As expected, telephone and FiOS TV provider Verizon is rolling out its own “connected home” home control system, to compete with those from ADT, Comcast and others, and will include some energy management functions such as thermostat, energy readers, smart appliance and smart power strip control.
If Verizon indeed features energy monitoring as well as smart appliance and smart power strip control to shut off electrical devices, it may be more energy management than ADT and Comcast offer—though that is yet to be seen.
Verizon’s “Home Monitoring and Control” system will reportedly use the 4Home technology, just acquired by Motorola Mobility, and will be showcased at the upcoming Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, from Jan. 6 to 9. ADT and Comcast are using platforms from iControl and uControl, which recently merged.
Beginning in January, a pilot program for Home Monitoring and Control will be conducted in New Jersey. The homes selected for the program will be outfitted with an energy reader, smart appliance switches and thermostats, a smart power strip, a smart door and window locks, motion sensors, an advanced pan-and-tilt camera, and a fixed indoor and outdoor camera.
“What we’ll be testing in these homes is just the beginning,” said Eric Bruno, vice president of product management for Verizon. ”We’re giving customers a remote control for their homes that they can use to cut CO2 emissions and their energy bills and give them anytime, anywhere access and control of their homes.”
You can view a YouTube video on Verizon’s system here.
