Many smart home companies displayed new innovations at CES that will improve the smart home experience. From smart outlets to smart thermostats and smart locks, smart home manufacturers showed off their latest innovations at CES.
Earlier this year, Fibaro introduced its new Walli line of smart outlets and switches. The Walli switches and outlets work with Z-Wave compatible hubs, in addition to
Fibaro's Home Center 2 and Home Center Lite, explained Dominik Jęchorek, Head of Sales for the U.S. and Canada at Fibaro. The company also launched a new Home Center App that leverages machine learning and predictive analytics to make automation suggestions based on user behavior and enables customers to fully control, manage, adjust and experience their Fibaro smart home system.
Dominik Jęchorek,
Head of Sales for
the US and Canada at Fibaro
Jęchorek also mentioned the growing popularity of smart speakers and how they were a good entry point for smart home users. He explained that the relatively affordable price of smart speakers, as well as the number of manufacturers making smart Wi-Fi plugs/outlets, is allowing consumers to test out the smart home concept at a low cost.
"People start with a speaker, then they discover if they just add a couple of devices, you’re able to control the lights, the temperature, etc. And they’re excited about that,” Jęchorek said.
Resideo announced its newest additions to the Honeywell Home
T-Series Smart Thermostats — T9, a DIY thermostat, and T10 Pro, a professionally installed device at CES 2019. Bruce Anderson, Director of External Communications at Resideo, explained they were now doing “room-by-room sensing with smart sensors that pair with the thermostat to measure humidity, temperature and occupancy sensing. Also, with a sensor range of 200 feet, these smart thermostats can even work in larger homes with multiple floors.”
Bruce Anderson,
Director of External
Communications at Resideo
"We think that with all of the protocols, all of the mix-and-match DIY solutions out there it can be pretty confusing for the homeowner. We believe the professional contractor is in the best position to be able to help them navigate to the right connected home solution,” said Anderson.
Nortek Security and Control launched its ELAN intelligent video doorbell and ELAN Intelligent Touch Panels. Both smart home products feature IntelliVision face recognition and video analytics technologies.
"The purpose right now is to connect as many things to make a better experience for the homeowner," said Bill Hensley, Senior Director of Marketing at
Nortek Security and Control. "We've got all these great little pieces of technology," he said. "The important thing is how we put them together.”
Denmark-based Danalock displayed its smart lock, highlighting its unique design — only the inside part of the lock needs to be switched out. The company is fairly new in the U.S. but its smart locks are available for purchase on major online retail sites like Amazon, Wayfair, QVC, NFM, and more.
Henning Overgaard, CEO and Founder of Danalock, pointed out that the U.S., Europe and East Asia (China, Taiwan, Japan, etc.) had high adoption rates for smart locks. "Smart locks are being adopted because people see the functionality and convenience,” he said. The number of available home services, such as parcel delivery and grocery delivery, is also driving growth.
Steven Wu,
Sales Manager at
Good Way Technology
Taiwan-based
Good Way Technology showcased its smart USB Z-Wave dongle. The company hopes to make it easier to use smart home devices using the Z-Wave standard.
Steven Wu, Sales Manager at Good Way Technology explained that a lot of telecom companies have not yet provided smart home solutions. "Even though they want to have it, they have not found a major demand to customers know how to make the monthly IOT service charge," he said. In the end, telecoms outsource to systems integrators (SIs) to provide total solutions or finding a right supplier. With the company's Z-Wave smart dongle for OTT/Gateway solution, SIs are able to deliver their smart home technologies.
*For more smart home trends of 2019, please visit Tech Experts Reveal 2019 Smart Home Technologies.