Ways to decrease your home’s energy output and save you money.

During a time where there is a need for affordable housing, Westlake Royal Building Products, one of North America’s largest manufacturers and distributors of exterior and interior building products, celebrated its 300th home built in partnership with Habitat for Humanity - MidOhio, an organization that aims to build homes, empower families and develop communities. On Thursday, Sept. 15, the keys to a three-bedroom, two-bath single family home were turned over to a partner family in Columbus. For this home, Westlake Royal donated 20 squares of siding, including Exterior Portfolio Vinyl Siding and Portsmouth Shake & Shingles Siding, as well as Royal Shutters, Mounts and Vents accessories - marking its 300th siding donation to Habitat MidOhio over the last 20 years.

Last year, GOSH Children’s Charity decided it needed to bring all of its Christmas communications together under one theme – but as Rebecca Cooney finds out, the theme it chose turned out to be more relevant to Christmas in 2020 than expected

iControl Networks Inc, Palo Alto, Calif., a provider of broadband home management, and Visonic Ltd., Tel-Aviv, Israel, a developer and manufacturer of wireless home security and safety systems and components, have partnered to integrate Visonic security peripherals into the iControl OpenHome™ software platform.

Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, offers residential and commercial electric vehicle charging solutions. Available immediately, the EVlink™ residential electric vehicle (EV) charger is a simple, easy-to-install, and user-friendly solution for recharging vehicles at home.

Most residential and commercial models from Honeywell’s VISTA series of alarm panels now support lighting, shade and temperature control technology from Lutron Electronics, giving security and home-automation professionals a greater range of options when designing connected-home systems for their customers.

Brent Street runs through a diverse, tree-lined neighborhood in Dorchester, Mass. At 81 Brent Street stands a three-story, traditional New England home. However, its basic design is the only traditional thing about the home, which is adorned with 30 solar panels on its roof, native and drought-tolerant plants and trees in its yard, and a home automation system fit for the Jetson’s.

While most people like the idea of conserving energy and going green, moving from theory to practice in their daily lives requires more than just a philosophy. “Everybody likes being green if it’s not too much work,” explains Gene Jordan, president of Advanced Security Engineering, an Alarm.com dealer located in Pleasanton, Calif.

Many integrators have already discovered that adding home energy management features to residential systems provides opportunities for additional sales and recurring monthly revenue (RMR).

For Thomas Marino, president of Advanced Technologies, Baton Rouge, La., “green” projects were nothing new. He had done projects that involved low-power, solar or other green elements. But when he ran into local attorney Joe Simmons at a trade show, the extremely environmentally conscious lawyer asked him to do the security and home automation for the custom home he was building. The home was new construction in a community of older homes and would feature as many green elements as possible, from the material in the countertops to the security and audio elements.

Traditional security and the smart home are the same. There — I’ve said it. Our industry likes to see them as different, but for someone growing up now, without any preconceptions of alarm systems, they all just look like a lot of gadgets for the home.  So what does this mean for the smart home and traditional alarm monitoring?

The Ronald McDonald House is far more than just a place to sleep. Many of the families who come here are undergoing some of the most stressful times of their life as they seek medical care for their children. 

A home invasion case recently decided by the Court of Appeals in the State of Michigan involved the use of video from a security camera entered into evidence.

Z-Wave Alliance actively recruits smart home and IoT leaders to join, direct and contribute to the completely member-driven organization on a mission to chart the course of the future of Z-Wave technology and the smart home.

The online valuation calculator, enabled by AI, is said to simplify the process for business owners looking to sell home security and alarm accounts.

The “dog days” of summer. Did you know — I didn’t until I looked it up — that the term dog days refers to astrology, specifically the time period during which a bright star rises and sets with the sun?

911inform announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has officially designated its innovative emergency management platform as a Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology (QATT) under the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act.

For consumers, the market for home energy management technology and products has, all at once, become highly frenzied yet tremendously exciting. From sleek, standalone ‘smart thermostats’ to solutions tightly integrated with the security system to new broadband-based home energy offerings from large cable and telco providers, consumers must not only decide which tool fits with their particular lifestyle, but which underlying platform offers the most stability and value.

At Alarm.com, we have more than 1 million homes signed on to our Connected Home platform, giving us plenty of insight about the power of connecting all the home’s critical devices together through a single technology platform.

