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Commercial Building Automation Market to Top $43 billion by 2018
Submitted on 05/01/13, 03:44 PM | Click Here for the full article: ABI Research
Commercial Building Automation Market to Top $43 billion by 2018
After years of steady but low growth the commercial building automation systems (BAS) market is experiencing a rapid period of change and investment. Traditionally, growth and adoption has been closely tied to new building completion but new entrants and new connectivity are driving greater investment. Over the next five years the building automation services market will grow to $43 billion, up from $35 billion this year.
Two key factors are driving a new round of growth. Greater environmental and financial demands have raised the appeal of reducing energy consumption in commercial buildings and the benefits for optimizing building automation systems. In addition, a new level of connectivity that stretches the reach of BAS's from new sensors and actuators through to cloud application management and data analysis.
"This is a market long dominated by a handful of major players who deploy and manage commercial building management systems," says Jonathan Collins, principal analyst at ABI Research. "Now these players are developing new ways to integrate and compete with a host of new service offerings."
Just stick this portable outlet to your window to start using solar power
Submitted on 04/30/13, 03:46 PM | Click Here for the full article: Grist.org
Just stick this portable outlet to your window to start using solar power
It’s a portable socket that gets its power from the sun rather than the grid. You plug into a window instead of into the wall. It’s easy.
That was the whole point, according to the designers, Kyohu Song and Boa Oh: “We tried to design a portable socket, so that users can use it intuitively without special training,” they write.
It is really simple. The portable socket attaches to a window like a leech to human skin. On its underside, it has solar panels:
The solar panels suck energy from the sun. The charger converts that energy into electricity. You plug in to the charger.
Even better, the charger stores that energy. After five to eight hours of charging, the socket provides 10 hours of use. You can pop it off the window, stick it in your bag, and use it to charge up your phone with solar energy, even if you’re sitting in a dark room.
Sony Unveils 2013 Home Audio Product Line
Submitted on 04/29/13, 06:31 AM | Click Here for the full article: PR Newswire
Sony Unveils 2013 Home Audio Product Line
At a special listening and audition event today, Sony Electronics introduced its 2013 Home Audio product lineup, highlighting the STR-DN1040 Audio/Video Receiver and the HT-CT660 Soundbar. Available in June, both products boast of Sony's legendary commitment to quality sound, and are packed with connectivity and accessibility features. Both the STR-DN1040 receiver, priced at $599, and the HT-CT660 soundbar, priced at $399, will be available at Sony Stores and http://store.sony.com, as well as retailers nationwide.
"Our rich audio legacy leads consumers to expect continued innovation and performance from Sony audio products," said Neal Manowitz , director of Sony Electronics' Home Audio group. "The newest AV receiver in our line has the simplest, most user-friendly interface, which when combined with a world first and only AVR feature set of built-in Wi-Fi, AirPlay and Bluetooth connectivity, raises the bar with respect to usability, and does so with knockout sound performance. Likewise, the new soundbar extends the Sony line and brings theater-like, high-definition sound to any room in the house, with Bluetooth ease and convenience."
AT&T Enters the World of Home Automation
Submitted on 04/26/13, 05:40 AM | Click Here for the full article: Mashable
AT&T Enters the World of Home Automation
The company is entering the home automation space — launching its Digital Life initiative in 15 markets beginning Friday. Kevin Peterson, senior vice president of AT&T Digital Life says the IP-based system will make customers' lives easier by simplifying home management — allowing for customizable features accessible from any PC or mobile device.
The idea, which has been under development for over a year now, is for AT&T to offer pre-packaged bundles and monitoring of your home automation. The company wants to create that system for you by letting you shop for what you want — either online or in a retail location — and offering certified specialists to install the sensors and equipment.
There are different packages to choose from, depending on your needs. A camera package, for instance, will let you view video from inside or outside your home. The energy package controls your thermostat and lights while a water-detection package can check for water in your basement and alert you or turn it off.
Open Home Control: New home automation hardware project
Submitted on 04/24/13, 06:27 AM | Click Here for the full article: H-Online
Open Home Control: New home automation hardware project
Many open source home automation projects have relied on driving proprietary devices, but the newly created Open Home Control project aims to change that by creating a framework for hardware devices that can be integrated with open sourced home automation platforms such as the respected openHAB software.
The home automation system will provide a framework for creating a large network of different devices that offer AES-256 data encryption and can resend data packets when transmission is disrupted. Devices in the network will use Atmel microcontrollers such as the ATMega168 in combination with HopeRF wireless transceivers on 868MHz. Firmware for the system is developed in C and compiled with the GCC compiler. WinAVR is the chosen development environment, although compiling under Linux also appears to be possible. Design guidelines on the site give further information about the hardware and firmware.
