The Thread Group said it launched an enabler program based on the recognition that much of the innovation in the connected home will come from small startups that can’t afford membership fees. The Thread Innovation Enabler Program is designed to give low-budget innovative companies a chance to play a role in “defining the connected home through access to Thread technology,” it said Wednesday. Once a quarter, the program will provide one company with up to 18 months of contributor-level membership to enable it to build new products using Thread, and companies will be picked based on the creative potential of the ideas they submit, Thread said. The group is soliciting submissions from companies that are pre-Series A funding; planning a connected product or service for the home based on Thread; or planning to ship products in the second half of this year or first half 2016. Projects on Kickstarter or Indiegogo will be considered, and in addition to the Thread membership, winners will receive Thread certification for one product, a listing on the Thread website, access to member meetings and potential inclusion in Thread marketing, the group said. The Thread Group, with 80 members, also said it added home control company Somfy and fire protection and security company Tyco to its board, which also includes ARM, Big Ass Fans, Freescale Semiconductor, Nest Labs, Samsung Electronics, Silicon Labs and Yale Security.

A smart home system called Oomi launched Thursday via Kickstarter, offering contributors a starter kit for $229, roughly half off the $449 suggested retail price the system will command when it ships midyear. Developed by Fantem, Oomi’s peg is simple setup and use centering on patent-pending “Tap-and-Touch” technology, the company said. When an Oomi device is tapped using the Oomi Touch tablet, options for setup, configuration and tutorials for the device are displayed on the tablet screen, said Fantem. Oomi is "lowering the barrier to entry for home automation for consumers of all types -- whether tech-savvy or not," the company said. Oomi uses Z-Wave for communication and will be able to control 1,200 Z-Wave products when it ships, Fantem said. The Oomi system has self-learning algorithms and adaptive automation, said to learn the user’s habits, schedules and preferences. Oomi can “determine if the user’s commute will take longer than expected and automatically re-set their alarm clock to wake them up earlier so they are not late for work,” Fantem said. The starter kit includes a hub, tablet and compatible wall outlet switch, it said.

Orvito launched its first product, the Smart Switch Panel, that’s said to enable control of all electrical home appliances “anytime, anywhere.” The panel can control devices, trigger presets, sense motion and set energy consumption goals as part of the Nucleo Internet of Things platform, the company said. The panel, based on Wi-Fi, can be retrofitted into existing electrical switch outlets and doesn’t require additional wiring, it said. Smart Switch Panel captures data and usage patterns from devices, generates insights and makes actionable recommendations to users, the company said. The panel can be controlled from anywhere via the Internet and can trigger an action or set of actions based on an event captured on webcams or an alert from safety sensors in all electrical appliances, the company said.

It appeared that Pella Windows and Doors might have arrived a couple of weeks ahead of its annual appearance at the International Builder Show opening later this month in Las Vegas when we encountered the company’s booth at the Sands Expo during CES. But Pella is just the latest non-tech company hoping to ride the surging wave of the Internet of Things. Pella launched at CES its Insynctive technology, which it calls a “family of smart products for windows and doors designed to deliver security, comfort and convenience.” The line of smart home products includes window and door sensors, a garage door sensor, an entry door dead-bolt sensor, status indicator, bridge and motorized blinds and shades. “Our goal is to secure all the openings of your home,” a company spokeswoman told us during a booth tour. The company is offering dead-bolt lock monitoring through an integrated sensor that it builds into the door, she said. “Because we’re the manufacturer, we can integrate those things into the product so a consumer can get a window that already has that technology inside of it,” she said. The lock itself isn't electronic. The entry door is the company’s first foray into the space, she said. The Insynctic offering uses a bridge that’s compatible with communications platforms including Crestron, Nexia, Savant, Wink and Z-Wave, she said, and products are available through do-it-yourself and installer channels. The sensors offer a retrofit option and customers don’t need to own Pella products to use the sensors, she said. In the first iteration, a wall-mountable status indicator shows homeowners only that a window or door is open or closed, which the spokeswoman touted as an advantage for simplicity in a complicated technical world. When we pointed out a homeowner would want to know which door or window was open she said, “Eventually that’s where we will go.” Integration with hubs like Wink allow users to set up scenes. Opening the door could automatically turn on a light, she said. The company also added motors to its shading products so they can be operated by the Insynctive system, she said. Its shades include a standard solar charging option that enables the battery to recharge in the sun, and a wired charger option is available for areas without much sunlight, she said. To educate its dealers in technology, the company has been holding training sessions for the past eight months, which include research on competitors such as Lutron and Hunter-Douglas on the shade side. On why Pella has entered the smart home business, she said, “People now are going to want more and more to be connected, and that includes windows and doors."

