Best Robot Lawn Mowers

Best Robot Lawn Mowers

Robot lawn mowers are a convenient and efficient way to keep your lawn looking its best. With so many options on the market, it can be difficult to know which one is the best for your needs. Here are some of the top robot lawn mowers available today: No matter which robot lawn mower you…

Best Robot Vacuum

Best Robot Vacuum

Most people don’t know that the first automatic vacuum cleaner called Trilobite was already presented in 1997 by the swedish company Electrolux. And even Dyson, the market leader for vacuums, released their own robot in 2001. But in either cases the price or the time wasn’t right yet. It wasn’t until 2002 when iRobot shook up the technology world with the Roomba, a robotic vacuum that finally raised public awareness for this particular niche. The latter model also made it in our list of the best of the best…

Z-Wave

Z-Wave

Z-Wave was developed by a Danish startup called Zensys. It is a proprietary wireless communications protocol specifically designed for the needs of remote control applications and therefore all kinds of home automation devices.  While using a low-power wireless technology it supports the communication via a mesh structure which means that several Z-Wave devices also act…

Best Garage Door Opener

Best Garage Door Opener

The future is now and whether you’d like to upgrade your old garage door system to work with your smart home devices or install a completely new garage door controller, we’ve gathered the best smart garage door opener and controller options currently available on the market.

Best Motion Sensor Light Switches

Best Motion Sensor Light Switches

A Motion Sensor Light Switch is often also referred to as “Occupancy Light Switch” as well as “Vacancy Light Switch”. But there is a difference between the two. An Occupancy Light Switch automatically turns on the lights as soon as motion is detected in the sensor range and automatically turns the lights off when the motion is no longer detected in the range.

Best Z-Wave Controllers

Best Z-Wave Controllers

The market for Z-Wave controllers can be a bit overwhelming at first glance but we compiled a comprehensive list of the most suitable controllers for being the central component of a majority of home automation systems. We created a short review of every product to summarize the most important key points. We will also guide…

Best Zigbee Controllers

Best Zigbee Controllers

If you are into a smart home and automatisation, you wish to make all the devices work together. And that is where the ZigBee controllers enter the scene. Like a puzzle, you can put all your smart gadgets to work connected via the controller. For your convenience, we have chosen five best Zigbee controllers, and…

Best Z-Wave USB Stick

Best Z-Wave USB Stick

If you don’t know what home automation protocol to choose yet and want to dive deeper into the intricacies of orchestrating your home – buying a cheap Z-Wave USB adapter might be the perfect option for you. These sticks turn your ordinary pc into a fully customizable Z-Wave controller.

Best Smart Lights

Best Smart Lights

Smart lights are the easiest way to introduce smart appliances into the home. It is one of the lowest price and easy to install gadgets. On smart lighting solutions, you can learn, adjust and get used to smart home appliances and perhaps in the future broaden your home with other more complex smart appliances. We…

Best Smart Thermostat

Best Smart Thermostat

The days of relying on an inaccurate spin-dial thermostat are long over. Programmable thermostats have come a long way over the last decade, and one of the latest advancements is something known as a smart thermostat. While regular thermostats allow you to adjust and set the temperature in a room with a control panel or…

Best Smart Locks

Best Smart Locks

We’re through first half of the year, and by now we have a pretty clear idea of what are the best smart locks in 2018. Smart locks are predicted to be a fastest growing segment in the smart home devices industry in 2018. If we speak about customers, smart locks became popular among the broad…

Universal Powerline Bus

Universal Powerline Bus

Universal Powerline Bus or short UPB is a communication protocol developed for the needs of home automation. As the name suggests it uses the existing powerlines of homes for sending data. It was developed in 1999 by PCS Powerline Systems and was inspired by the already ubiquitous X10 protocol.

Best Home Security Devices

Best Home Security Devices

Security – that reassuring sense that everything’s okay. It enables us to fully appreciate life and live to our full potential. Modern technology offers some new tools for enhancing security, major protection that’s also a lot of fun. But fun doesn’t mean fickle. Here are a few choices of security gadgets that are seriously efficient…

X10

X10

As the oldest protocol on the market, X10 has built up quite some reputation over the last 30 years. X10 was originally designed for powerline communication only but through time the need for wireless communication emerged.

