Home automation

Laptop controller for automated sprinkler system

Home automation is the use and control of home appliances remotely or automatically. Early home automation began with labour-saving machines like washing machines. Some home automation appliances are stand alone and do not communicate, such as a programmable light switch, while others are part of the internet of things and are networked for remote control and data transfer. Hardware devices can include sensors (like cameras and thermometers), controllers, actuators (to do things), and communication systems. Remote control can range from a simple remote control to a smartphone with Bluetooth, to a computer on the other side of the world connected by internet. Home automation systems are available which consist of a suite of products designed to work together. These typically connected through Wi-Fi or power line communication to a hub which is then accessed with a software application. Popular applications include thermostats, security systems, blinds, lighting, smoke/CO detectors, and door locks.^[1] Popular suites of products include X10, Z-Wave, and Zigbee all of which are incompatible with each other. Home automation is the domestic application of building automation.

History

An ad for the Kitchen Computer. The tagline is "If she can only cook as well as Honeywell can compute". A Honeywell 316 in a pedestal model is on display at the Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California

In 1885, when the Swiss-born Albert Butz invented the damper-flapper, a thermostat for coal furnaces, to automatically regulate heating systems. The following year he founded the Butz Thermo-Electric Regulator Company. In 1888, after a falling out with his investors, Butz left the company and transferred the patents to the legal firm Paul, Sanford, and Merwin, who renamed the company the Consolidated Temperature Controlling Company. The company was renamed to the Electric Heat Regulator Company in 1893. In 1906, Mark Honeywell founded the Honeywell Heating Specialty Company in Wabash, Indiana to manufacture and market his invention, the mercury seal generator. As Honeywell’s company grew (thanks in part to the acquisition of Jewell Manufacturing Company in 1922 to better automate his heating system) it began to clash with the renamed Minneapolis Heat Regulator Company. This led to the merging of the two companies into the publicly held Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company in 1927.

In 1898, Nikola Tesla patented a remote control for vessels and vehicles.^[2] While many home appliances have existed for centuries, the self-contained electric or gas powered appliances became viable in the 1900s with the introduction of electric power distribution^[3] In the early 1900s, electric and gas appliances included washing machines, water heaters, refrigerators and sewing machines. In the Post–World War II economic expansion, the domestic use of dishwashers, and clothes dryers were part of a shift for convenience and increasing discretionary income.^[4][5]

The first microprocessors emerged in the early 1970s and were used in embedded systems like calculators, and microcomputers. The Honeywell 316 Kitchen Computer of 1969 was offered by Neiman Marcus^[6] for $10,000 ($63,730 in 2013 dollars), weighed over 100 pounds (over 45 kg), and was advertised as useful for storing recipes. Reading or entering these recipes required the user to complete a two-week course just to learn how to program the device, using only toggle-switch input and binary light output. It had a built in cutting board and had a few recipes built in. No evidence has been found that any Honeywell Kitchen Computers were ever sold.^[7]

In 1975, X10 the first general purpose home automation network technology was developed. It is a communication protocol for electronic devices. It primarily uses electric power transmission wiring for signalling and control, where the signals involve brief radio frequency bursts of digital data. and remains the most widely available.^[8] Although higher bandwidth alternatives exist, X10 remains popular in the home environment with millions of units in use worldwide, and inexpensive availability of new components. By 1978, X10 products included a 16 channel command console, a lamp module, and an appliance module. Soon after came the wall switch module and the first X10 timer.

