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
The Best Value Way to Start Your HomeKit Smart Home Setup
This Philips Hue kit currently costs £59.99 for 2 x Hue White LED bulbs plus the new v2 hub that supports Apple HomeKit. As the hub is…
Ikea ‘NITTIO’ Bulbs Give Cool Edison Filament Look with 1.8w LED Efficiency
Wandering around the Ikea lighting department at the weekend I found these cool looking Edison style “NITTIO” bulbs. They cost £10 for the 12 cms polycarbonate globe,…
New HomeKit App ‘Devices’ is Free for Limited Time
Earlier this week we showed you how to add HomeKit control to your SmartThings setup. Now here’s a timely app launch that gives you another option…
Video: Latest Loxone App Adds New Room Mode
Loxone’s latest app update brings a new ‘Room Mode’ which has been designed to give an at a glance overview of the important information and functions…
Useful Gadget of the Week: Aeon Labs Aeotec Z-Wave Range Extender
Part of the attraction of the Z-Wave system is its ‘Mesh Network’ capability. Each wireless device can act like a little repeater, receiving packets not meant…
SmartThings + Raspberry Pi & Homebridge = Siri HomeKit Controlled Smart Home
Here’s everything you need to get Siri controlling your Samsung SmartThings, Philips Hue lighting and Sonos using a Raspberry Pi running Homebridge. Automated Home reader (and media producer) Paul Gale takes…
Review: Inateck BH1000 – Value Bluetooth Headphones for an Active Lifestyle
Earlier this year I confessed my headphone fetish as I moved to wireless Bluetooth. There’s no underestimating the freedom from wires that Bluetooth brings so…
Homebridge Links Legacy Home Automation Devices to Apple HomeKit
[UPDATE – Read our HomeBridge tutorial for a guide on how to set it up with SmartThings and Siri] As companies decide wether or not to…
New In-Wall Bluetooth Amp Frees Music from Mobile Devices
Keene have launched an updated version of their neat in-wall Bluetooth amplifier. The unit fits into a standard UK two gang wall box and provides…
Will Services Like Apple Music Ultimately Fail because of Greedy Artists?
Will music subscription services eventually lose their appeal because of greedy artists? Yes I’m looking at you Adele. Adele decided to maximise the profits from the launch…
Monkey Business Turns Your Intercom into a Smart Access System
Locumi Labs is nearing the end of its Kickstarter campaign for monkey, a new product which they describe as the ‘world’s first smart lock for main entrance doors’….
At Last: New Z-Wave DIN Rail Dimmer from Qubino
If you’ve been looking for a Z-Wave dimmer in a DIN Rail mountable format (perhaps to upgrade from X10 dimmers) you’ve pretty much been out of…
Loxone’s Take On Our Smart Home Future
Wandering around our local Curry’s the other day, a big box electrical retailer in the UK, I was interested to see an entire aisle now given…
UK Gets 3rd Gen Nest Thermostat with Hot Water Control
The 3rd generation Nest Learning Thermostat is now available to order in the UK, France, Netherlands, Belgium and Republic of Ireland. In addition to its new…
My Tech Misery: Supporting the Reboot Generation
I used to quite like being the guy people asked about tech. Over the last few years though it’s become a real pain in the ass….
New LightwaveRF Smart Home App Brings New Features Improved Performance
UK Smart Home specialists LightwaveRF are launching a new app along with their new website. The new app allows you to control multiple sites, not…
[Sponsor] Yale Keyfree & Keyless Connected Smart Locks – Full Review
At Vesternet we’ve never been a fan of automated locks – they’ve either been absolute monstrosities that even the most ardent of DIY’ers would struggle…
panStamp Wireless Smart Home CO2 Meter
Here’s a new wireless CO2 meter for the smart home from panStamp. Everything in the panStamp ecosystem is open source, including hardware designs, libraries and software tools. CO2-meter…
Video: Flyte the Levitating Wireless LED Light Bulb
More ‘art’ than automation, FLYTE is a light bulb powered through the air via induction, levitating on a magnetic field. Designed in Sweden, the FLYTE base…