Schlage Entering 2011 With Eye Toward Energy Management, Remote Operation

Energy management solutions and expanded audio and video features for webcams are new areas that Schlage will focus on for its Z-Wave-based home management system in 2011, Dwight Gibson, general manager for the company’s Connected Home Solutions group, told us in a pre-CES briefing last week. Schlage’s 2011 product plan includes energy monitoring and management, he said. The company wants to give consumers the ability to see their “complete energy profile,” Gibson said, so they can better control those costs. Lighting, appliances and HVAC systems drive more than 80 percent of energy consumption in homes, “and that’s where consumers’ actions can make a meaningful difference,” he said.

Gibson said the company is “aggressively” seeking energy monitoring solutions that don’t require direct connectivity with smart meters. “The pace at which we want to move and the channel influence we have” enable the company to drive adoption of energy monitoring without having to wait for utility companies to roll out smart meter technology, he said. “There are other ways to do that,” Gibson said, adding that Schlage is “building into our devices the ability to read energy usage, not just control things.” He said the company is “actively exploring solutions” for HVAC systems, appliances and lighting “that allow us to get a broader read of the energy from a home.”

Schlage plans to roll out those solutions in the second half of 2011, he said. The company maintains “an interest” in what utility companies are doing with the smart grid, he said, “but our action doesn’t depend on their schedules.” Gibson said Schlage is in discussions with GE, which will exhibit at CES in January, about how its Nucleus energy manager system could integrate with the Schlage LiNK system. He wouldn’t elaborate. Improving devices’ ability to communicate is self-serving, too. A communicating furnace can remind consumers about maintenance, tune-ups and replacing filters, he said.

At CES, Schlage will launch a cloud-based video storage solution with tiered prices. Pricing plans are still being determined, he said. Current webcam offerings allow homeowners only to monitor their home cameras using the Schlage LiNK interface, but the next-gen system adds recording capability. “When a device is triggered you not only see the video but can record it as well,” he said. Additions include zoom, outdoor models and audio, he said.

The company will also add sensors, including door and window contacts, to its product line for 2011, and motion-based occupancy sensors and sensors to detect water and carbon monoxide, he said. The company is focusing on sensors “that make a meaningful difference at the outset,” he said, and will expand “as we get more comfortable with these devices,” he said.

Another 2011 strategy for Schlage is to support “as many screens as possible,” Gibson said. The company has apps for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android devices and will support tablet PCs as they roll out, he said. The company “will play a role” in Internet TV as well, Gibson said, but he wouldn’t provide specifics. The company is not announcing an app for TVs at CES, Gibson said, “but we're in active conversations with a lot of different folks.” The goal for LiNK control is that from wherever customers happen to be, “you can reach out and touch your home and manage it in a compelling way,” he said. Users can do everything from handheld devices that they can do from the website except set up accounts, he said.

Schlage reduced the monthly fee for its Schlage LiNK service in August to $8.99 from $12.99, claiming “cost efficiencies.” The service includes remote lock and unlock control of an electronic lock, optional e-mail or text alerts when access codes are entered into the lock, set up of temporary entry codes for workers or visitors, the ability to adjust temperature with an optional thermostat from sister company Trane, and control of Z-Wave-compatible lighting. The hardware starter kit is $249.

The company began selling the Schlage kit through Trane HVAC dealers in August, Gibson said. The additional cost to “get pretty cool functionality makes for a pretty easy conversation,” he said. Trane customers typically get the starter kit for $249-$299, but they get six months of free LiNK service rather than the two month for do-it-yourself customers who buy the product at Lowe’s or Radio Shack or online, he said. As the number of Schlage-certified Z-Wave devices grows beyond the current 10-15, the need for professional installation is likely to grow, he said.