First HomeKit-Compatible Products Launching Today, Led by Lutron, iHome, Elgato, Insteon and Ecobee

But if you consider
Spanky Deluxe said:
I wanted to post about how cool this new HomeKit stuff is and how I can't wait for the prices to drop so that it'll be reasonable to replace a whole house with HomeKit supporting plugs but instead all I could think when I saw the article was that the top socket looks like he's angrily doing something to a surprised lower socket:
ihomesmartplug.jpg
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But if you consider where the prongs are... Things gets interesting.
 
I have an ISY994i with over 60 devices. Universal Devices put a ton of work into getting all Insteon devices (various revisions, firmware, bugs/workarounds etc.) to work correctly and they even seem to know more about Insteon than Smarthome itself. ISY also supports Z-Wave with additional module.

I think that with Apple's Homekit, it is so average person can play with a few lights and connect with Siri and experience home automation. I am curious how larger more complex installations will work with these homekit controllers.
 
Goldfinger said:
Same here. I'm also concerned about the constant use of power. Not really sustainable. All those little devices that use small amounts of power 24/7. It adds up and uses resources and gives a limited amount of comfort in return.
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So right.

I'm afraid that HomeKit will find a niche audience, and that's it. It's simply not hard to turn on a light switch.
 
Benjamin Frost said:
It's simply not hard to turn on a light switch.
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Unless, like my son, you use a wheelchair to get around. With home automation and an Apple Watch he could raise the watch, say "Hey Siri, turn on the kitchen lights" or "Hey Siri, open the front door" (would require a hydraulic kit and an IR-to-Insteon device). Using the same technology the Insteon Hub could text me in the event of smoke, flooding, doors opening, or a motion sensor tripping.
 
Benjamin Frost said:
So right.

I'm afraid that HomeKit will find a niche audience, and that's it. It's simply not hard to turn on a light switch.
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Exactly. Although I can also see a shallow but wide audience for it because everyone has the smartphone already. And most everyone has a use for more conveniently controlling at least 1 light socket in the house plus it also would act as a security deterrent when out of town.
 
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imola.zhp said:
You do realize how ridiculous this statement is, right? I can't say that I'm not this lazy either but this seems like a crazy amount of money and what might be a headache when it doesn't work or when your iPhone is dead. What we have done at our house and now at my mother-in-laws house is set up ETek City RF switches and remote controls. If anyone cares, here is some on amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Programmable-Electrical-Converter-Appliances/dp/B00DQELHBS; you might search Amazon if interested as there are other sellers, I've bought a few on eBay too direct from Etek City and was able to "make offer" to save even more money. So at our house we each have a remote on each "side" of our bed to control all the lamps in our room and bathroom. In the living room we have another remote that controls the lights in the living room. At my mother-in-laws house, she has a similar setup except that when number 5 is pressed on her bedroom remote all of the lights that are connected (10 of them) in her house come on, her living room remote also controls her kitchen and breakfast room so in an instant, probably faster than telling Siri a command and waiting on Siri to decipher what you said if she isn't on break (I'm sorry, I cannot take any requests right now), she can turn on, or off, all of the lights in her house. Pretty cool setup.
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Well I can still turn the lights on and off manually and it doesn't disturb the app controls. I would just like to be able to tell siri to turn off all my stuff when I'm either too lazy or out of the house. That portion is more for the novelty, the bigger usage is cheap home automation of my lights. I have timers set for sunset and for when I wake up. It all worked out for me as I ended up with 8 Wink Bulbs 1 big hub and 2 GE Wink hubs for a total of like 50 bucks due to some F-ups on Quirky's end and they ended up giving me a boatload of credit to blow on bulbs/kits.
 
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zorinlynx said:
As geek-chic as it is to be able to control lights and such from your phone... Am I the only one who would rather just pick up a dedicated remote control with physical buttons?

Let's say I want to turn on the light. With a phone:

- Pick up phone.
- Unlock it.
- Open app.
- Find appropriate section of app to turn on/off the light
- Tap to turn it on or off.

With a dedicated remote:

- Pick up remote
- Without even looking at it, find the right button and hit it.

This sort of thing might be useful for controlling things when you're away from home, but I just can't fathom how this is better than a good old fashioned X10 remote with buttons on it. X10 also has controller modules that can give you control from your phone/computer in addition to the hard-buttoned remote, so you get the best of both worlds.
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That's true but Homekit has Siri... *HOLD DOWN HOME BUTTON; "Hey Siri, Turn off Bedroom Lights" and done. ;)
 
trip1ex said:
Exactly. Although I can also see a shallow but wide audience for it because everyone has the smartphone already. And most everyone has a use for more conveniently controlling at least 1 light socket in the house plus it also would act as a security deterrent when out of town.
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For me I have a great looking Box/Shelf lamp but the damn pull switch always gets stuck after you pull on it a few times and you need to reach into the box and "unstick" it. Makes it a lot easier just to turn it on with an app... or better yet with Siri. I also have that lamp on a timer at 4:30am so I don't walk into a dark living room when I wake up and go to the gym.
 