Panasonic has integrated Control4’s Simple Device Discovery Protocol (SDDP) software into its 4K Ultra HD TVs. Control4 said Tuesday. Devices integrating SDDP automatically find, identify, authenticate, add and connect devices to a Control4 system during the installation process, which reduces complexity and configuration time for installers, the company said. More than 100 manufacturers have incorporated SDDP into their products, Control4 said.

VTech will hitch to the connected home bandwagon at CES, the company said Tuesday, when it unveils a line of wireless monitoring products based on Ultra-Low Energy (ULE) and Wi-Fi technologies. The company will demonstrate how integrated ULE sensors in a baby monitor system can send notifications that a door or window is open in a child’s room, while a motion sensor can indicate a child’s movement, it said. Homeowners can program a cordless phone to notify them that ULE sensors have been triggered and to receive a voice alert through the phone system. They can also program the phone to call them at another phone number if they're away from home, the company said. VTech’s IP hub provides Internet connectivity for the sensors and devices, allowing consumers to control the devices in the home via a smartphone app. VTech will offer a variety of smart sensors and home-control devices to supplement its wireless monitoring devices, including open/closed, motion, glass-break, siren and flood sensors, it said. Consumers will be able to control connected AC power outlets and LED lights from mobile devices, it said. VTech called ULE the “newest proven communications standard known for its reliability, security and long range,” saying up to 50 million ULE products are expected to be sold next year. ULE operates on a reserved 1.9 GHz-frequency band that’s “free of interference and delivers unsurpassed range,” VTech said. As a result, homeowners can run all their VTech sensors and control devices on a point-to-point, encrypted network with a range of roughly 1,000 feet, while other technologies require repeaters to reach the same range, making them less reliable and more expensive, it said. ULE is also one of the most energy-efficient smart-home technologies available today, VTech said.

Venstar will launch a line of Voyager thermostats at CES with optional modules enabling Wi-Fi, ZigBee and Z-Wave connectivity and controllable by Android, Apple and BlackBerry devices, the company said. Using the free Skyport Cloud Services mobile application on smartphones or tablets, users can remotely control energy usage from any location at any time, the company said. Venstar will exhibit in the Zig-Bee Pavilion, Booth 71023, Sands Convention Center, and in the Z-Wave Alliance Pavilion, Booth 21000, LVCC, South Hall 1, it said.

Ownership of connected TV devices, including smart TVs, smart Blu-ray players, connected game consoles and digital media streamers, grew 5 percent quarter-on-quarter in Q3 and 28 percent year-on-year to reach 168 million units, Strategy Analytics said Wednesday in a report. Spurred by the "desire to watch video content delivered via the open Internet," the average U.S. home owned 1.9 connected TV devices Q3, compared with 1.5 per home in Q3 last year, the firm said. Other findings: (1) Sony led the U.S. market for connected game consoles for the third straight quarter, with just under half of unit shipments in Q3. (2) Samsung is the "dominant" U.S. vendor in smart TVs, with 35 percent of units shipped Q3. Vizio was second, followed by Sony and LG.

Bed Bath & Beyond highlighted smart home products in an email pitch to customers Monday. A coupon offering 20 percent off a single-item topped a page headlined: “A Smarter Home for the Holidays.” The retailer pushed full-priced “innovative gifts” that work with a smartphone including the Philips hue lux LED light bulb starter ($99), the hue A19 bulb starter kit ($199) and the Honeywell Lyric Wi-Fi thermostat that's discounted by $50 through Dec. 31 to $229. Also included were a Belkin WeMo night cam ($129); a WeMo-enabled smart Crock-Pot ($129) controllable by a mobile device; and a Holmes whole-house humidifier with WeMo based app control ($199). An app-controllable Aura sleep system offering light and sound features to aid with sleep is $299.

Lowe’s is offering a smart water shut-off valve for its Iris smart home technology that can be controlled over the Internet in case of a leak, the retailer said Monday. The $159 valve links to water and temperature sensors and will automatically shut off the water supply if a leak is detected or if the temperature falls to a level that could cause pipes to freeze, it said. Water damage and pipe freezing account for 22 percent of all homeowner insurance claims, with an average cost exceeding $7,000, Lowe’s said, citing the 2014 Insurance Fact Book from the Insurance Information Institute. Preventive technologies such as the smart valve can “significantly reduce the risk of water damage to one’s home from undetected leaks,” which can help minimize damage, said Michael Robon, senior-vice president, Liberty Mutual. “Customers who use devices like these to proactively protect their homes should be rewarded for this behavior,” he said. Liberty Mutual discounts will be offered in several states for consumers who own water mitigation devices, a Lowe’s spokeswoman told us, but further details weren’t available.