Article "How Smart Is Your Home?" in USA Today's HOME magazine, Spring 2016, by Katherine Reynolds Lewis, about smart home products.

1. More products boost your home’s IQ and keep you connected
BY KATHERINE REYNOLDS LEWIS
HOW
SMART IS
YOUR
HOME?
robot lawnmower keeps your grass trimmed. The front door unlocks as
you come up the walkway. At your voice command, the oven preheats.
This scenario may sound like something from The Jetsons, but
increasingly, technologies that ease daily home management are
a reality. “The main idea for smart homes is that we’re building
intelligent living spaces that take care of us instead of the opposite,”
says Steve Koenig, senior director of market research for the
Consumer Technology Association.
THINKSTOCK
26 HOME | SPRING 2016
HOME15_MASTER_Front-33.indd 26 2/11/16 3:58 PM

2. Remote locking
and unlocking
capabilities
Temperature-
sensing and
adjusting
capabilities
Speaker/audio
capabilities
Light-adjusting
capabilities
Compatible
connection
Video-recording
capabilities
Energy-efficient
Wi-Fi connective
capabilities
Wi-Fi connective
Bluetooth
capabilities
Motion-detecting
capabilities
Microphone
capabilities
THINKSTOCK
27
HOME15_MASTER_Front-33.indd 27 2/11/16 3:58 PM

3. PHOTO:CNET.COM;ICONS:THINKSTOCK
WHAT IS A SMART HOME?
A smart home is part of the so-called
“Internet of Things” that innovators
have long imagined, a world in which
our inanimate objects — appliances,
heating and lighting systems, devices
and even vehicles — will self-operate
and communicate with each
other without the need for human
intermediaries.
This connected universe includes an
Amazon.com service that enables some
printers to order ink when they run
low and the Whirlpool washer/dryer
that communicates with the utility
company to start your laundry at the
most energy-efficient time of day. Many
devices have the capacity to learn your
personal habits and adjust accordingly,
such as the Nest motion-detector-
operated thermostat that heats up a
room when a person enters.
Manufacturers shipped 83 million
smart-home devices to U.S. customers
in 2015, according to estimates by BI
Intelligence, a New York-based research
service. BI expects that figure to grow
to 193 million devices in 2020. “It’s
growing steadily but slowly. We’re still
in very much the early stages of the
market,” says John Greenough, a BI
senior research analyst.
A survey by Icontrol Networks, a
software and product company that
provides solutions for the security
and connected home market, found
that 50 percent of the North American
population is likely to buy one
smart device in the next year, with
millennials ages 25-34 (79 percent) and
their parents (76 percent) the most
eager.
MYRIAD USES
Homeowners use smart products for
purposes that include security, safety,
heating and lighting, entertainment
and more effective use of appliances.
“We’re in a very exciting time for the
smart home.The sky is the limit, but
it can get very confusing very quickly
if you try to bite off too much,” says
Lindsey Turrentine, editor-in-chief of
CNET.com, a consumer technology
As with any other purchase, thoroughly research smart-home products before you buy. Ask
about one-time and ongoing support fees and “first week free” offers for data storage. Read
reviews and ask friends for recommendations. Understand whether the product will seamlessly
interact with any other smart devices — and whether you need it to.
Here are some of the leading products. (See key for icons on page 27.)
SMART
GADGETS
GALORE
This home in
Louisville is a
state-of-the-art lab
where CNET.com
tests smart-home
products. The
four-bedroom,
three-and-a-half-
bathroom home is
stocked with many
products the group
reviews, including
locks, thermostats
and lighting.
THINKSTOCK
HOW SMART IS
YOUR HOME?
28 HOME | SPRING 2016
HOME15_MASTER_Front-33.indd 28 2/11/16 3:58 PM

4. PHOTO:CNET.COM;ICONS:THINKSTOCK
PHOTOS:COURTESYOFTHECOMPANIES;ICONS:THINKSTOCK
u The Canary
indoor all-in-one-
home security
device includes an
HD 1080p camera,
wide-angle lens,
night vision and
motion detectors
and also moni-
tors your home’s
air quality and
temperature. $199,
amazon.com
u Nest Protect
is a hardwired
smoke and carbon
monoxide detector
that integrates with
other Nest devices
and provides voice
alerts when there’s
trouble. $99,
lowes.com
news and review site. “My advice to
people who are just getting started is
to choose the single most annoying
problem in your house that can be
solved with technology, and solve that
first.”
For instance,Turrentine often walks
to her front door with hands full and
her keys buried in her purse.The
solution: She installed an August Smart
lock that clicks open when it senses
her smartphone nearby.
Another example: the Nest
thermostat, which adapts to your
heating and cooling preferences works
with the self-adjusting Haiku fan that
remembers your desired settings to
balance the temperature in your house,
conserve energy and keep every room
at a comfortable temperature.
CONNECTION CHALLENGES
The downside to all this innovation:
Smart devices don’t always talk to one
another. With so many products on the
market, you could end up controlling
them with 20 different apps, rather
than a single hub.
“The biggest challenge is getting
products to work together,” says Leticia
Barr of TechSavvyMama.com, which
helps parents navigate technology with
reviews and advice.
You can solve that problem by
sticking to products guaranteed
to work within a given platform,
including home automation, security,
entertainment and lighting.Two of
the most developed platforms for
smart devices are Samsung’s Smart
Things and Google’s Nest, says
Turrentine. Apple is trying to catch
up with its HomeKit line, and Lowe’s
offers the Iris solution set for do-it-
yourselfers. Almost every major cable
and telecommunications provider is
now offering to install a smart-home
network for you. For instance, AT&T
wired CNET.com’s smart home — a
living laboratory in Louisville where
products are tested — with its Digital
Life service.
Even then, technology isn’t
flawless. In early January, a bug in a
u The Roost
Wi-Fi-enabled
9-volt battery can
be installed in any
smoke detector; it
triggers smartphone
alerts via a free
app when the
battery is running
low. $34.97,
homedepot.com
29
HOME15_MASTER_Front-33.indd 29 2/12/16 11:30 AM

