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The Connected Home : Why it Hasn’t Happened Yet

Thursday, January 20, 2011

There was a lot of buzz around the “connected home” at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. So what is a connected home exactly? In many ways it is a lot like “home automation,” a buzzword from the past. It is quite literally connecting smart devices, lights, appliances and more in one’s home; linking them together and controlling them from centralized interfaces. This year there has been even more interest in the “sustainable connected home,” which means not only linking the home together, but powering it with renewable energy.

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Is having a connected home by the end of this year a realistic expectation? Read on to my Logitech article to find out!

Related posts:

  1. Best of CES : Thing-O-Matic by Makerbot!
  2. RUMOR: Apple Keynote Today – The Macbook Wheel
  3. Space Age Ants – NASA in Your Home

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Posted in Tech

About the Author

is a girl that's been playing video games since she came out of the womb. 22 years later I decided to share these pent-up opinions about the industry, games, my likes and dislikes and everything in between. I also dabble with Linux and make a vain attempt at helping others dabble as well. Actually, I just like the word 'dabble'.

  • http://впонедельникзаработает Геннадий

    Ого, у вас уже умные дома появляются! А у нас в провинции России гораздо интереснее. Про ваши умные дома уже давно сняли серию в Симпсонах, так что живите как мы в России, – 4 стены. З работающие комфорки. 2 табуретки на кухне и 1-ни долги. Мир вам, буржуйские братья! Всех люблю, и заходите ко мне на сайт в понедельник… не лучше во вторник. Со сроками всегда так! )))

  • http://www.webstudia43.ru Геннадий

    Поправочка, – мой e-mail autoexpert43@mail.ru

  • http://www.zareldyn.fr Zarel

    The economic factor is of course the main obstacle to this, but it’s regrettable that there are still many people who don’t care about the environmental impact of their energy consumption. Moreover, even with “easy technology”, when I see that a lot of people are struggling to connect their modem (without wanting to be mean…), in my opinion 2011 is not finally the year of “connected home”. Perhaps a few years later?
    Good article, and about what you have recently tweeted, I’m sure that videos about green tech would be interesting, and yes I would watch them :-)

  • http://www.homesystemintegration.com Tom Abell

    I think that this year actually does have a good chance at becoming the “Year the Connected Home really took off”. But I feel that we need to focus on something other than energy to make that happen. I feel that content is the key to the consumers hearts and if we can get our foot into the “connected home” via content, then we can easily get the energy portion through the open door! I speak about much of this in my writings on Home Toys (http://www.hometoys.com/ezine/10.12/abell03/index.htm) and my site Home System Integration (http://www.homesystemintegration.com/2011/01/content-not-energy-can-make-2011-the-year-of-the-connected-home/). Check it out, see if you agree!

    Thanks Nixie, you rock!

    Tom

  • http://dolphinaura.com Sandy D

    I think that its quite possible for “home automation”, so they call it to work already. Theirs already suppliers for the needed equipment (http://www.x10.com/homepage.htm), theirs been a developed standard for communication between the equipment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X10_%28industry_standard%29), however there are still a few issues that need to be worked out.

    For example, it has a limited range, so repeaters will have to be installed every so often. Simpler versions use something similar to powerline networking (where you use the power lines in your house as a network cable), but are prone to electrical interference/noise.

    Also comes the point of security. Imagine someone being able to stand outside your house, and hack your entire house to take control of it, and turn it against you.

  • Matt Hall

    That is why you secure your wireless first and run most automation via x-10 or some other hard line if possible. Personally I am starting into Home automation and connected house myself. I run a small server group (PE 2650′s because there cheap and easily upgradeable) with Linux to power the entire system. )
    I find that having one dedicated server works very well. IE Server A is the firewall/router/NAT. Server b runs Home automation like cameras etc. connected via either wired(preferably) or wireless (with crypto enabled) as a last resort.
    Much like Nixie I run ubuntu on my desktops and Red hat is my firewall/router etc. I tend to come at security with a bit of tinfoil hat syndrome so I secured my Red Hat system according to the NSA guide for RHEL. Haven’t had a security breach yet and many have tried.