Boston startup BeON Home is the first winner of the Z-Wave Alliance’s developer competition, the alliance said Thursday. Winners of the monthly competition, designed to drive innovation in the Z-Wave ecosystem, receive Z-Wave Alliance membership and access to its 500 series development kits. BeON’s system uses smart LED bulbs that learn and replicate lighting behaviors to mimic home occupancy and provide safety lighting during emergencies and power outages, said the alliance. Adding Z-Wave communication provides a seamless experience for owners of traditional security systems and home automation systems, it said. BeON launched a pro version of its technology at ISC West 2015.

Although consumer searches for HomeKit at Apple’s online store produce no results for consumers looking for information about buying into the platform or products, Apple has tucked information into a support section where consumers can find out what’s coming. A company spokesman steered us to a “smaller page” devoted to HomeKit information prior to wider availability of product. The spokesman confirmed that the Lutron’s Caseta Lighting Starter Kit is the only HomeKit-enabled product in Apple brick-and-mortar stores currently (see 1506020048). The ecobee thermostat will hit Apple brick-and-mortar stores in early July, he said, and Elgato sensors will begin selling through the online store in July. The spokesman also confirmed that Apple TV (third generation or later running software version 7.0 or later) is required for consumers who want to use Siri to control their HomeKit devices while outside of the home network. At the support page, Apple says an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with iOS 8.1 later is required to get started with HomeKit and “one or more HomeKit-enabled accessories.” Today, that’s the Lutron kit for its Caseta wireless smart bridge. Over the next few months, the Lutron lighting products will be joined by the ecobee thermostat, iHome smart plug, Insteon hub and Elgato room, energy, weather and door/window sensors, but the Web page doesn’t provide availability dates.

The smart home category was a no-show on all three quarterly earnings webcasts given last week by major big box retailers that have dedicated resources to the fledgling category. Home Depot launched products under Quirky’s Wink platform last July (see 1407020036) but only reported about higher light bulb sales in Q1 without breaking out smart LED bulbs' share of the mix. Staples’ executives lamented the performance of the company's tech segment -- “the big drag for the quarter” -- said Demos Parneros, president-North American Stores & Online. CEO Ronald Sargent said tech makes up 30 percent of the retail sales mix but lagging laptop and tablet sales drove the "entire 5 percent same-store sales decline" in North America in Q1. Staples executives didn't mention the smart home business. On its earnings webcast, Lowe’s didn’t comment on the Iris smart home platform it launched in July 2012. A spokeswoman told us Lowe’s “remains committed to building the Iris ecosystem and investing in the program” after Kevin Meagher, the public face of Iris, left. Mick Koster replaced Meagher last week as vice president-general manager of the Iris smart home division. At a Parks’ Associates Smart Energy Summit in 2013 (see 1303040069), Meagher asked the industry for help in building the nascent category. Lowe’s “can’t do it all ourselves,” he said. At the time, Lowe’s was in a trial partnership with Verizon stores for Iris and was seeking additional relationships with telcos, service providers, builders and utilities. To hit the mass consumer with the Iris ecosystem, vendors needed to go through retail, Meagher said. Lowe’s published a 60-page document for its vendors outlining the rules they need to follow to be part of Lowe’s Iris connected platform and ensure that a product would work with other devices in Iris ecosystem. The biggest hurdle Meagher cited then -- consumer awareness -- remains one of the biggest hurdles today for smart home adoption.

The FCC needs to ensure that the Downloadable Security Technical Advisory Committee “results in solutions that enable robust competition among retail and operator-leased navigation devices,” said a letter Monday to Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake and the FCC staff on the DSTAC from several committee members and non-member companies and groups, including Amazon, CCIA, Free Press, Google and Public Knowledge. That comes after a letter sent by multichannel video programming distributors in April, which opposed Public Knowledge and TiVo's efforts on the committee. “Limiting the DSTAC’s scope to downloadable security alone, without reference to the committee’s broader mandate of furthering the competitive availability of navigation devices, would result in a walled-garden approach” that doesn't promote ”vigorous competition and innovation,” the new letter said. It responded to MVPD complaints that PK and TiVo are trying to make the group's product resemble CableCARD. “Congress recognized that the FCC and the private sector need to enhance functionality like that provided by CableCARD,” Monday’s letter said. “The DSTAC’s final recommendation should avoid moving backward, by ensuring the ability of retail navigation devices to offer differentiated and innovative user interfaces, search functions, and recording and cloud functionality.” The FCC should “focus not on specific services or commercial arrangements, but on the features and choices available to consumers,” the letter said.

Schlage will sell its Apple HomeKit-based keyless lock, Schlage Sense, this fall through Amazon, Build.com, Home Depot and Lowe’s, the company said. The company called Schlage Sense its most advanced key lock to date that will be controllable by an illuminated touch screen or iPhone. Users will be able to unlock or lock a door via voice commands through Siri, it said. Schlage Sense doesn't use Apple’s Touch ID to operate a door lock, a company spokeswoman told us. Users can unlock their iPhone with Touch ID and then either use Siri or launch the Schlage Sense app to gain entrance into the home, she said. Schlage Sense users will be able to use Siri on an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to operate the door’s deadbolt lock or use the Schlage Sense app, she said. In cases where the homeowner or a guest doesn’t have an iOS device handy, an access code can be used to unlock the door, she said.

