EASONS

AT HOME
“The evolution of the home is here,” says Chris Allen,
founder and CEO of iDevices in Avon, a company that is
bringing the Silicon Valley to the Farmington Valley.
The iConnecte
Written by Theresa Anzaldua
Photography by Seshu Photography
Automated, high-tech homes—where lights,
television, music, and thermostat controls
operate automatically—seem great, so long as
they come with an in-home tech support person. Unless
you’re a tech geek, programming the digital thermostat
is hard enough: Who wants to program an entire house?
West Hartford native Chris Allen is the founder and
chief executive officer of iDevices, a nationally renowned
tech company located in Avon, which has created a
simple system to easily make your house a smart home
without hiring a techie.
When Allen leaves work every day, he tells Siri
that he’s coming home, and his house heats up; garage,
porch, and hall lights come on; and he pulls into a safe,
cozy home. “The evolution of the home is here,” Allen
says. “True integration is when technology is invisible
and controlled by voice. Speech is a natural form of
control,” he explains. When Allen is out of town, his
residence has a “false presence” and continues to light
up as if he and his family are home. He can have his
high school kids awakened automatically with lights and
music turning on in his daughter’s and son’s rooms,
and a lit-up, warm home awaits when they return from
school. At the end of the day, Allen says, “Hey, Siri,
bedtime,” and the house turns off for the night.
The genius of Allen’s system is that it’s easy to set up
and to use. For instance, a homeowner can purchase an
iDevices Transformation Pack consisting of one indoor
and one outdoor Wi-Fi-enabled smart plug and a smart
thermostat. To activate the system, the homeowner plugs
one indoor and up to two outdoor lights or appliances
into the iDevices switches, then plugs the switches into
the home’s electrical outlets. The homeowner swaps
the iDevices thermostat with the existing one. Then,
all the homeowner has to do is download the iDevices
app and pair the two switches and thermostat with his
or her smart phone. When homeowners want more
automation, they simply buy more switches and other
iDevices. Since the system runs off the home’s Wi-Fi,
there’s no wiring, subscription fee, or contract. The
company has a great customer support team, located
conveniently in Avon, to help with any questions.
Allen and his team designed the system to be easy to
use because he strongly believes that technology should
enhance people’s lives. Allen says, “I don’t like what I
call ‘Christmas morning technology.’ That’s when you
get a device that’s cool to use for a couple of hours, but
you don’t really need it, so you toss it aside and forget
about it.”
12
Seasons of West Hartford • SPRING 2017