Benjamin Frost said:
It's simply not hard to turn on a light switch.
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That's exactly what I would have said too until a friend gave me a wifi enabled "iKettle" for Christmas a couple of years ago. I never would have bought it myself but my wife and I use it all the time. It's just more convenient and it feels like it saves us time standing around waiting for the kettle to boil when I could be spending that time typing up a reply to a forum post or walking down the stairs (I actually activated it a few moments ago).

My wife likes to have four eye level table lamps on in the lounge when we're in there instead of the big overhead lamp. Right now this means having to walk around to each one and turn them on/off manually and two of them have those silly switches that are on the cable so we have to pull it up from behind a cupboard each time to turn it on. We're talking mere seconds of time spent doing this stuff but if we had one button that could switch them all on/off at once, we'd use it. Incidentally, they're also the lights that we turn on when we're going out so that our house doesn't look empty so automating them when we're gone would be a plus.

Oh and there we go, perfect timing, my kettle has boiled so time for a cup of tea.
 
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Similar info contained within Lutron's HomeKit FAQ:

http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocumentLibrary/Apple_HomeKit_FAQ.pdf

If you are away from home and you tell Siri to do something, the message is sent via the Internet to an Apple TV® device in your home, which then sends the message over your Wi‐Fi network to your HomeKit accessory.


one_time_commenter said:
Interesting... . this little tidbit on the Elgato page.... "...Controlling HomeKit-enabled accessories away from home requires an Apple TV (3rd generation or later) with Apple TV software 7.0 or later and an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 8.1 or later."
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ericgtr12 said:
Actually, all of my Belkin devices can be handled in a single application without a hub. It seems like most devices are going this way now.
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That's because the hardware is built into the Belkin devices, the first case mentioned. Many bulbs like Hue and others are similar. The issue for most of those is that they are not HomeKit compatible in their native form. TO control those via homekit will likely require something else, and a hub of some sort is the way some are going.
 
Ed217 said:
That's because the hardware is built into the Belkin devices, the first case mentioned. Many bulbs like Hue and others are similar. The issue for most of those is that they are not HomeKit compatible in their native form. TO control those via homekit will likely require something else, and a hub of some sort is the way some are going.
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What would be ideal is if they were able to handle this with a protocol rather than hardware. Otherwise, this will always be an issue with being forced to buy compatible devices rather than adapting existing ones.
 
ericgtr12 said:
What would be ideal is if they were able to handle this with a protocol rather than hardware. Otherwise, this will always be an issue with being forced to buy compatible devices rather than adapting existing ones.
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I believe that Insteon will address this with their new Pro Hub, which does HomeKit. I believe (just a guess) that it will be compatible with all existing devices. That way all your switches do not need to be replaced and only a hub, that somewhat acts as a bridge between HomeKit and existing devices.

Time will tell if this is the case.
 
I noticed several posts about Liftmaster/Chamberlain.

Being in the marker for a swing gate opener, I wanted one that would eventually support HomeKit. So, I emailed Chamberlain and received this link and information:

http://liftmaster.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7829

Will your products work with HomeKit?

Yes, we are supporting Apple® HomeKit technology. With HomeKit, customers can monitor and control their MyQ Garage door opener using their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. As a secure platform, HomeKit and MyQ support access and control for multiple home devices from within one iPhone, iPad or iPod touch app.

When will MyQ Garage work with HomeKit?

We expect MyQ support for HomeKit to be available in the summer of this year.

******************

Note: a bit more information at the link
 
What about compatibility for the Phillips HUE lights that i purchased directly from apple over 2 years ago?? Of all things not to be included in the initial home kit compatible family......
 
How expensive will it be for us to turn a table lamp or a fan on/off?
Wait! Not for ceiling fans since they are usually wired into a wall switch.
 
i have the wink hub and a few casetta plug ins and a few in wall lutrons all through the wink hub. hopefully wink supports this and nest.
 
So this seems a low cost type "DIY" for the home, other than those traditional "Smart houses" that are are that are starting to pop up out of no-where by developments.

When i think DIY i always think "issues" for some reason.
 
Like many people, I've dipped my toes into the "Smart Home" waters, so far with some GE Link LEDs and a Wink hub. I purposely delayed making a large investment until it becomes clear what Apple's system is going to be capable of.

I have, however, determined that even the simplest Smart Home set ups bring about a whole host of complications. Like the fact that having to scrabble around for a phone or tablet every time I want to turn a light on or off is a hassle. Or that visitors and guests aren't equipped to control those items.

Then there is the "unintended consequences" issue. Setting "robots" to automatically turn this or that light on or off under various circumstances seems - inevitably - to cause more problems than it solves.

There is also the cost issue. I can rationalize the extra expense of LED lights (at $10 to $25 per bulb) in terms of energy savings. But replacing electrical outlets and switches with special ones costing $50 to $100 each gets expensive.

There is also the issue of sensors, where the costs vary quite widely.

I'm interested to see what Apple announces at the WWDC on Monday. I expect great things from Apple, and the possibility of using Siri, in conjunction with an AppleTV seems ripe with promise. But from my own experience, I can tell you that home automation is also rife with potential problems.
 
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