It's not saving the manatees or getting your toast to pop up the minute you walk into the kitchen that's causing the smart home to take off. It's money. The most compelling connected kit is that which justifies its existence by paying for itself and then cutting your costs in half.
A new method of harvesting electricity from unused radio frequency waves has been unveiled today by Lord Paul Drayson, the former minister for science and chief executive of Drayson Technologies, at The Royal Institution in London.
Your home can customize itself to your habits, and save you money in the process. That's all great, but does it really make the world a better place? To make home automation a world-changing concept, we need to think bigger.