The project is still young, but a handful devices are already available: a base station to act as a master control for the OHC network, a temperature and humidity sensor, a remotely switchable power socket, and a dimmer designed to work with specialised Osram fluorescent tube power supplies. The number of available devices is set to increase along with the growing community of contributors the project hopes to attract.
The project's software is available from its GitHub repository and is licensed under the GPLv3. Hardware and schematics are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 (CC BY-SA 3.0) licence.
Life Gets Easier With Zonoff’s Cutting-Edge Home Automation Technology
Submitted on 04/22/13, 06:10 AM | Click Here for the full article: Pursuitist
Life Gets Easier With Zonoff’s Cutting-Edge Home Automation Technology
With only 18 employees, Zonoff, a Malvern-based startup (Pennsylvania) managed to raise $3.8 million to continue the development of their comprehensive software that helps you, the consumer, control your home electronic systems, with a single app installed on your iPhone or iPad. Basically, Zonoff provides a simple solution in terms of home connectivity, suggesting that their service – a platform which includes a home, cloud and an app software is enough to control electronic devices wirelessly and make them communicate one with another.
The home software: This is the core of Zonoff’s advanced technology, being able to turn any “always-on” device into a home controller. That means that a simple electronic item, like your Blu-ray player for instance, becomes a smart one…and therefore, understands your commands.
The cloud software: We’re already used to cloud solutions, so this is not a new approach, but definitely an indispensable one. The cloud software “enables remote access and device management”. The idea was to give the costumers the possibility to interact with their homes, away from home.
The app software: It runs on smartphones and other mobile devices. With an user-friendly interface, the app allows you to set the clock alarm, turn on the lights and so on, changing once and forever the way we interact with our homes.
The cutting-edge home automation technology was first introduced to the public in January, during CES 2013.
CEA’s 11th Annual ‘State of the Builder’ Study Finds Strong, Stable Market for Installed Home Technologies
Submitted on 04/18/13, 02:35 PM | Click Here for the full article: CEA via HomeToys newspage
The overall growth of the home technology market remained consistent from 2011 to 2012, demonstrating home technology has a strong, stable foothold, according to new findings in the 11th Annual State of the Builder Technology Market Study released today by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®.
Technology installations in new homes reached or exceeded 2008 levels, providing more evidence that the market for built-in home technologies is well on the road to recovery. Structured wiring remains the most common installed technology (70 percent), followed by monitored security (44 percent) and home theater pre-wire systems (27 percent).
“These installed technology trends signify that some home technologies have made the transition from luxuries to standard options,” said Chris Ely, senior manager of industry analysis, CEA.
Home technologies have become valuable marketing tools for new homes. Builders say they continue to find that marketing these technologies is important; close to half of builders surveyed (49 percent) said they find it much more or somewhat more important to market these technologies today.
Logitech unveils Harmony Ultimate and Smart Control universal remote
Submitted on 04/16/13, 03:34 PM | Click Here for the full article: EnGadget
Logitech unveils Harmony Ultimate and Smart Control universal remote
Coming soon are two fresh bundles bearing the Harmony name: the Ultimate and Smart Control. At the heart of both is the Smart Hub, a palm-sized box somewhat similar to the Harmony Link. It receives commands from remotes via RF, or from smartphone apps via WiFi, and in turn, broadcasts its own orders to your A/V setup using IR and Bluetooth. It's especially useful for those wanting to hide their kit away in cabinets, as it translates inputs into IR signals that'll bounce around those secluded spaces. Optional extender nodes will also pipe IR into other nearby recesses.
To do that though, the Hub needs instructions, which is where remotes and apps come in. The new Ultimate remote (aka the Touch Plus) is last year's Touch remote with a few refinements, including the addition of a trigger-like nub on the underside to improve grip. It uses IR, Bluetooth or RF (to the Hub) to control up to 15 devices, and is programmed using Logitech's software for PCs that pulls settings from a database of 225,000 home entertainment products. The Ultimate's 2.4-inch touchscreen serves as a number pad, a favorite channel list for easy hopping, and is the home of one-touch "activities," which are basically macros for issuing multiple commands. Set up an activity for "Play Xbox," for example, and in one touch it'll turn on your console, switch your TV to the correct source, select the right channel on your amp, and so on. It'll even tell Philips' connected Hue lightbulbs to set a mood. Jump on past the break for more.
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