Is the smart home market maturing and stabilizing, showing a clear path forward for security dealers wanting to capitalize on the new desires of homeowners to interact with many areas of their home life, including security? Not exactly. But there are definitely signs that it has moved to another level of adoption and interest, making the time ripe for action on the part of those who want to adjust their business model to capture opportunities and revenue in this fast-growing space.

Security professionals reveal their thoughts on the security, monitoring and smart home markets.

Customer demand for smart home security systems grew during the pandemic, and with more integrated conveniences available than ever before, shows no sign of slowing down.

In 2015 we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the SDM 100 and honored eight companies for being ranked on the first SDM 100 Report in 1991 and all of the reports thereafter.

Winston-Salem, NC – Baserunning injuries in professional baseball occur most frequently during tag plays at home plate, concludes a new study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

A new online toolkit offers guidance on increasing flu vaccination coverage among workers in long-term health care facilities.

2023 is looking like an extremely opportunistic year for security and smart home professionals as consumers revisit smart home systems installed during the pandemic.

Alarm.com’s collaboration with the California-based homebuilder aims to deliver smart home solutions to buyers via New Home Co.’s updated EVO program.

This, along with in-home ADT professional advice, can help customers get an ideal smart home security system for their needs.

The Android Auto app ecosystem keeps growing, and the latest name to join Google's car-optimized experience is smart home solutions provider Alarm.com.

As the security and smart home market continues to evolve at a rapid pace, the convergence of technology and security has sparked a surge in innovative products and services, each promising enhanced safety, convenience and peace of mind.

Additionally, Brilliant functions as a whole home lighting system with built-in motion detection, which can be paired with a Resideo Security System.

This enables the ability to integrate Google Nest products with ClareOne empowers its partners to deliver comprehensive home automation and security through an intuitive unified touchscreen with the ability to add automations.

The technology landscape for smart consumer appliances is undergoing a profound transformation, guided in part by multiple legislative changes set forth by the Biden Administration.

In a new white paper released in partnership with Resideo, Parks Associates examines practical solutions and the latest advancements in smart home technology that contribute to energy management.

Research continues to show that tenants both want and expect smart home technology from their rental properties and security solutions are some of the most prioritized.

Here's why cellular backup security has become essential in ensuring continuous protection among the various options available.

Home management solutions continue to see significant advancements, offering consumers enhanced convenience, security and energy efficiency.

Industry insiders from leading companies elucidate how smart home integration and shifting consumer preferences are driving growth and future trends in the residential security market.

As the smart home market continues to expand, security dealers are seeking reliable and innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of homeowners and businesses.

Highlighted are benefits of AI-enabled automation and interoperability, while addressing key considerations for security integrators in managing vulnerabilities and optimizing smart home ecosystems.

“Our minds are extraordinary, and we have more control over them than we sometimes realize.”

According to Parks Associates’ consumer study “360 View: Residential Security,” remote monitoring and no long-term commitment are key factors to attract new security customers.

To tweak a line from a famous Frank Sinatra song: 2017, it was a very good year. It was a very good year for connected homes, that is. Massive amounts of advertising from big players inside and outside the security space, a rapidly advancing technology landscape, and an avid interest from homeowners at all economic levels led to a connected home space that is growing by leaps and bounds.

Evaluating the state of any market is a tricky thing during a pandemic — things are changing daily; new technologies are being explored; the future is unknown; and it’s difficult to look back at the past clearly.

Curated for the professional install market, Level Bolt Pro Pack and Level Lock+ Pro Pack offer add-on and integration opportunities for installers to offer their customers smart home technology.

Are you exposed to lead at work? You may be if you make or fix batteries or radiators; make or paint ceramics; melt, cast or grind lead, brass or bronze; tear down or remodel houses, buildings or bridges; or work with scrap metal, the California Department of Public Health says.

While running up a flight of stairs on an icy morning, merging from one lane to another during rush hour or sliding centimeters past an open file cabinet at the office, every day we narrowly avoid incidents that could result in a serious injury. When these incidents take place on the job, it can serve as a warning that a serious incident is waiting to happen.

New York — Sitting while watching TV may be more harmful to your cardiovascular health than sitting at work, researchers from Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons suggest.

Tumwater, WA — For people working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new fact sheet from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries explains how to set up a safe and efficient home workstation.

Cincinnati — Millions of people working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic may be sitting at improperly arranged workstations that increase their risk of eye, head, neck, back, shoulder, wrist and forearm stress and strain injuries, according to the results of a recent survey conducted by University of Cincinnati researchers.