Living smarter: The interconnected home

Smart homes have long been touted as the future of building. But now even existing homes can be turned smart—and it's easier than ever.

Smart speakers could be the tipping point for home automation

One of the biggest trends of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this year was companies taking digital smart assistants – think Apple's Siri, Google's Assistant and Amazon's Alexa – and incorporating them ...

Smart buildings: energy efficiency at what price?

Automating heating and other environmental controls can bring huge savings to commercial buildings. To what extent is it possible to achieve the same results in residential homes? What is the difference between so called ...

Why people are falling for Amazon's Echo

On Christmas Day, Liz Philips and her two sons Sutton, 8, and Greyson, 10, welcomed a new member into their San Diego home. They called her Alexa, and though not your traditional bundle of joy, she was immediately embraced ...

Smart homes need to start treating their inhabitants better

We might still be some way from coming home to robots doing the cooking and cleaning for us, but the age of widespread home automation has arrived. More and more people now have "intelligent" versions of devices like thermostats ...

How to get started with home automation

If you're not, shall we say, technically inclined, the idea of using home automation might seem out of this world. But the good news is, there's a variety of gadgets and gizmos on the market to help even the least tech-savvy ...

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