So how well does all your home automation equipment work together?

If you have been playing with home automation for a while, it is probably starting to look a little like the Tower of Babel. No two systems seem compatible with each other and up to now there hasn’t been a way to have centralized management between it all.

The Logitech system appears to have support for a broad base of manufacturer systems. Control devices from Philips Hue, LIFX, August, Sonos, Harmony, Lutron, Insteon, and Belkin WeMo. This type of system is what I would use for that broad base of consumer products that you would pick up at your local Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, Costco or Sam’s Club. These systems were never meant to be interoperable but with the Logitech System you bring them all together.

The main BRAIN is a bridge unit that you plug into your power and connect into your Wi-Fi network. From here it goes out an identifies what you installed in your home. Using the App you can add more that the, system doesn’t find. Once you have gone through the discovery process, you now have the ability to begin creating your controlled environment.

The control buttons are used to created easy switches the have up to three sequences that can be programmed to them. TO operate them it is just a simple press of the button but how you press it determines which of the three programs you want it to run. The options are a single click, double click or a continuous hold down of the button to achieve these three options.

The buttons can either be mounted using a self-adhesive back or just placed on a table top. They have a replaceable battery in them that lasts up to five years before you need to change them out. System Specifications

The Starter Pack includes:  Home switch (x2, with battery), Plug-in bridge, Mounting tape (x2) and User documentation priced at $99.99. Each add-on switch costs $39.99. It can be controlled either by iOS or Android devices. I haven’t found out whether it can be controlled from a PC yet but if your techy enough you can probably figure a way around that.

While this isn’t the system I would necessarily use if I was starting out today when I compare it to one of Honeywell’s advanced systems but if you are a do-it-yourselfer, and are using different technologies to accomplish different tasks then this can be a great way of bringing it back together.

More info on Logitech’s Pop Home Management System