ADT is combining home automation and security into a single platform in the latest version of its Pulse home automation offering, Tim Rader, director-product development, told us at CES. In the process, the company switched from using phone lines for communication to broadband, which he said is faster and offers more security and reliability. The company has integrated Z-Wave into its platform to be able to communicate with thermostats, lamp modules and with a high-voltage switch that can control outdoor sprinkler systems, pool pumps and hot tubs, Rader said. The company also integrated Wi-Fi for control of cameras and door locks. Pulse previously offered home automation via a three-box system, Rader said, that was specified by ADT, and developed by partner companies including Honeywell and iControl. In the new product, ADT wrote the requirements and worked with Honeywell and iControl with a focus on easier operation for the consumer, simpler and faster installation for the installer, and a “completely wireless solution,” Rader said. “It was time to do a more integrated solution,” Rader said, after realizing from its three years with smart home technology that “home automation is here to stay.” The wireless installation means “less disruption in the home” because it no longer takes an entire day to run wire, he said. A base installation price for monitoring two doors and a motion sensor is $99 with monthly monitoring fees of $50, Rader said. Cost scales from there depending on add-ons such as remote monitoring, notifications, lighting control and video storage from video cameras, Rader said. ADT stores 30 days of video on its servers, he said. Cameras have motion detection built in and when motion is detected, a 30-second video is recorded and then sent to the homeowner, he said. The feature is for security but also for parents who want to know kids have arrived home from school and to give homeowners a view of their pets when they're not at home. ADT "is not just your dad’s security system anymore,” Rader said, citing the company’s new relationship with IFTTT [if this, then that] that allows an installer to create conditional scenes among devices. An IFTTT example would be: “If the alarm goes off, and if you have Philips LED bulbs, turn them red to tell everyone to get out of the house because there’s a fire,” he said. “You can take two separate applications and have them talk to each other,” he said. “We’re expanding," Rader said, "and we're not just a security company anymore."

Accessories company iHome is showing at CES this week a Wi-Fi-based SmartPlug packing Apple HomeKit technology. The iSP5 AC plug will be available in Q2 for $39, Ike Silver, industrial engineer, told us at the company’s CES booth. The smart plug acts as a pass-through outlet and allows users to control any connected device remotely, including via voice through the Siri interface on iOS devices, Silver said. The plug works with the iHome Control App, which enables users to create scenes for connected devices. Step-up models include a model with a USB port and the high-end model that comes with a remote control. Details of the additional two models weren’t available.

Kestrel will begin taking orders Jan. 15 for the DROP D3 wireless temperature, humidity and pressure data logger ($199) that allows users to record and monitor environmental conditions from a smart device. DROPs can be placed inside or outside the home -- and in water -- to log specific environmental conditions and can send the data via Bluetooth Smart to an iPhone or iPad, Kestrel said. Measurements include temperature, humidity, heat index, dew point temperature, station pressure, density altitude and pressure trend, the company said. The data logger uses Kestrel’s Connect app and can transmit data up to 100 feet line of sight to a mobile device, it said.

Sales of smart home devices will exceed 20 million units by the end of 2014 and increase to 36 million units by 2017, Parks Associates said in a report Wednesday to trumpet the agenda for its Smart Energy Summit Feb. 16-18 in Austin. "Product features can really impact adoption rates and sales," Parks said. Its surveys have found that more than 40 percent of U.S. broadband homes planning to buy a smart thermostat "prefer a more expensive advanced model with more features, and nearly two-thirds of these shoppers are likely to replace their existing unit before it is necessary," it said. "This finding highlights the potential of feature-rich models to speed up the upgrade cycle."

Smart home devices are moving "closer to mass-market adoption," pushed in large part by retailer "initiatives" this holiday selling season, Parks Associates said Wednesday in a report. Parks research shows 37 percent of U.S. broadband homes planning to buy a smart home device in the next 12 months, the company said, and "multiple retailers are expanding the shelf space devoted to these devices, with Best Buy in particular devoting over 800 square feet in some locations to its connected home initiative," it said. The entry into the smart home category of big brands like Apple, Google and Honeywell "is also increasing consumer awareness and making smart home devices popular as gifts," it said. Parks surveys found that 15 percent of the connected devices purchased in 2014's first nine months were given as gifts, with the proportions as high as 27 percent for smart thermostats, it said. On average, about a third of smart devices acquired in 2013 were given as gifts, and Parks "expects the final numbers in 2014 to top that," it said: "Purchase intentions for smart devices are increasing, and this rise speaks to the marketing and brand power of manufacturers like Google, which acquired Nest, and Honeywell. The brand recognition combined with the unique quality of these products makes them attractive gifts, so 2014 holiday shopping is going to help push the smart home out of the early adopter phase." For 2015, Parks expects adoption of smart devices will "increase dramatically," it said.