Five scenarios for getting more from Apple HomeKit

With the launch of iOS 10, the very powerful HomeKit ecosystem adds new automation features and gets its very own Home app that will allow you to start to automate your house through a series of sensors, intelligent switches, or lights.

On its own the Home app isn’t very smart, Apple is just providing the software, but with the right hardware, you can really start to change the way you enjoy your house. Here are five scenarios that might sound futuristic, but are all possible today with either the Home app or Elgato’s Eve ecosystem offering.

Welcome home

By year’s end there will be over 100 different devices available that are HomeKit compatible. As you can imagine there are plenty of different ways the system could welcome you home. One simple and easy way is to have a HomeKit scene to automatically turn your lights on and start boiling a cup of tea for you as you walk in the door. You can do this through the Eve Energy Switch & Power Meter.

The intelligent plug socket, when used in connection with an Apple TV 4 in the home can automatically turn on anything connected to it when your phone sends a location trigger to notify your home hub that you’re getting close. No longer do you have to come home to a dark house again.

Is everything turned off?

We’ve all been there, I can’t remember if I turned xyz off as you are driving away from your house. There is an easier way. With HomeKit enabled door sensors, like the Eve Door & Window sensor for example, you have the ability to ensure all your HomeKit enabled and connected devices turn off when you walk out a certain door as the sensor is triggered.

Good morning world

Still waking up to an alarm? Why not wake up to light gently glowing, a warm bathroom and a fresh port of coffee while Siri tells you what the weather is doing outside. You can do some of that using Eve Thermo, a HomeKit enabled thermostatic radiator valve that can control your radiators via pre-programmed schedules, a Siri command, or the Home app, alongside Eve Energy that could be plugged into an electric blind that slowly raises at a given time. A HomeKit enabled coffee machine could then start you a brew. Wide awake.

What time did you get home?

If you’ve got teenagers that are starting to venture out, knowing when they eventually did get home could be advantageous. Fit an Eve Door & Window sensor to your front door and whenever anyone comes and goes the Eve app will notice. Now when they say they got in at 11pm and the historical data chart in the Eve app reports activity at 4am, you’ll know the real truth.

Breathe Easy

With Eve Room and Eve Energy, automatically keep your home fresh as a daisy and free from poor air quality. The room sensor will allow you to monitor not only the quality of the air in the room, but also the temperature and humidity of the room too. If you want to do something based on the results, the accompanying Eve app allows you to action things based on the results, perhaps like activating an air cleaner connected to an Eve Energy, turning the radiator down (if you’ve got the Eve Thermo) or going as far as turning on your cassette radio to play Summer In The City by The Lovin’ Spoonful.