Senate Aging Committee ranking member Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., praised tech companies that sell “versions of connected home systems that can help keep seniors secure in their homes,” in her opening statement for a hearing Wednesday. That hearing focused on how technology can help in the lives of older people. One recurring topic was telehealth. “Technology has also been critical to the growth of telehealth and particularly helpful for seniors who, by using telehealth services, can have ... their health monitored from the comfort of their homes rather than the doctor’s office,” McCaskill said. Department of Veterans Affairs Acting Chief Consultant for Telehealth Services Maureen McCarthy testified on telehealth’s importance. In FY 2014, the “VA provided care to more than 717,000 patients (12.6 percent of our enrolled Veterans) through telehealth modalities,” she said in written testimony. “This amounted to over 2,123,000 telehealth episodes of care. Forty-five percent (45 percent) of these Veterans lived in rural areas and may otherwise have had limited access to VA health care services.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., pressed witnesses on data security for the different devices and the need for encryption, pointing to a recent Anthem data breach. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., worried about how slower broadband speeds may hurt rural areas' ability to receive telehealth services. "Technology helps seniors communicate with loved ones, prolong their independence and maximize their quality of life -- from medical alert buttons on GreatCall cellphones to video conferencing to online education opportunities," CEA President Gary Shapiro, who didn't testify, said in a statement. "And smartphones and tablets put a world of information and connectivity at our fingertips, regardless of age or accessibility needs. Matched with smart home technologies and the Internet of Things, these devices now give us control over our environments -- locking doors, setting the thermostat, turning lights on and off -- without having to move around our homes."

GreenPeak Technologies released a white paper on the benefits of the ZigBee RF4CE wireless communications protocol for smart home applications. ZigBee RF4CE was developed by the CE industry to connect remote controls to TVs and set-top boxes but can also be adopted by leading cable companies and ISPs and remote control makers in the U.S. as a smart home accessory, said GreenPeak CEO Cees Links. More than 100 million new set-top boxes and remote controls use ZigBee, he said. Links cited the protocol’s “outstanding range, reliability and robustness” and said its “ultra-low power requirement means that batteries never have to be replaced.” Links positioned the ZigBee remote as the control mechanism for the smart home as an alternative to the smartphone when users are inside the home. “When you are at home, it is much easier to just press a button on a remote control to change the lighting, lock the doors, and turn on your air conditioning,” he said. Using a TV remote for smart home control frees up the smartphone for talking and texting, he said. Versus competing protocols, Links touted RF technology benefits including no need for line-of-sight transmission and the ability to penetrate walls, floors and furniture. RF’s ability for two-way communication enables features such as “find-my-remote” and gives operators the ability to send subscribers notices of upcoming shows, special offers and the ability to receive software updates to add features to the remote, he said. Because RF is mature and has been available in high-volume production, it is a low-cost option for control, he said.

North America will be 46 percent of the $34 billion global smart home market that’s projected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 21 percent from now until 2020, said ABI Research. Home security systems have led the market, but the smart home category is also seeing strong revenue growth from smart plugs and smoke and air quality monitors, said analyst Adarsh Krishnan. Regional differences are playing out in device adoption as security cameras with embedded motion sensors are popular in North America and Western Europe for home security and indoor activity tracking, said ABI. In China, meanwhile, increasing concern about air quality is driving interest in environmental sensors, it said, citing introductions of air quality monitors last year from Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent and Xiaomi. Among wireless protocols, proprietary technologies from Bosch Security, Honeywell and United Technologies -- operating in 433 MHz and 900 MHz RF bands -- continue to dominate in low-cost battery-operated devices such as contact sensors and motion sensors due to higher quality of service and longer battery life, said analyst Jonathan Collins. Low-power mesh networking wireless technologies from Z-Wave and ZigBee have also seen a rise in adoption rates that’s expected to continue. Z-Wave is embedded in more than 1,000 interoperable devices, while the latest ZigBee 3.0 protocol will fuel growth addressing earlier ZigBee interoperability issues, said Collins.

Some 84 percent of U.S. broadband households take the DIY route for setting up entertainment and computing devices on their own, and six in 10 set up smart home devices on their own, a report from Parks Associates said. But consumers’ need for tech support persists and will grow as they bring more connected devices into the home, Parks said. Just over a quarter of U.S. homes owned a connected health device by the end of last year, it said. Despite the comfort with using and installing smart devices, 60 percent of U.S. broadband households have concerns over device and data security when using them, Parks said. Tech support is a key factor in ensuring a positive user experience in the IoT, monitoring devices for proper operation and protecting the connected home from online attacks, it said. "Consumers appreciate the convenience and control that comes with increased connectivity, but they are aware of the potential risks," analyst Patrice Samuels said. "High-profile media reports, such as the reported possibility that Samsung TVs with voice recognition could capture users' personal information, only heighten their concerns,” she said. Manufacturers and security providers must design security into smart products and communicate directly with consumers about their “ongoing efforts to combat security risks,” she said.

Key market drivers for the smart home industry include low-cost smart devices and mobile apps, said a report from Futuresource. With hundreds of companies competing for share, with varying value propositions, “nobody will own the smart home market,” it said. Do-it-yourself (DIY) home automation, spurred by online distribution, will experience high growth from a niche market, said the report. Wealthy households will continue to opt for customized, professionally installed systems and services, even as low-priced DIY options proliferate. The smart home market will see huge expansion over the next five years moving from industry and geographical niches and "quickly spreading to a much wider market," said Simon Bryant, Futuresource analyst. North America has 60 percent of worldwide demand for smart home technology, driven by consumers’ interest in security, convenience, remote monitoring and control, said Bryant. The market for home automation packages and individual smart devices -- including sensors, actuators and cameras -- is forecast to grow 30-35 percent each of the next five years, he said. Futuresource projects smart home revenue will reach $6 billion-$7 billion by 2020. While energy efficiency is a benefit of the smart home, most impact will be realized through adding smart home features to appliances and security, lighting and HVAC systems, he said. The deployment of “hundreds of millions of connected devices (standalone and embedded) will create a new high volume market for semiconductor suppliers, although prices must be very low to make the market viable,” he said.