Home configuration may be more important than automation

By Dennis Clemente

NEW YORK–Asking if you really need to know the number of your eggs on your fridge is perhaps the best way to determine how much automation you need for your home. It determines if you need Canary, Hggns, Keen Home or Smart Things, the presenters at the IoT Central meetup last June 17 at R/GA Accelerator’s offices near Port Authority.

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For Chris Rill, the founder and CEO of Canary, home automation to him just had to be about security. The idea came to him in 2010 when he came home one night only to find out that his apartment was robbed. He launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund his idea – and the rest, as they say, is history.

“Our approach is one device,” he said while also glancing at the thermos-like figure beside him, the Canary which also tells temperature and air quality now.

When you have Canary at home, it gives you a bird’s eye view of your home, sending you push notifications to your mobile device.

Hggns presented next, probing how configuration may be more important than automation. Configuration is said to be more helpful and familiar whereas automation is complicated, confusing and scary. It tells stories around its push notification.

Keen Home’s Smart Vent takes care of your vents, allowing you to control your home temperature system. If the distribution of air temperature in your home is a concern, it may just be the gadget for you.

Rounding up all the home automation tools, SmartThings works only if you get its hub and sensor kits and you control it with your mobile device. Once you’ve set it up, you’ll be able turn the lights on, open doors and make it work with your other home gadgets.

With these IoTs, it’s to be expected how they overlap in some functions with other similar products. It’s up to you to know what suits you best. Wink was not a presenter, but it has gained some headway because it is sold now in some hardware stories.