Continental Automated Buildings Association News

  SSHT and SIBT will be held concurrently with the ISHS and the Shanghai International Lighting Fair The tenth edition of Shanghai Intelligent Building Technology (SIBT) and second edition of Shanghai Smart Home Technology (SSHT) are set to open their doors from 31 August – 2 September 2016 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre in Shanghai. The two fairs will welcome 240 exhibitors from 14 countries and regions. This year, a comprehensive profile of smart hom...

Small-timers with big ideas can always make their way into the industry In recent years, home automation technology has given birth to the “Smart Home” in which internet-enabled and controlled devices are bringing a new level of comfort to the standard house. From locking doors to setting the temperature to opening the blinds for a view of the sunset, technology is transforming the home into something reminiscent of the now-quaint 1960s sci-fi cartoon, The Jetsons....

As the home automation industry has expanded with an ever growing number of devices and services, companies are placing bets on which wireless protocols will dominate. The past few years the leaders have been Z-Wave and ZigBee. Companies are also using a variety of other standards including Crestron’s Infinet, Insteon, and proprietary technologies such as Lutron’s ClearConnect. Next-generation protocols: Bluetooth and Wi-Fi “Right now companies are releasing really i...

Not too long ago the idea of home automation was strictly the province of the rich and famous. With costs that soared as high as $100,000 or more, controlling HVAC, lighting, doors and security from a single source just wasn’t in the budget for Main Street America. That was then, but now is an entirely different story. The “connected home” in which smart phones and tablets serve as controllers for Internet-enabled devices has gone mainstream. Installers are still fashioning hi...