The recently launched iPad is being touted as a revolution, and in many ways it is, but the real revolution already arrived with its predecessor: the iPhone.
The little pocket-sized tablet that does everything, as it serves as both a toy and a tool with its multiple apps, seems to be able to address every whim of its owner. The manufacturers of custom home control systems were quick to see the potential of the iPhone as a user interface for their systems and they developed compatible software and hardware.
The home automation companies such as: Crestron, Colorado V-net, Control 4 and others, offer interactive apps for iPhones in order to control every aspect of the home that the system does.
If you’re at home you pull out your iPhone to dim the lights and browse through movies on your video server. If you’re away you use it to check the temperature, what lights are on, whether the drapes are open or closed, and you have the ability to adjust them if you desire. When you come home you can drop your iPod in the dock and use your iPhone to browse and play it through any room in the house.
It provides a handy alternative to the system’s touchscreens. They’re larger, sitting on a table or flush on the wall, and they are still a valuable aspect of any home system.
The ability to completely customize the touchscreens is part of the appeal of a whole house system. The preferred menu pages of each family member can be accessed by touching them in a group photo, for example. They are capable of much more visual feedback and control customization than the iPhone can be, mainly because they’re bigger.
But now that the iPad is here, that advantage is less significant. In most systems the touchscreens are augmented by hand-held remote controls. Using an iPhone or iPad instead is just that much more convenient.
Even the low cost alternative to the hard-wired home automation system, the X-10 system based on plug-in modules, can now be controlled by your iPhone. A company called Indigo markets an app that interfaces with X-10’s software, ActiveHome. It means that for just a few hundred dollars, someone can enjoy home automation with full touchscreen control for a fraction of the cost of the large hard-wired systems.
Homes without automation systems still have a pile of visual and sound electronics. With the new apps, your iPhone can become a great universal remote control for all your A/V gear, complete with customized touchscreen pages.
Russound, the multi-room audio manufacturer, has an interface for an iPhone that gives it full control over multi-room audio. Whatever room you’re in you touch the Russound logo on your iPhone and you can see album covers, choose tracks, pause, or control the volume. Any other features the system may have, like the Do Not Disturb setting to silence speakers in a room, or Party Mode that disables other controls so your guests don’t mess with them, are equally accessible through the iPhone.
In 2008 Apple launched the $100 million iFund to support companies that developed new applications for their iPhones. One of the recipients of their largesse was a company called iControl.
This company has since developed ConnectedLife, software for Macs that allows interactive communication with your home from your iPhone. The system integrates with GE and Honeywell security systems. Its security app uses IP over a cell phone network to provide 24 hour monitoring. Imagine checking the view at the front door, and even recording it, on your iPhone. You can use the phone to schedule or operate the security system along with energy controls and door locks. Its focus is on security and it has the added bonus of sending e-mail or text alerts if something happens that shouldn’t, or doesn’t happen when it should.
If the essence of home automation is convenience, it’s taken a quantum leap forward with the ability to use your iPhone for control.
Bill Monahan is a “smart home” specialist who has been in the construction industry for thirty years, with the last twelve devoted exclusively to residential electronics. While he provides and installs products he sees his main mission as making homeowners comfortable with the new technologies.