By 2012, in the United States, according to ABI Research, 1.5 million home automation systems were installed.^[9]

The internet of things (IoT) is the network of physical objects—devices, vehicles, buildings and other items—embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity that enables these objects to collect and exchange data. The IoT allows objects to be sensed and controlled remotely across existing network infrastructure, creating opportunities for more direct integration of the physical world into computer-based systems, and resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy and economic benefit; when IoT is augmented with sensors and actuators, the technology becomes an instance of the more general class of cyber-physical systems, which also encompasses technologies such as smart grids, smart homes, intelligent transportation and smart cities. Each thing is uniquely identifiable through its embedded computing system but is able to interoperate within the existing internet infrastructure. Experts estimate that the IoT will consist of almost 50 billion objects by 2020.^[10]

Applications and technologies

"SkyControl" home automation hub

• Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC): it is possible to have remote control of all home energy monitors over the internet incorporating a simple and friendly user interface.^[11]
• Lighting control system
• Appliance control and integration with the smart grid and a smart meter, taking advantage, for instance, of high solar panel output in the middle of the day to run washing machines.^[12][13]
• Security: a household security system integrated with a home automation system can provide additional services such as remote surveillance of security cameras over the Internet, or central locking of all perimeter doors and windows.^[14]
• Leak detection, smoke and CO detectors^[15]
• Indoor positioning systems
• Home automation for the elderly and disabled

Well and booster pump automation

Potential risks and limitations

Many home automation devices rely on external dependencies. For example, in 2016 the "Revolv Hub" promised a "Lifetime Subscription" which depended on servers that Google took ownership of in 2014 and decided to shutdown permanently. This left their users with a bricked device.^[16] Other examples include remotely disabled privacy settings on Android smartphones, removed ability to run GNU/Linux on a Playstation 3, remotely re-inforced EULA on Wii U etc.^[17]

Another aspect is that owners that bought their device are not free to point their devices at a different server, or collaborate on improved software. As such action violates the United States DMCA section 1201, which however in 2015 got an exemption for "local use" or in local networks. This force tinkerers into a legal grey area if they want to make their device work.^[17]

The Electronic Frontier Foundation thinks buyers should refuse electronics and software that prioritize the manufacturer's wishes above their own.^[17]

Risks

The rise of internet of things being used in homes for automation means the risks associated with the internet come with it. However, the risks become more serious when these devices interact with the physical world. While most systems have taken this into consideration, it is still an important aspect when considering home automation.^[18]

Limitations

Some limitations of home automation include the high cost of ownership, inflexibility of interconnected devices, and poor manageability.^[19]

Protocols

There are a wide variety of technology platforms, or protocols, on which a smart home can be built. Each one is, essentially, its own language. Each language speaks to the various connected devices and instructs them to perform a function.

The automation protocol transport has involved direct wire connectivity, powerline (PLC), powerline (PLC) and wireless hybrid and wireless.

None of the below is open source. All have an API.

Protocol	Media	Data Rate	Notes
C-Bus	Low voltage cable and RF	3500 bit/s	C-Bus is a communications protocol based on a seven layer OSI model for home and building automation that can handle cable lengths up to 1000 meter using Cat-5 cable.
EnOcean	RF: 902 MHz (North America)	9600 bit/s
Insteon[20]	PLC, RF: 915 MHz	Instantaneous: 13,165 bit/s Sustained: 2,880 bit/sec	A family of X10-compatible lighting and home control products from SmartLabs Inc. that use both RF and powerline to transmit signals. All Insteon devices are repeaters of Insteon signals, which means the more devices installed in the home, the stronger the wireless network. Insteon devices accept and receive signals from X10 devices, but do not repeat them.
KNX	PLC, RF	9600 bit/s
Thread	RF		An IP-based IPv6 networking protocol aimed at the home automation environment. Based on 6LowPAN.
Universal Powerline Bus	PLC	480 bit/s	Universal Powerline Bus: is a 2-way communications technology which enables control products to utilize existing powerlines for both residential and commercial applications.
X10	PLC, RF: 310 MHz (North America) 433 MHz (Europe)	20 bit/s	A remote control system for lamps and appliances from X10 Wireless Technology that uses the home's electrical system as the signaling network. The standard powerline system for many years, x10 transmitters and receivers are set to one of 256 low-voltage codes. The controller, which contains the switch and transmitter, is an external unit that plugs into any AC outlet, or it replaces the light switch on the wall. The receiver plugs into the AC outlet, and the lamp or appliance plugs into the receiver. When the switch is activated, it sends a signal into the electrical line that is picked up by the receiver, which turns on/off or dims the lights. Several lamps can be treated as one group by setting their receivers to the same code.
Zigbee	RF: 2.4 GHz (worldwide) 915 MHz (Americas and Australia) 868 MHz (Europe)	20-250k bps	ZigBee PRO and ZigBee Remote Control (RF4CE), among other available ZigBee profiles, are based on the IEEE802.15.4 protocol, which is an industry-standard wireless networking technology operating at 2.4 GHz targeting applications that require relatively infrequent data exchanges at low data-rates over a restricted area and within a 100m range such as in a home or building.
Z-Wave	RF: 908.42 MHz (North America) Other countries use sub-1GHz [21]	100 kbit/s	Z-Wave is a low-power RF communications technology that is primarily designed for home automation products.

