The 21st century has brought us some incredible pieces of technology. From smartphones to smart TVs, our lives are filled to the brim with gear and gadgets that make our lives easier, more efficient and often more enjoyable. Of course, there is a price to pay for the new world we live in. Are you concerned about smart devices spying on you? Read more
Although the age of your boiler is not the main factor in determining whether it’s time to replace it, it may be useful to be able to date the installation. Imagine you move into a property that has got an old boiler installed and you have no idea when it was installed. Read more
You don’t often find “Walmart” and “cool” written in the same sentence, however, this time around Walmart has done something really cool. They’ve teamed up with smart home lock system August to disrupt the home delivery industry.
Amazon already tried it a while back by announcing Amazon Prime Air – a 30 minute delivery service using drones. Although they launched a trial here in the UK, the concept may take a few years to be introduced widely. It’s more of a “pie in the sky” idea, no pun intended. Mainly due to the potential of abuse such drone delivery service is open to. Read more
Today, smart home is already an industry of a considerable size and it is on a brink of a major expansion. We’ve tried to incorporate the most important smart home facts in an infographic, and here’s what we came up with. A couple of years ago the cumulative revenue of home automation products and services reached $20 billion per annum. It’s set to hit $59 billion by 2020, however, as it is with everything, we can only judge the true amount of something through comparison. Read more
With the indian summer spoiling us this autumn, many people are reluctant to let wintry thoughts inside their minds, however this might be the best time to think about replacing your boiler to ensure a worry-free onset of colder weather. We don’t usually notice our boiler as it sits hidden away in a cupboard. Except for when it breaks down. It’s a difficult call to make – whether to replace your old boiler this season or live with your fingers crossed praying it will last until the next season. Read more
Currently, one of the main limitations of developing gadgets and sensors for smart home is the fact that they’re hungry for energy and are completely reliant on an external energy source. This explains why all sensors available to the retail market today are so big and clunky. Read more
Rooftop solar panels are a great way to top up your electricity balance, however, you’re unlikely to be able to go off-grid just on the account of photovoltaics. Unless, of course, you have a very big roof that is positioned towards the South. Read more
It’s no secret to any budding smart home enthusiast that a successful home automation system is fully dependant upon good quality sensors. Without being able to detect the amount of light, temperature or motion, it’s impossible to create devices that would provide sufficient response to external factors. Read more
We’ve been watching LG’s journey within the IoT technology advancements for a while. They have already confirmed they would offer a range of Google Home compatible devices including fridges, ovens, air quality management devices, washing machines and even robotic hoovers. However, it seems they have much more than that up their sleeve. Read more
If you look at the advertising efforts of the big brands of smart thermostats, you will have noticed that the main USP of their smart gadgets is that they help you save energy. Yet the question is, do we really know how average people are using their smart thermostats and does the industry use this data to improve the future editions of thermostats and to model energy use with an aim of reducing the consumption even further? Read more