Z-Wave vs. Zigbee Breakdown – A Price Comparison

Z-Wave vs. Zigbee Breakdown – A Price Comparison

Z-Wave and Zigbee have many differences, but which one would end up costing you cheaper? Are Zigbee products cheaper than their Z-Wave counterparts? Let’s check with a detailed price comparison.  Recently, we’ve been doing some inventory and we found that our love for Z-Wave products is quite obvious. (Heck, it’s even right there in the…

Zigbee vs. Z-Wave

Zigbee vs. Z-Wave

Zigbee and Z-Wave are the two major protocols running for the spot of best wireless communication protocol for the smart home. Yet, does Zigbee manage to comply with all industry standards? Let’s discuss!  It’s obvious that here at BuildYourSmartHome.co we are quite the Z-Wave enthusiasts. However, if we are completely frank, our team doesn’t care…

The Crestron Home Automation System

The Crestron Home Automation System

Crestron made the Top Ten Review Award list for being a company whose high standards for running an automation system capable of supporting one of the largest networks operating today. Their system package also comes complete with their own professional installers that take care of every detail for you. Their professional installers ensure that every customer has complete device compatibility and that you the customer understands every function and ability that comes with the package you purchase.

The mControl v3 Home Automation System

The mControl v3 Home Automation System

Founded in 1998, the software development company Embedded Automation designed and developed a number of breakthrough technologies intended to help create a completely digital home. The firm operated as a division of the mHome product group of companies. It marketed its innovative line of products through an mHome Authorized Dealer Network in the United States for several years. In 2008, the company released a Digital Home Portal, a thin, wall-mounted touchscreen unified control panel designed as a console for interfacing various processes controlled within a digital home. The firm promoted its technologies and the mControl3 Home Automation System at the March, 2008 Electronic House Expo in Orlando, Florida.

ZigBee

ZigBee

ZigBee is a home automation protocol which was originally invented for the use in Personal Area Networks (PAN). Like Z-Wave it uses low power radio frequency communication which results in long battery lives for ZigBee using devices. The protocal is based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard and is widely considered as an alternative to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

A Z-Wave Interview with Dr. Christian Paetz – “It’s a no-brainier!”

A Z-Wave Interview with Dr. Christian Paetz – “It’s a no-brainier!”

Earlier this month we had the chance to talk with Z-Wave expert Dr. Christian Paetz. The author of two of the most prominent books about the wireless protocol, Z-Wave Basics: Remote Control in Smart Homes and Z-Wave Essentials, Dr. Paetz is also the primary representative of the Z-Wave alliance. Here’s what we asked him and what he had to share. 

Cheap Smart Home Tech and Where to Start on a Budget

Cheap Smart Home Tech and Where to Start on a Budget

When people think of smart home tech, they usually imagine an expensive luxurious home with equipment and appliances worth in the thousands. However, this is not always the case. Here are a few tips on how to get started with a smart home on a budget with this smart home guide on cheap smart home tech and where to start on a budget.

7 Most Creative and Curious IoT Projects for the Smart Home Featured Article Image
|

7 Extremely Curious and Creative IoT Projects for the Smart Home

With a huge number of do-it-yourself options available, anyone can start making their homes more intelligent with the help of a few simple interconnected IoT boards. While most people go for the more obvious smart home solutions, others create incredibly imaginative and sometimes downright weird IoT devices for the smart home. With that in mind, we’ve decided to gather a collection of 7 of the most extremely curious and creative IoT projects for the Smart Home. Without further adieu, here they are!

Smart Home Automation Solutions Productivity

Easy Home Automation Solutions to Increase Your Productivity

Ever since the dawn of man, humans have been trying to make their lives easier. Even the wheel, the first machines, and the first computers had the purpose of completing mundane tasks and increasing our productivity. This idea is also one of the driving factors behind the recent trend of Home Automation solutions. Some might…

Neato Vs Roomba

Neato Vs Roomba

Robotic Vacuums: Neato Robotics vs. iRobot Roomba Robotic vacuums continue to enjoy a great deal of popularity, with new models and more features being added every year. With so many brands and features available for purchase, it can take some time to navigate the information and specifications to determine which robotic vacuum is the best…

5 Favorite Home Automation Hacks with IFTTT

5 Favorite Home Automation Hacks with IFTTT

For those of you unfamiliar with IFTTT, it’s a program/website/app that allows you to connect different systems and create rules, or as they call them, “recipes”. IFTTT becomes especially awesome when you connect all of your smart home devices. Instead of waiting for your favorite brand to launch a version 2 or an update, you can just develop them yourself. The best part is that non-developers like me can do it. These are my 5 favorite home automation hacks with IFTTT. Actually, it should be called “My 4 favorite Hacks and 1 bonus Recipe for IFTTT” but that’s too long of a title.

KNX

KNX

KNX is an abbreviation for the word Konnex and describes a standardized protocol for building control and also has its place in traditional home automation. Its biggest advantage is the independence of any particular hardware platform which means that it could also be executed on an 8-bit microcontroller.

Insteon

Insteon

Insteon tries to combine the best of both worlds which means it supports powerline communication as well as radio frequency communication. Considering it only as a protocol would be an understatement. It is rather a complete technology stack which also consists of separate protocols for the two different types of communication.