Top 20 Automated Home Posts of the Year 2015

The end of another year as we close in on an important Automated Home milestone, but more on that soon.

Z-Wave really took off in 2015. More than a quarter of your favourite posts in this years top 20 have been on Z-Wave and that doesn’t count others that indirectly feature it (like SmartThings at number 16).

There’s some great new Z-Wave hardware these days, check out the Aeotec MultiSensor at number 18 (and watch out for our review of the unit coming soon).

Wearables piqued your interest too with our Apple Watch review making it to number 12.

It was great to have a female perspective on the smart home this year and you obviously enjoyed it too as the post from our forum member ‘Mavis’ made it to number 9.

A special mention goes to the review of the Honeywell evohome zoned heating control system which was published in December last year but would have been in the top 2 if eligible for this years list. As it was the updated WiFi version of the unit made it to number 13.

The interest in last years number 1 – HomeKit – continues, with the number 2 spot this time. Hardware has been slow to roll out but has finally started to appear in the last few months.

mat-smith-fleetwood-wall-controller

But with 2 places in the top 8 and the outright number 1 spot is Mat Smith and his amazing DIY Smart Home Control Panel that uses an Arduino along with OpenHAB and MQTT. We asked Mat for his thoughts and for an update on the project and he told us…

I’m thrilled to discover that something which has become a small obsession in my life is somewhat interesting to others! And I’m ever so thankful to Automate Home for picking-up on my project. The all-singing, all-dancing home automation wall controller was born out of frustration with the direction in which most IoT devices seem to be going. I hope to marry the good old-fashioned rotary dimmer switch with the very best of modern home automation. This fancy lightswitch is designed to hide a great deal of complexity, such as the ability to control your heating, monitor temperatures and alarms, locations of family members, audio control, etc., whilst not plunging your granny into darkness because it’s “all too complicated”. My ideal wall controller can be summed-up as “complexity in disguise” – a swish and simple looking lightswitch with hidden gems under the bonnet. There’s still a long way to go before this product is ready for market, but the prototype is working a treat and I hope someday it may be a fine addition to your home!

Congratulations to Mat and all the others featured in our top 20.

Here’s to a great 2016!

20. Popp Z-Weather is World’s First Solar Powered Wireless Z-Wave Weather Station

19. Oomi Launch Learning Home Automation System

18. Aeotec’s New Z-Wave MultiSensor 6

17. Goodbye Keys – Yale Launches ‘Smarter’ Z-Wave Lock

16. Samsung SmartThings Hub v2.0 Now Available in the UK

15. Belkin to Expand WeMo Ecosystem with New Smart Home Sensors

14. Popp Hub is Raspberry Pi Based Z-Wave Smart Home Gateway

13. Honeywell Reveal New Wi-Fi Version of evohome Smart Heating Controller

12. Apple Watch Review: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly After a Wearable Weekend

11. Heat Genius – Controlling Your Central Heating From Your TV

10. Qubino – The Smallest Z-Wave Modules in the World

09. My Automated Home: One Woman’s Journey into the Smart Home World

08. Watch This: Mat Smith’s DIY Arduino Home Automation Control Panel

07. Yale Launch ‘Keyfree Connected’ Z-Wave Smart Lock in UK

06. LightwaveRF Reveal Range of Coordinating Smart Home Accessories

05. Home Assistant – Open Source Python Home Automation Platform

04. Powerline Pro T1501 Mains Socket with WiFi, Ethernet & USB Charger

03. Umbrela Has You Covered For Retro Fit Home Automation

02. 5 HomeKit Compatible Devices to Start Your Home Automation System

01. Hack: DIY Arduino Smart Home Control Panel Uses OpenHAB & MQTT

Amazon Home Automation Store

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