As you know, here on Using Windows Home Server, we have often looked at home automation systems (and by we, I mean Tim) and also various home security systems and cameras.
With CES now upon us, new product information is coming thick and fast, and this press release just hit our inbox, so I thought I would share it with you:
D-LINK TAKES HOME MONITORING, ENERGY MANAGEMENT TO NEW LEVEL
New Products Include D-Link® Home and Energy Monitoring Kits;3G Door Phone Allows Mobile Phone Remote Viewing
LAS VEGAS, CES Booth 36232, South Hall, LVCC, Jan. 05, 2010 – D-Link, the end-to-end networking solutions provider for consumers and business, today announced a trio of products designed to make the digital home more secure and less power hungry with minimal impact on the family budget.
The D-Link® Home Monitoring Starter Kit is an affordable, easy-to-use and very innovative "Connected Home Monitor" system that provides homeowners and renters with new levels of security for their property and loved ones. Designed for quick and easy installation by the user, the system connects via broadband router in the home, and can then be remotely monitored and controlled through a personalized web portal account at mydlink.com. Alerts from wireless sensors around the home are instantly relayed by text, email and voice-call to the consumer and their designated contacts.
Featuring a sleek, unobtrusive design, the D-Link Home Monitoring Starter Kit offers enhanced features found in more costly security systems, and uses Internet Protocol (IP) technology to offer an improved range of services and functionality in homes without traditional phone lines (POTS). The system can be easily expanded with infrared motion detection, door/window contacts, keypad, personalized key fobs, fire, carbon monoxide, and water leak detectors — all offered as additional accessories. The system can use these sensors to inform parents when their kids get home safely from school, and a home video option is available with D-Link IP cameras which can capture and record events with remote access to the images available through the website or via mobile phones.
Whether the user is traveling, at work, on vacation or at the neighborhood shopping mall, this solution can provide new levels of protection with the mydlink™ platform monitoring the property 24 hours a day, seven days a week It can even protect people in the home, with messaging to relatives and caretakers if someone is not out of bed and moving around the property by a specified time in the morning!
The kit’s Control Unit is simply connected via Ethernet cable to a broadband router and reports all alarm and other activity information directly to the mydlink platform. A range of in-home sensors report wirelessly to the Control Unit, and the user can add up to 20 additional sensors. The whole system can be self-installed in just 30 minutes as all sensors supplied with the standard kit are pre-registered with default settings.
The Home Monitor can be expanded with the D-Link Home Energy Monitoring Starter Kit. It is one of the first products that lets consumers measure energy consumption of all electrical appliances in the home, turning the Home Monitor into the ultimate smart energy "Green Machine". It actually changes the way homeowners or renters deal with the age-old challenge of how to keep their home energy consumption to a minimum. It also provides practical tools for power management. When linked to the Home Monitoring Starter kit, consumers can use the mydlink portal to program devices to power-down when the home is empty, helping reduce carbon emissions and reduce utility bills by saving electricity.
The kit is equipped with two power-usage sensor adapters (additional sensors may be purchased separately) that plug into the home’s wall sockets near where the electrical appliances are located. By plugging the appliances directly into the kit’s sensor adapters, users can automatically download energy consumption data to their personal mydlink.com webpage where they have access to real-time power usage levels; daily, weekly and monthly breakdowns; cost conversions and graphical analysis. In addition, the product allows utility companies to offer users incentives on fee schedules based on their history of energy conservation.
The D-Link 3G Door Phone, another security innovation from D-Link, is the newest idea for adding another level of surveillance for the home. It acts like – and is powered the same as – an ordinary doorbell. But it is not ordinary. It is the first doorbell of its kind to allow homeowners to get a full view of visitors to their property from wherever they are – at home or away – using their 3G mobile phones. A built-in fixed focus .1 megapixel CMOS camera captures the images of visitors and streams the information to the PC or 3G mobile device, an LED indicator lets the homeowner know that the device is working, and an illuminated button allows easy visibility when it is dark outside.
Price and Availability
All three products, the D-Link Home Monitoring Starter Kit with a MSRP of $149.99, the D-Link Home Energy Monitoring Starter Kit at $99.99 MSRP, and the D-Link 3G Door Phone priced at $199.99 MSRP are expected to be available in the second quarter of this year through the company’s vast network of retail and etail outlets, and at D-Link’s online store, http://www.dlinkshop.com. Additional details for free and paid-subscription services for the D-Link Home Monitoring Starter Kit will be available when the product ships.
So these do look very interesting, so expect more details and a review later in the year.
