pack’, which includes the internet gateway, is priced from £249.  Honeywell tell us the iOS and Android apps are live […]

Myro Control have opened pre-orders for their new Myro:Air system after gaining Apple Certification for AirPlay and Made for iPod, iPhone and iPad. The Myro:Air is the first AirPlay receiver that employs a built-in Wolfson WM8741 Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC), allowing users to stream high-quality uncompressed audio from iTunes or an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch connected to your home’s Wi-Fi […]

On last nights episode of the BBC’s Dragon’s Den, business angel Piers Linney invested £50,000 in smart home company energyEGG. The energyEGG system relies on a battery powered sensor to determine when a room is unoccupied, turning off lights and appliances, which the company claims “typically saves 30% on the running costs”. Crucially the system […]

IOActive are reporting multiple vulnerabilities in Belkin’s WeMo range of Home Automation devices.  So far Belkin have been silent on the matter but CERT has now publishing its own advisory listing the security flaws. Is this an over-reaction to a one in a million chance of someone being able to hack your lights?  Or is it just the thin end […]

last weekend Automated Home reader Robin Edwards converted the boring old 20th century heating system in his holiday getaway to a shiny new smart home alternative, the Heatmiser Neo… We have holiday home and every time we go in winter we are confronted by a cold house which takes three to four hours to heat. The system […]

Danfoss have launched a new version of their Z-Wave Radiator Thermostat. The £60 LC13 TRV has upgraded firmware for improved network range and resolves an issue with Vera home automation controllers… Danfoss has released a new Z-Wave Radiator Thermostat (TRV) for 2014. The Danfoss LC-13 (014G0013) has all the features of the previous version but has updated firmware […]