Home automation allows you to monitor and control devices and appliances in your home remotely. Connected products like smart lights, thermostats, security cameras, locks, and more can be programmed to turn on/off automatically or controlled manually from anywhere.
Home automation systems communicate through wireless protocols like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee or are hardwired into a home’s electrical system. Cloud services and digital assistants enable voice control.
We test and review the latest smart home and automation products to help build your connected dream home. See our home automation buying guides, news, deals, product comparisons, and advice to add convenience, security, and savings.
SwitchBot made a name for itself with the SwitchBot Bot, which is an affordable smart button pressor. It is a simple yet innovative way to make dumb electronics smart. A few other random brands have tried to rip off the ideal, but no one has competed with SwitchBot for this clever little device. I have…
I recently reviewed the massive 25L HYSapientia Air Fryer, and it was the first time I have used one of these front-loading tray-style air fryers. They are basically just miniature fan-assisted overs. It is a design that I am fond of as it makes it easier to cook larger amounts of food and multiple items…
Aqara are one of the first companies to begin the rollout of the new Matter royalty-free home automation standard. Matter is a new connectivity standard for IoT devices to enable a wide variety of smart home accessories to work together across brands and ecosystems. Via an M2 hub with this new firmware, the Aqara Zigbee…
Welcome to the world of smart home technology! With the advancements made in recent years, transforming your home into an intelligent abode is easier than ever. Smart homes are no longer just a futuristic dream—they’re now accessible to almost everyone. From controlling lights and thermostats with voice commands to automatically locking doors when you leave,…
The Tapo L930-5 was launched in the middle of 2022, and it is the first product to launch from them that can be integrated with Apple HomeKit. Tapo L930-5 vs L920-5 vs L900-5 I have previously reviewed the affordable Tapo L900-5, which uses an RGB chip that only allows a single colour to be used…
A quick update on the 11/01/23, Boundary Technologies has had a new companies house filing confirming that there has been an appointment of a provisional liquidator in a winding-up by the court. Boundary Technologies is in liquidation It appears that Boundary Technologies may be in liquidation. This information is not 100% confirmed yet. A commenter…
Following on from my comparison between Wiz, Tapo and Philips Hue. Wiz was recently kind enough to send me some samples to test out. This included: WiZ Luminaire Mobile Portable Light Wiz 18.5W LED (150W equivalent) E27 Wiz 8W B22 It would seem that I don’t have any lights with the bayonet-style fitting, so I…
Switchbot is branching out from their smart home curtain robot to include a new smart blinds controller. Unlike the Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1, the new SwitchBot Blind Tilt is designed for horizontal blinds. There are not many competing options on the market. SOMA has been a popular option for both roller blinds and horizontal…
I have recently expanded my range of Philips Hue smart lighting in my TV room with the Gradient Lightstrip and Gradient Signe Floor Lamp. The one missing piece to the system has been the HDMI sync box which allows me to synchronise anything on the TV with my lighting. Specifications 4 x HDMI In HDMI:…
WiZ is a smart lighting brand I haven’t paid much attention to in the past. They are owned by Signify, who also owns the Philips Hue brand, and WiZ appears to be positioned as a more affordable alternative to Philips Hue. A good example of this is a pair of warm white GU10 spotlights from…
Following on from my previous Insteon posts about setting up Home Assistant Windows Portable (HassWP) and cheap PCs to run as a server for Docker/Insteon. This post is a guide for anyone wanting to get Home Assistant Windows Portable working on a PC running Windows Home. In my HassWP original post, I installed Home Assistant…
Yesterday, I reported that Insteon has gone out of business and shut down all their cloud services with no notice. The Insteon app uses the Insteon servers to process the requests from the app, effectively making it useless. Things like schedules are stored on the hub, so these will continue to be processed. However, not…
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