Recent entrant to the smart home sector, Device Smart Ltd was founded at the beginning of 2020 with the intent to develop discreet smart home security products.
Co-Founded by experienced industry figure Jason Hill (ex Merit LILIN Group Vice President) the concept is based around ensuring maximum take up of security systems by producing security products that meet with the aesthetic standards home owners expect from the rest of their equipment.
Serving as company MD, Jason explains, “Whilst working in the high end residential sector around the world it had become apparent that some of the core security deterrents were being eschewed on many residential systems simply because the home-owner deemed the devices to be ‘too ugly’ to be fitted to their beautiful homes.”
A good example of the issues the company wishes to tackle can be seen in the security lighting sector, a large market but one that Jason argues has not really evolved in terms of aesthetics or intelligence, typically being a price driven mass market.
Jason explains, “So I conceived the Night Sabre creating the worlds’ slimmest security light at only 25mm high. This first product was launched in September 2020, it can be installed under the eaves of a roof, under a windowsill or in a door frame. The market feedback has been very enthusiastic and the concept of linear LED lighting has driven a lot of interest and new applications. Two new products are launching this August; a PoE powered version with digital control input and a Wi-Fi connected smart version that can be controlled by app or voice assistant. These will be available in white or anthracite finishes.”
The smart version has been created to provide a lot of control over the functions and settings – adjusting the range of the motion sensor or brightness of the LED light for example, it also offers a geofencing function and the ability to integrate with other smart devices to create ‘moccupancy’ scenes – triggering another smart bulb in the home after a short delay, to simulate an occupier responding to alert for example.
One area the Night Sabre is highlighted as being a strong option for is as a garage mounted security light for installation above garage doors deterring intruders from approaching this area or the front of the house in general. The light of course also delivers practical advantages for the home owner returning to or leaving the property. The LED floodlight can illuminate a large driveway with a wide even beam and detect movement at up to 9m away. The Night Sabre has also been designed to be easy to fit, with no need for a direct power supply from the mains (the unit has its own plug in power source). The ultra-bright LEDs are rated to 30,000 hours and only consume 14w, and the company says each unit will last for decades – reducing both greenhouse gas emissions and total cost of ownership.
So, what has the experience of launching a new company and concept been like in the current climate?
Jason says, “The pandemic has certainly thrown some additional challenges any start-up would usually prefer to avoid, but a lot of our first year was product development, research and planning so the timing wasn’t a disaster. Now our focus is moving to market awareness, in person trade shows are back so we hope to be demonstrating the product to a wider audience as well as visiting integrators and consultants throughout the UK. We are considering making an appearance at the EI Live! show this September, so we will have more news on that very soon.”