5. 30 HOME | SPRING 2016
PHOTOS:COURTESYOFTHECOMPANIES;ICONS:THINKSTOCK
software update for the Nest learning
thermostat left an untold number
of homeowners without heat.The
company offered a nine-step solution
that involved charging the device with
a USB connection and restarting it. But
the situation highlighted a potential
pitfall in relying on technology.
“There are new networking
standards coming out that are able to
connect devices,” says Greenough. “If
you want it now, realize the downside
is that something better could come
along very quickly.”
BEFORE YOU BUY
You have two choices when looking
at smart-home products: buying a
one-off device that performs a specific
function; or purchasing a larger
network of products that is installed
and supported by a major company.
You might buy a single device if
you want to test the waters without
committing to a large investment for
a system or to the possible monthly
subscription fees.
“It’s still very early days in smart
home,”Turrentine notes. “It’s possible
that the technology you buy will
become obsolete very quickly.”
Before buying, make sure you
understand which platforms are
compatible with the product or
product you are purchasing. Investigate
whether there is any ongoing service
fee in addition to the up-front purchase
price. For instance, a security camera
that you think is a one-time purchase
may turn out to require a monthly fee
for accessing video recordings. Ask
friends for recommendations, and
be sure you buy from a vendor that
accepts returns if the product doesn’t
work for you.
Be realistic about how tech-savvy
you are when deciding whether to
install something yourself or leaving
it to a contractor or service provider.
Understand your motivations for
getting into smart products. Is it
u The Piper
NV is a self-
contained video
security system
with a camera,
microphone,
speaker, motion
and temperature
detectors. $279,
walmart.com
u With an outdoor
HD camera tucked
inside an LED
floodlight, Snap
also provides
motion detection
and two-way voice
communications.
$149, sengled.com
u The Nest Cam
offers remote
indoor home
monitoring with
video, audio and
zoom features.
$199.99, nest.com
u The August
Smart Lock offers
electronic key entry
and automatic
unlocking as well
as remote locking
via Wi-Fi. $199,
august.com
A survey by Icontrol Networks found that 50 percent of the
North American population is likely to buy one connected device
in the next year, with millennials ages 25-34 the most eager.
HOW SMART IS
YOUR HOME?
HOME15_MASTER_Front-33.indd 30 2/11/16 3:58 PM

6. 32 HOME | SPRING 2016
PHOTOS:COURTESYOFTHECOMPANIES;ICONS:THINKSTOCK
u The third-
generation Nest
Learning Thermostat
adapts to your
heating and cooling
preferences and can
integrate with other
appliances and your
utility company to
maximize energy
efficiency. $249,
nest.com
u The Ecobee
smart thermostat
senses whether
you’re home — or
what room you’re
in — and adjusts
the temperature
accordingly. $249,
ecobee.com
peace of mind — do you worry about
whether you turned off the coffee
maker or if the kids and pets are safe
at home? Or is it convenience — do
you want smart light bulbs that turn on
when you enter a room or give a voice
command?
Greenough likes Amazon.com’s Echo
hub, which uses voice recognition with
its digital persona named Alexa to
control lights or music or even close a
garage door.
“It has news briefings.You can
connect it to your smart home devices,
so you can say, ‘Hey, Alexa, turn off my
lights,’” he explains.
For Barr, the SkyBell — a smart
doorbell with an embedded camera
— gives her peace of mind. She gets a
notification on her phone whenever
someone rings the doorbell, and she
can pull up a live video feed and speak
to whomever is calling. Once, when
her family was visiting Rome, she got
a notification that UPS had a package
that required a signature. She was
able to speak to the UPS delivery man
standing at her front door.
“I was able to get immediate
reassurance it was going to go back to
the UPS facility and we had 30 days to
pick up,” she recalls. “It doesn’t matter
if you’re at the grocery store or on a
tropical island.”
CONNECTED U.S. HOMES ARE
MOST LIKELY TO HAVE:
Thermostat
Remote security video
Security lock
Lighting system
u The Philips
Hue starter kit
comes with
color-changing
LED bulbs that
can be controlled
via your iPhone,
as well as
programmed to
create specified
lighting schemes.
$199.99,
bestbuy.com
Many major U.S. manufacturers are getting interested in
smart-home solutions including AT&T, Apple, Samsung,
Comcast and Xfinity Home, ADT, Google and Amazon.com.
7.1%
5.3%
4.2%
3.5%
2.1%
SOURCE: MCKINSEY & CO.
Smoke or carbon monoxide detector
HOW SMART IS
YOUR HOME?
u The Philips
Hue starter kit
HOME15_MASTER_Front-33.indd 32 2/11/16 3:59 PM