Nest (free app that requires purchase of Nest hardware)

The “media darling” of home automation is the Nest, a controllable thermostat and associatedrnapp. Nest took the rather mundane home thermostat, applied some exceptionalrnindustrial design, and made automating the device fairly easy. While certainlyrnnot the first automated thermostat, the Nest device is Wi-Fi enabled and doesn’trnrequire any additional hardware. It also claims to “learn” yourrnhabits based on how you adjust the temperature. It can turn down the heatingrnand cooling while you’re away and send you pretty emails detailing your energyrnusage.

Haiku ($49.99; requires a compatible alarm panel)

Much to the chagrin of myrnwife, I’m amused to no end that I can turn our lights on and off from anrnairplane or another continent. More pragmatically, I can turn off the alarm andrnopen the garage door to let a repairman in the house if no one is home.

Plex (free software; Plex Pass service offers additional functionality)

A major area targeted for home automation has been audio andrnvideo entertainment. If you’re willing to forgo the convenience (and associatedrnrestrictions) of something like AppleTV, Plex offers a fairly compelling solution to viewing audio and video content on arnvariety of devices. The system consists of the Plex server application, whichrnruns on Windows, Mac, and Linux, as well as client applications that run onrneverything, including desktops, televisions, Roku devices, smartphones, and tablets. Provide Plex with links to where you’vernstored media files, and it creates a beautiful user interface with downloadedrninformation about the title, watched and unwatched indicators, and even anrnability to sync content to an iOS or Android device.

Plex (free software; Plex Pass service offers additional functionality)

Plex takes most of the hard work out of playing your mediarncollection on almost any device, but do be aware that converting your existingrnmedia, especially studio-released movies on DVDs and Blu-ray discs, isrntime-consuming, frustrating, and potentially illegal depending on where yournreside and the current state of copyright law, even if you’ve purchased thoserndiscs.

Sonos (free app; requires purchase of Sonos hardware)

Another standard component of most home automation systemsrnis multi-room audio, whereby you can play and control music in multiplernlocations in your home or apartment. The problem with these systems is thatrnthey’re generally difficult to retrofit, since they require speakers and wiringrninstalled in each room. Sonos worksrnaround this problem by providing boombox-like hardware that can be placed inrnany room and controlled via a smartphone.

Z-Wave

The obvious benefit to using a wireless protocol like Z-Wavernis that you can retrofit automation components to an existing home withoutrnremoving drywall and running wires. The main drawbacks to Z-Wave are similar tornevery wireless standard: limited range, slower transmission speeds, higherrncost, and less reliability than wired. While that’s a daunting list, as someonernwho’s attempted to run new wires behind existing drywall, I can attest thatrnavoiding that task is often worth the drawbacks.

Z-Wave is not specifically an “app,” but a varietyrnof devices can communicate via the Z-Wave protocol, and smartphone applicationsrnthat can control them. Most automation controllers, ranging from traditionalrnalarm and automation panels to stand-alone automation controllers like the Mi Casa Verde,rncan “talk” Z-Wave and be controlled by a smartphone application.rnSimilarly, you can purchase a USB stick that will communicate with a Z-Wavernnetwork and use an application like InControl,rnor even an open source automation controller like openHAB.