Centralite Systems Inc., a manufacturer of reliable, wirelessly connected devices based on the Zigbee home automation platform, announced that its 3-Series Micro Motion Sensor and Micro Door Sensor have been certified to work with Echo Plus, Amazon’s popular voice assistant. 

Home8, a provider of video-verified connected devices for safety, security, and home automation, has agreed to provide Marantec America with Home8’s popular Video-Verified ActionView garage door control relay system as a complement to Marantec’s flagship line of garage door openers. 

Nortek Security & Control’s two new intelligent and interactive ELAN touch panels leverage face recognition and voice control to deliver more personalization options than ever for controlling the connected smart home.

The word smart has been partnered with high-tech for many decades. I remember Inspector Gadget and his handy Swiss Army-like devices. Or what about The Jetsons and their time-saving contraptions to help them get dressed? And the old TV show, Get Smart, with a wireless phone in the bottom of a shoe? And of course, the smart home.

Legrand North and Central America announced the creation of its new Residential Custom Integration business to support custom integrators in the home technology space.

Legrand announced that its On-Q Digital Audio System has been integrated with Alarm.com. Alarm.com service providers now have the opportunity to create new revenue streams with an affordable multi-source, multi-zone audio system.

Often you hear the terms connected home and smart home used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. At least not yet. What is the difference between the smart home and the connected home today? The degree of “connectivity.”

To tweak a line from a famous Frank Sinatra song: 2017, it was a very good year. It was a very good year for connected homes, that is. Massive amounts of advertising from big players inside and outside the security space, a rapidly advancing technology landscape, and an avid interest from homeowners at all economic levels led to a connected home space that is growing by leaps and bounds.

The Z-Wave Alliance, an open consortium of global companies deploying Z-Wave, recently announced a new program with IoT services provider PlumChoice, to deliver an exclusive level of support options for Alliance members.