There are over 100 first-time exhibitors at CEDIA EXPO this year and one of the most intriguing is a Z-Wave-based automation systems with a recurring revenue opportunity from a company called enerG.
Officially dubbed the Home Awareness System, enerG’s product line allows homeowners to control, customize, and automate all connected devices in the home and receive important system notifications on their Android and iOS devices.
The enerG starter package consists of a gateway hub, a thermostat, and two smart enerG switches at an MSRP of $429, with additional fees for integrators’ installation and enerG’s monthly service plan (starts at $29.99). The system can be expanded to include lighting control, garage door access, keyless entry, and wireless HD viewing.
Homeowners manage the operation of their connected devices at the enerGhome.com portal. There they can monitor how much energy has been consumed by device and the whole house in both watts and dollars based on their specific utility provider. This allows them to set energy goals, and accordingly, make adjustments to improve consumption.
“We’re trying to present a product to the end user that creates an affordable system where clients can log in and adjust their thermostats and do additional HD video viewing and other control features lot locks and garage door or any iOS product or PC or Mac,” explained enerG president Greg Brett. “By offering a monthly user fee to access the system, the dealer profits with not only increased margins on the product but also a portion of that recurring revenue every month.”
The company’s mobile app mirrors the portal, making the system readily available on the go. For example, the homeowner can monitor energy usage, adjust thermostats and view video from the app, even opting to select and view multiple locations.
For even greater home control, the system incorporates Geo-Fencing, a technology that makes it possible for the homeowner to define rules or to adjust settings when people leave or approach the home (for example automatically adjusting HD-viewing or temperature, etc.) The technology uses GPS in the homeowner’s smartphone to trigger the settings.
Hardware
The enerG system is scalable and affordable. The pre-packaged systems are as follows:
• $429 MSRP Starter Package (gateway hub, thermostat and 2 smart enerG switches)
• $599 MSRP Connected Home Package (adds lighting and whole house smart meter)
• $1,299 MSRP Home Awareness Package (adds HD Viewing and Cloud based services to allow up to 4 terabytes of recording and viewing video)
• $1,499 Home Awareness Plus Package (adds keyless entry)
Additionally, as many like products as desired can be added to the corresponding enerG package for no additional service fee.
In addition to the hardware and installation costs paid to the integrator, the homeowner remits a service fee to enerG each month to access the system. The fees start at:
• $29.99 per month (Starter and Connected Home Packages)
• $39.99 per month (Home Awareness, and Home Awareness Package Plus)
enerG has selected the Catalyst AV group to take them to market. For additional information on enerG products and becoming an enerG Home Awareness authorized integrator visit www.enerGhome.com.
