Glass front doors are great for letting in light during the day, but not so great if you want privacy at night. Home Depot has a clever solution to this problem – glass entry doors that can be changed from clear to opaque on a schedule, either with a voice command or with the press of a button.
The Feather River Smart Glass Door is a pre-hung fiberglass entry door with built-in smart glass. A button on the door allows you to change the glass from clear to opaque and works with Home Depot’s Hubspace smart home app, allowing you to control it from your phone. You can also set the glass on a schedule to be transparent during the day and opaque at night. The doors cost $798 for the three-quarter lite version, $899 for the half lite version, and $998 for the full version, as do the non-smart entry doors.
Hubspace is The Home Depot’s attempt to explain the smart home to customers. Despite the name, the smart home platform does not require a hub, just the Hubspace app. With it, you can connect and control a wide range of The Home Depot store brands, from smart lights and blinds to bathroom fans and thermostats.
The smart glass door is the retail giant’s Hubspace first collaboration with a third party. It works with the Hubspace app and can connect to smart home systems like Amazon Alexa or Google Home to set your door’s transparency or opacity with a voice command.
The smart glass works via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and requires power. The door has a battery built into the frame that can be powered via a USB cable if there is a socket nearby. The battery is replaceable and a second battery and charger are included with the door.
The battery only powers the glass and communications. Unlike Home Depot’s first attempt at selling a smart door – the $4,000 M-PWR Smart Door from Masonite – the Feather River door does not have built-in power for a smart doorbell or door lock. It’s a standard door outside the glass. You can add a battery-powered smart lock and the door will act as a Bluetooth-Wi-Fi bridge for Hubspace-compatible Bluetooth locks.
The door is designed to fit a standard entrance and comes with a frame and sealing strips for easy installation. According to The Home Depot, glass provides exterior security, with a hurricane glass option coming soon.
This smart fridge or freezer can send you notifications if its temperature changes. Photo: Home Magazine
In addition to the new doors, The Home Depot is launching a number of other new connected products that work with the Hubspace app:
Credit : www.theverge.com