Predictions

The rise of home automation is predicted to grow, with some estimates putting the market value over $10 billion by 2020.^[22]

See also

• List of home automation software and hardware
• List of home automation topics
• Internet of Things

References

1. "Best Home Automation System - Consumer Reports". www.consumerreports.org. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
2. United States Patent: 0613809, November 8, 1898, retrieved 2016-02-14
3. Home Automation & Wiring (1 ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics. 1999-03-31. ISBN 9780070246744.
4. Encyclopedia of American Industries Volume 1. Gale Research. 1994.
5. William George (2003). Antique Electric Waffle Irons 1900-1960: A History of the Appliance Industry in 20th Century America. Trafford Publishing. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-55395-632-7.
6. Chadwick, Susan (December 1985). "The His and Her Gift". Texas Monthly. p. 147. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
7. Spicer, Dag (August 12, 2000). "If You Can't Stand the Coding, Stay Out of the Kitchen: Three Chapters in the History of Home Automation". Dr. Dobb's Journal. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
8. Rye, Dave (October 1999). "My Life at X10". AV and Automation Industry eMagazine. AV and Automation Industry eMagazine. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
9. "1.5 Million Home Automation Systems Installed in the US This Year". www.abiresearch.com. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
10. "Gartner Says 6.4 Billion Connected". www.gartner.com. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
11. Preville, Cherie (26 Aug 2013). "Control Your Castle: The Latest in HVAC Home Automation". ACHRNews (ACHRNews). Retrieved 15 Jun 2015.
12. Berger, Lars T.; Schwager, Andreas; Pagani, Pascal; Schneider, Daniel M. (February 2014). Smart Grid Applications, Communications, and Security. Devices, Circuits, and Systems. CRC Press. ISBN 9781466557529.
13. "Tips: Smart Appliances | Department of Energy". energy.gov. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
14. Griffiths, Melanie (March 2008). "Smart Home Security". Homebuilding & Renovating. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
15. "Nest Protect | Smoke and CO Alarms - Consumer Reports News". www.consumerreports.org. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
16. "The time that Tony Fadell sold me a container of hummus.". 2016-04-03. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
17. Kit Walsh (2016-04-05). "Nest Reminds Customers That Ownership Isn't What It Used to Be". Retrieved 2016-04-07.
18. "The Internet of Things (IoT) and Security Risks". www.symantec.com. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
19. "Home Automation in the Wild: Challenges and Opportunities". Retrieved 2016-04-20.
20. INSTEON WHITEPAPER: The Details (PDF).
21. Z-Wave Frequency Coverage (PDF).
22. "Research and Markets: Global Home Automation and Control Market 2014-2020 - Lighting Control, Security & Access Control, HVAC Control Analysis of the $5.77 Billion Industry". Reuters. 2015-01-19. Retrieved 2016-04-20.