After Hours

Photos: A peek inside the automated home

By // October 19, 2006, 10:57 PM PST // billdetwiler

Image 1 of 4

  • A chic loft apartment in New York City's Flatiron District was outfitted on Tuesday with a whole slew of new gadgets designed to put around-the-house routines at one's fingertips. The setup was centered around the Z-Wave open wireless standard, which was developed by for home appliance networking and automation.

    The apartment was "furnished" by the Z-Wave Alliance, a group of manufacturers--many of them competitors--who have teamed up to promote the home networking standard.

    This might look like a normal (albeit upscale) living room, but everything from the lights to the window shades to the thermostat to the meditative water fountain in the corner are synched to a Z-Wave controller manufactured by Intermatic. The Z-Wave devices are barely visible.

    Caroline McCarthy/CNET News.com

  • This Intermatic HomeSettings Master Controller is in charge of controlling the windows, lights, thermostat, and fountain shown in the previous photo. When Z-Wave-compatible light dimmers, plugs, and modules are connected to various appliances, the Master Controller can give easy access to them simultaneously and at a distance.

    Caroline McCarthy/CNET News.com

  • The TV in this impressive home entertainment center is equipped with BuLogics' BaseCamp, a Z-Wave-based system that is centered around the television set. BaseCamp uses a souped-up remote control to dim and brighten lighting, schedule appliances like coffee makers, and control room temperature.

    Caroline McCarthy/CNET News.com

  • A Z-Wave Alliance representative demonstrates Intermatic's HomeSettings ThinkEssentials software, a part of its ControlThink line. On the screen, a house floor plan is displayed so that the user has drag-and-drop access to Z-Wave home control functions. It's conducted over broadband in addition to Z-Wave, so a ThinkEssentials user can be on vacation in Italy and still control the lawn irrigation for his house back in the States.

    Caroline McCarthy/CNET News.com

A chic loft apartment in New York City's Flatiron District was outfitted on Tuesday with a whole slew of new gadgets designed to put around-the-house routines at one's fingertips. The setup was centered around the Z-Wave open wireless standard, which was developed by for home appliance networking and automation.

The apartment was "furnished" by the Z-Wave Alliance, a group of manufacturers--many of them competitors--who have teamed up to promote the home networking standard.

This might look like a normal (albeit upscale) living room, but everything from the lights to the window shades to the thermostat to the meditative water fountain in the corner are synched to a Z-Wave controller manufactured by Intermatic. The Z-Wave devices are barely visible.

Caroline McCarthy/CNET News.com

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By Bill Detwiler

Bill Detwiler is Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop supp...