3 Premier Home Automation Systems for 2014

Good home automation systems are seamless IT/computer-based solutions that connect various aspects of your home (e.g. entertainment, temperature control, lighting, etc.) into one controllable interface.

Most home automation systems are designed to allow you to automate (or make convenient) watching your favorite T.V. programs, listening to music for certain occasions, dimming your lights to match the mood, and safeguarding your home - all from the touch of a button.

There are several home automation systems available in the market currently. Here is a brief review of three of the most popular home automation systems worth giving a second look:

Total Control from URC

Total Control is in essence a family of very innovative products which not only work together, but do so quite flawlessly; in the process they deliver security, comfort and convenience. URC's Total Control home automation system allows users to consolidate all electronics in the home into a menu that’s easy to navigate and allows the user to easily control the internal home climate, lighting and entertainment amongst a variety of options.

The URC Total Control system is also quite versatile and affordable, providing users with both the most complex system to the very basic system that encompasses just the control of your Blu-ray, TV and cable box. The Accelerator software used does save a lot of programming time as it can easily generate all the layouts required by users during the installation process.

This advanced home automation system from URC also comes with a great user interface that’s easy to understand and use. It is also worth noting that the product has a very strong and well versed technical support team that’s always willing and ready to assist.

Finding this home automation system is not easy, but FacetTech.com of Peoria, IL offers URC Total Control home automation system for area residents throughout central Illinois.

CLIQ.lite ClareOS Controller Module from Clare Controls

This particular product is designed for use in very cost effective deployments at home. The CLIQ.lite ClareOS Controller Module does feature support for up to eight zones of security, four music zones, two IP cameras, two TV entertainment areas, two thermostats, door locks and ten lighting zones.

Because it integrates a very broad range of interface elements into one unit, it does provide a relatively low entry point for the complete home automation systems from Clare controls, lowering the overall cost of the system, reducing the installation time and drastically simplifying the overall configuration of the entire project.

Because the CLIQ.lite ClareOS Module does use a similar hardware platform as the highly popular CLIQ.host; it can be easily be expanded using the software licensing key using the cloud based licensing technology which allows for easy unlocking of the system to the full capacity offered by the All-in-one CLIQ.host software.

This will allow for upward scalability with almost no configuration at all. It also receives automatic updates so as to ensure that the product is always up to date with the latest fixes and features without any interruption to other running applications.

HC – 800 Controller from Control4

This home automation system has been developed as the core foundation of basically each and every Control4 project. As a result, the HC – 800 Controller from Control4 packs exceptional horsepower and capabilities, enabling it to run the most demanding control system with ease.

With a 1.8GHz dual core processor, the HC - 800 Controller has enough power to connect and control virtually everything in a typical home set up. It provides Internet audio content through the embedded Tuneln (which requires control4 OS 2.4 or any other later version to run,) as well as audio and video intercom capabilities.

This system also has the MyHome functionality which allows users to utilize their PCs, tablets or even Smartphones to control the system once installed. The user interface is also quite intuitive and easy to use.

Do you know of any excellent home automation systems that making a big appearance this year? Let us know in the comments below.