Editor's notice: We reviewed the the Peq related-home gadget in January 26, 2015. Comporium Communications obtained the Peq platform and transitioned Peq subscribers to its personal ReadyHome platform effective might also 24, 2017. This evaluate does no longer follow to ReadyHome.
Peq (pronounced “peek”) is a sturdy connected-domestic machine from smart home Ventures that includes of a variety of sensors, lights controls, safety cameras, and different components that connect with a wi-fi valuable hub manufactured by Netgear. You display and control the machine the usage of a web browser or a unfastened app to your smartphone or pill of desire.
you may acquire a Peq system through shopping $one hundred twenty starter package that consists of the hub and one door/window sensor, or one of the pricier package that consist of greater additives (the $490 residence & home kit consists of the hub, a thermostat, and five sensors: two door/window, motion, and one water. you may expand the device with extra sensors and additives at any time. The Peq gadget will also paintings with a of range 1/3-celebration devices, which includes smart deadbolts from Yale and Kwikset, the Nest getting to know Thermostat, and Philips’ Hue LED light bulbs.
For this evaluation, clever home Ventures sent the starter package (the hub and one door/windows sensor that’s priced $120) plus one night-vision safety camera ($130), one smart plug ($55), one movement sensor ($forty five), one water sensor ($50), and a thermostat ($one hundred thirty). the total cost of this machine would be $530, but smart home gives diverse discounts when you buy a couple of components on the identical time.
You gotta pay to play
further to the acquisition charge of the hardware, you’ll also want to enroll in a $10 in step with month carrier plan. similarly to ongoing product aid (7AM to 10PM jap time) and firmware updates, the provider plan includes cloud garage for up to 50 movies and 50 pics in step with day for up to 30 days. not like the Lowes’ Iris device, this subscription fee isn't optional (even though it could be argued that the Iris subscription charge isn't always non-obligatory either, if you actually need that device to be powerful).
As with the Iris gadget, the Peq’s provider plan does now not consist of expert monitoring. So if a motion or door/window sensor is induced whilst you think the house have to be empty, you’re on your personal in relation to summoning an emergency response. carrier plans that do provide expert monitoring, of route, tend to fee tons more and commonly tie you into a long-term agreement with exhausting early-termination fees. then again, they also include professional set up.
AT&T's digital existence offerings, for instance, start with a clever security package deal that costs $150 for the system plus a month-to-month provider rate of $40. including linked-home capabilities will hastily boom that subscription rate. packages from service vendors inclusive of ADT, Comcast, and Vivint are in addition high priced, however you don’t need to worry approximately putting in place the device your self.
The Peq pedigree
The Peq device is essentially powered by Icontrol Networks, an old hand within the related-home marketplace that a number of different provider providers have decided on: ADT (Pulse), Comcast (Xfinity domestic), and Cox (Cox domestic safety), to name a few. To set it up, you join a Netgear ASG1100 hub on your router. You then you log onto the Peq internet site and watch for the hub to be recognized. The commands warn that this may take up to fifteen mins, however it took about 1/2 that long in my case. As with each step in configuring the machine, you may view a quick video of the manner earlier than you begin.
as soon as the hub is "located" by using your community, it downloads any pending firmware updates. you then're geared up to start pairing gadgets via the browser interface. the general procedure is to electricity-on the brand new device, both by using plugging it in (as with the lamp module), or pulling out a plastic strip that blocks the battery (as with the door/window sensor). Now place the tool close to the hub till it's found and coupled, at which point you provide it a name and vicinity it wherein you want. every device comes with step-by-step onscreen commands which might be very clean to observe. certainly, there's nothing to it.
I started with the door/window sensor. It has additives, the sensor and a magnet. once the sensor is paired, you put one element to your door or window (the usage of either a mounting bracket or double-sided sticky tape, both of which are blanketed) and the opposite element on the jamb or frame. You must line up the two elements and make certain they're within a half-inch of every different. once it's executed, your onscreen or in-app Dashboard shows the popularity of the door (open or closed) as well as a notification if it adjustments.
subsequent, I installation the water sensor. After it's paired, the instructions say to test it via protecting it to a damp paper towel. this is wherein I bumped into one of the few minor system faults i found with the machine: the damp paper towel did register as "water detected," however the message remained even after I removed the towel and dried the sensor. doing away with and replacing the battery labored to reset the tool.
as soon as the sensor was equipped, I positioned it on the ground of my basement, next to the drain where there is usually water when the washing device goes. I started out a load of laundry and went back upstairs. sure sufficient, in approximately 10 minutes my Dashboard confirmed a "water detected" message.
I tested 3 different devices in my assortment: the lamp module, essentially a smart plug; the movement sensor, and the digicam. As with the door and water sensors, the instructions and movies were clean and setup become painless. I did now not take a look at the thermostat, because I didn't think my landlord could appreciate my taking his present one out.
Playing by the rules
as soon as your numerous gadgets are paired, you may start setting up policies to govern how they behave: automating whilst a lamp activates and off, for example, or having a sensor ship an email or text alert or cause an action by means of every other device. as an instance, I installation a rule for the water sensor to ship me an electronic mail whilst it detected water. So further to the notifications in my Dashboard approximately the water inside the laundry room, I also acquired email indicators. In fact, I obtained an e mail notification each 15 mins until I corrected the "hassle" inside the basement via transferring the sensor.
I also made a rule for the lamp module to show on every evening at 4 PM and depart the lighting fixtures on for 8 hours, in addition to to turn on while the door became opened or while the motion sensor detected motion within the room. It turned out that the way these regulations interacted changed into sincerely the best region wherein I bumped into troubles getting the system to paintings the manner I wanted. The motion-sensor rule stated to show at the lamp and turn it off once more after five mins. That worked, however it overrode the rule approximately turning the mild on in the night, so that the lamp turned itself off after five mins although it changed into in the 4 PM-to-middle of the night time frame. I fixed that through tweaking the motion-sensing rule to not practice for the duration of the hours the lamp might be on besides.
The most effective different failure changed into on my component, after I turned out the lamp at bedtime the usual manner, the usage of its switch. That intended the Peq gadget couldn't turn the lamp on for any motive, and it took me a couple of minutes the next day to figure out why none of my regulations for the lamp were operating. In a communication, Steve Bosch, Peq vp of product and strategy, agreed that a part of the getting to know curve with the device is schooling yourself to turn matters on and stale with the device, instead of with physical switches.
Is it a worthwhile investment?
My only different actual complaint of the system needed to do with the limited functionality of the cell apps. They let you control your gadgets and flip regulations on and off, but you can not create or alter a rule with them. That ability, thankfully, might be part of the new interface and function set that smart home is making plans to roll out inside the second region of this year.
within the new interface, every device proven at the Dashboard has a "live tile" that not most effective presentations its modern reputation but gives some direct control: Dimming a light through dragging downward at the tile, for example. you may be able to have multiple dashboards, each with its own set of tiles, to accommodate distinctive human beings and conditions. And the device will also provide connections with new gadgets, inclusive of storage door openers, fitness trackers, and the Zubie "connected automobile" gadget.
the new interface looks like an improvement, but simply I did not have any troubles with the cutting-edge one. All in all, if you want an smooth-to-use linked-domestic and domestic-tracking gadget, Peq suits the invoice. it's easy to installation, and the entirety just works as it's presupposed to, proper out of the container.
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