Some folks may not know it but I started my own integration business, The Automation Link Inc. (TALI), in 1989 and put on the side of my van, “The Leader in Home Automation.” I was 20 years ahead of my time. Home automation hadn’t happened yet and it was easy to be the leader — there were no followers. Fast forward to today: I just returned from CEDIA Expo where connectivity, control, and artificial intelligence (AI) ruled. Today, numerous associations serve the industry, along with a plethora of magazines, newsletters and blogs.
Retail offerings abound, and are often add-ons to traditional security. That’s why back in the early ‘90s when every home we were installing automation and control in also had a security system, I became a licensed security installer. It was easy to earn $20 to $30 a month for standard security monitoring, but we were different; we offered automation of lighting and HVAC, along with remote home control. We only delivered security systems that included automation and our clients never questioned the $50 per month charge for professional security monitoring, remote home control, automatic setting of clocks for daylight savings time twice a year, and any automated scheduling edits. The 80/20 rule applied and only 20 percent of our clients ever asked for any automation scheduling changes, and it was easy to do via remote access. Albeit, I admit it was by a dial-up modem. Any way you look at it, we still earned $50 RMR from every one of our clients, and that helped cashflow.