Here's another inexpensive way to dabble in Home Automation.  With this Bye Bye Standby (Domia) PIR you get a wireless motion sensor for just £15.00 - Amaze your friends as your appliances turn on or off as you move around your home...

We thought 2008 would turn out to be the year that Z-Wave finally hit a critical mass in Europe.  But we're well into the 2nd quarter and modules are still thin on the ground here in the UK at least.  It's getting really old reading more and more press releases on new products without actually seeing anything available, but here's another one anyway.  One day we might actually be able to buy some of this stuff...

We're big fans of Sonos and it's one of the very few items we've given our "Top Tech" award to - see our Long Term review.  So we're always excited when we hear some Sonos news and recently rumours are abound of new ZonePlayers incorporating 802.11n technology...

We've heard from Custom Solutions that their hightly regarded HomeVision Home Automation controller is available at a very special offer price from now until the end of May -

"We currently have an excess supply of HomeVision units in stock and would like to reduce it.  We’re offering two special deals through May: Offer 1 We will sell a complete HomeVision package for just $295, approximately half of the typical street price.  Offer 2 We will sell a spare HomeVision board to current owners for just $140, 30% less than the usual $200 price for a spare board UPDATE (UK purchasers checkout the notes below)...

Ever wished your sprinkler system was more intelligent (or ever wished you lived somewhere nice enough to NEED a sprinkler system). The Cyber Rain is an 8-zone unit that's more intelligent than your average irrigation system.  Utilising the power of a PC and local weather data it adjusts your schedules and the amount of water used depending on the prevailing conditions...

Automated Home reader and gadget junkie Quinten Uijldert has just rebuilt his Node Zero (thats his wiring cupboard for the uninitiated).  Check out his article on building a budget custom DIY rack for all his gear...

We talked to Dave Robinson from Sensible Heat at the Smart Home Show and he introduced us to their new WebManager system. The fine details are still under wraps but we've obtained this photo of the PC based unit that runs Linux....

After last weeks announcement of the new C-Bus black and white touchscreen, we were keen to talk to Schneider Electric at the smart home show over the weekend.  It seems Clipsal aren't resting on their laurels as we have details on a raft of more new products including two thermostats, a blind relay as well as some details on products that are a little further out... 

We've just got back from the Smart Home Show and while we can't say it was a big show, there was still some interesting stuff there.  We were lucky enough to be accompanied by a proper film crew this year so we have five interviews coming up in the next few weeks that we filmed at the show.  In the meantime here's a quick video (edited and uploaded within 2 hours of leaving the NEC - gotta love iMovie08!) of some of the sights round this years exhibition...

A new group of companies including Siemens, Honeywell and Osram has recently announced an alliance which plans to develop and market a large range of interoperable products targeting at home automation applications...