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Showcase day events will be held on September 13 and October 10
Autumn Dates Announced For Regional Home Technology Showcase Events
Home Technology Distributor Invision is running two oneday product showcase events in September and October .
“ Traditionally we have organised an annual showcase but this year is a little different ”, said Steve Beahan , managing director , Invision UK . He continued : “ To follow the successful Edinburgh Expo which took place in June , we will be hosting two further showcases in the Autumn . By holding regional events , we ’ re making it even easier for our customers to attend ”.
Attendees will be able to spend one-on-one time with industry experts and get ‘ hands-on ’ with ground breaking new products and solutions for today ’ s smart home , including home cinema , surveillance and detection , HD video distribution , control and automation , distributed audio , door entry systems , 4K high-end TVs , architectural speakers , networking devices and more .
The events will be held at Haydock Park Racecourse on Wednesday September 13 and at The Foxhills Country Club on Tuesday October 10 .
“ The timing of these one-day showcases is important ” said Mark Taylor , commercial manager , Invision UK . “ We are providing a unique opportunity for our trade customers to see new products from our manufacturer partners , that will have been unveiled at the CEDIA Expo in San Diego , which takes place early September ”. For further information and to register , go to www . HomeTechnologyShowcase . co . uk .
Invision + 44 ( 0 ) 1359 270280 , invisionuk . com
Sonos Prepares Speakers For Alexa Support
Sonos is preparing its speakers for the upcoming rollout of Alexa support , with the company updating its privacy policy to reflect the new voice control features .
Apple , Amazon , Google and Microsoft have all announced smart speakers in the last year or so , and they all promise strong sound quality alongside the ability to control smart home devices using vocal commands . To help combat the growing threat from these smart speakers , Sonos is planning to add the Alexa AI to its entire range of multi-room speakers .
“ It ’ s no secret that we ’ ve been working on this for some time , and we want to make sure we ’ re preparing you well in advance of this addition ,” reads an official Sonos blog post explaining the policy update . The updates to the privacy policy include new mentions of Amazon ’ s Alexa , as well as notifying users of how the speaker collects voice data .
The Alexa AI is typically found on Amazon ’ s Echo line-up of speakers , but has gradually been finding its way to third-party devices . Sonos is not yet giving an official release date for its Alexa support , but given this privacy policy update , one would assume it ’ s not too far away .
Sonos + 44 ( 0 ) 800 0261526 , sonos . com
Industry Response To Government Plans To Unlock Smart Energy
Greg Clark announces government investment in battery technology
In August , business and energy secretary Greg Clark revealed the government ’ s plans to make a £ 246m investment in battery technology over the next four years . The plans , which have been released by the government and Ofgem , will look to give households and businesses more control over their use of electricity and break down barriers preventing new technologies from entering the energy market .
Nick Boughton , sales manager at industrial systems integrator , Boulting Technology , welcomed the announcement and said it will : “ Transform the way homes and businesses store and use energy .” The National Grid delivers electricity to millions of people , businesses and communities across the country , however its role is changing . Although the nation has traditionally relied on large fossil fuel and nuclear power stations to supply electricity , many of these larger power stations are now being closed down . As a result , the supply mix has to evolve .
At present , over a quarter of the UK ’ s electricity is being generated by renewable sources such as wind and solar energy . However , one of the concerns with this method is that production is often at its highest when demand is lowest . This makes storage for energy generated this way a key priority to eliminate waste and harness its true production potential .
Using batteries to store renewable energy is by no means a new concept . However , batteries for this purpose are often big , expensive and have a limited lifespan . In these newly proposed plans , the government has committed to removing barriers to the introduction of new technology into the power network .
Continued advancements in battery power , including decreased costs , are vital for this form of energy storage being rolled out on a mass scale .
Nick explained : “ Over the coming months , we will be working alongside our clients and partners to explore the potential of battery technology in the industrial sector . Looking only a few years ahead , we envisage efficient battery storage being commonplace across industrial sites , office blocks and homes . The initiative could have big implications for the smart home market as many of the products used no longer require large amounts of power to run and new ways powering them will impact how systems can be designed .”
Boulting Technology + 44 ( 0 ) 1925 720090 , boultingtechnology . co . uk
14 | August 2017