While the Internet of Things is garnering much press coverage, with a few exceptions real life case studies remain thin on the ground outside the cloistered world of the tech community. However one area of growing significance is that of the second or holiday home, where remote management of the property is not just a nice bonus, but a real necessity.
In these houses the owners’ requirements are typically very simple: they want to be able to turn the heating on the day before they arrive. They want to turn it off again after a client has left. They may want to install security sensors and cameras, but typically not much beyond this. Intelligence in domestic appliances, windows, “smart” thermostats (such as the Nest), and others are usually overkill for houses only occupied infrequently.
So it is no surprise to see simple internet-connected devices starting to appear, in particular thermostats. The first companies off the mark here have been the smaller more-nimble controls companies, such as UK-based Heatmiser, with their growing range of WiFi connected thermostats. More recently a number of others have entered this market, including mainstream players such as Honeywell.
Without the high-tech background of a player such as Nest, some of the early entrants struggled to adapt to the speed of the tech world, getting left behind by software updates, finding unexpected wifi incompatibilities, or missing the decline of Windows. However the learning curve has been steep, and a growing range of excellent solutions exist today.
Another challenge facing many remote homeowners has been the lack of a reliable internet connection. Dial-up is clearly not an option for these installations, yet there remain significant rural areas across Europe still lacking broadband coverage. Of course these locations are often precisely the place where a Parisian or Milanese might choose to buy their second home, or set up a holiday rental house.
Which is where the upcoming satellite internet services come into play. At the forefront of these is KA-SAT, launched in 2010, and specifically designed to deliver high-bandwidth high-capacity broadband services. KA-SAT is owned by Eutelsat, and through their Tooway arm offers true broadband services to remote homeowners across Europe.
Steve Petrie, Northern European Director for Tooway commented: "The Tooway satellite broadband service from Eutelsat is ideal for homes or holiday homes in rural areas and Not Spots across Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. Our consumer modems are currently configured with locked down ports, meaning remote access to the modem is denied. However, if customers discussed their needs with the reseller, I'm sure the modems could be easily set-up to meet their requirements."
It is not clear if resellers are aware of this, as all those contacted for this article (Sat2way, Avonline and Europasat) indicated that they had no access to unlock the modem. If this remains the case it looks like Tooway will be missing a growing opportunity. Other satellites, such as the Astra range, are not dedicated to broadband provision (their primary function is TV), so do not offer the speeds of KA-SAT, but do not lock down their modems.
Whatever the mechanism, this market looks set to take off. Most waves are driven by strong customer needs, and the management of remote properties looks set to be the spearhead for a range of basic home control systems.
Go Heatmiser
Go Honeywell
Go Nest
Go Eutelsat
Go Tooway
Go Sat2way
Go Europasat
Go Avonline