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Lowe's To Sell Off Its 'Under-Performing' Iris Smart Home Automation Business (cepro.com)
CIStud shares a report from CE Pro: Giant home improvement retailer Lowe's is giving up on the smart home market. The company announced its "difficult decision" to exit the home automation market and is seeking a buyer for its Iris Smart Home business as part of a "strategic reassessment." The announcement is part of multiple other maneuvers by Lowe's that include closing its Orchard Supply Hardware business, dumping its Alacrity Renovation Service, shutting down all its locations in Mexico, and shutting more than 50 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Lowe's Iris was hailed as the only entry-level home automation system that handled ZigBee, Z-Wave and Wi-Fi when it came out in 2012. Speaking to investors, president and CEO Marvin Ellison [lumped Lowe's Iris in with other initiatives as an] "underperforming... non-core business."
I have researched this at large, my one intervening factor is that I must have control over the devices (i.e. everything is accessible from my home network and the devices can never reach the internet). Z-wave fit the bill. I've used several z-wave switches and have realized one major issue with any device you are putting in your wall.. these things radiate a lot of heat and thus you want to make sure your devices use top quality components. This cuts out Crestron and Levitron. This leaves you with GE and Eaton. I went with Eaton first, and while their design isn't the greatest, you can tell from the specs that it can handle serious shit. The largest room with lights comes in at half it's rated wattage (700w or something like that). I was tempted with GE due to the lower price point for 3-way switches. Until I realized the second switch isn't really standalone and explains the lackluster power rating. GE has nicer design, but it doesn't export a lot of functionality to z-wave.
I ranted to explain that you get what you pay for. I have no worry of my house burning down and I get pretty granular control over my lights and switches. This did add almost 30% to the cost, so once again it's a situation of buyer beware. I didn't mention other zwave interfaces because they are so dirt cheap that it practically doesn't matter.. garage door openers for $50. locks for $200. automated blinds $50. thermostats around the $100 price point (although with the exception of two, they are all 1990 designs) Then there are the DIY z-wave interfaces that allow you to tuck away controllers into the bowels of your basement, or monitor electricity usage.
-dk
I think the automation industry is expecting too much from their investments in the industry that have very thin margins already. And too early in the market. And missing the point as well, like the connected home appliance manufacturers usually do. Automation should make living in and maintaining the property easier instead of adding complexity and cost where there was none before.
Where are my moisture sensors in the concrete to automatically warn and measure damages from leaks? Where is the automatic traffic warning system that warns the maintenance crews in a large apartment complex from blocking the emergency drive ways so that the local resident board member wouldn't have to call the administrator, who calls the maintenance company or the contractor about the potential threat to the lives of the elderly residents? Where are the p2p connected reservation systems that enable turn based access to shared resources like the laundry machines without the monthly charge from the telecom, the cloud and the service companies?
Instead I can surf the internet with my fridge.