Elan Acquires HomeLogic, a Sleeper in IP-Based Home Control

Elan Home Systems -- a preeminent provider of home automation, communications, and multiroom A/V systems for the mid market -- has acquired HomeLogic, an innovator in IP-based home control.

It's a perfect marriage.

HomeLogic is one of the more successful developers of IP-based automation. And Elan has been perhaps a little slow on the IP uptake.

"I think, honestly, we've been a little behind the curve on IP control," says Paul Starkey, Elan's vice president of sales and marketing. "When we looked at upping the control game in the IP arena, this just seemed to be a logical marriage."

About HomeLogic

HomeLogic was founded in 2002 with one of the most promising solutions for IP-based control. Its original OneHome automation system was a basic system that put a single brand of security, lighting control, and thermostat onto the home network, and melded it with a PC-based media server.

Here is what we wrote in the December 2004 issue of CE Pro when we recognized OneHome system in the CE Pro High Impact Product of the Year awards:

In the past few years, a couple dozen startups have demonstrated IP-based home-control systems that look pretty promising. Unfortunately, few have delivered, leaving integrators nervous about promoting such products.

Thankfully, HomeLogic appears to be doing things right. Similar companies have failed because they asked integrators to do too much. HomeLogic, on the other hand, provides a turnkey system including a cabinet, its own server, touchscreens, and a variety of "EdgeBrick" adapters configured with drivers for the most popular subsystems.

At the heart of the system is the HomeBrick, a dedicated server running Embedded Windows XP. HomeLogic stripped out many of the extraneous features that bog down traditional XP computers, meaning HomeBrick only performs home-control functions, and it does that very well.

"Essentially, HomeLogic has stripped everything out of XP that is not necessary to drive the system, and the result is a very clean registry," says John Lee of A Plus Electronics, Wichita, Kan. "This is not a computer that the customer can use for anything other than HomeLogic’s OneHome system."

HomeLogic has few equals in the home-controls business. It is primarily a software company that makes a few hardware controllers such as touchscreens and Web tablets. All of the traditional subsystems -- security, thermostats, and lighting controls, for example -- sit on the network. HomeLogic IP-enables these devices through software drivers and serial-to-Ethernet adapters.



Systems are controlled through any number of interfaces including HomeLogic's own in-wall touchscreens and Web tablets, as well as scores of generic products such as PDAs, Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPC), cell phones, universal remotes and Slim Devices' SqueezeBox. All functions are accessible via the Internet from virtually any Web browser.

HomeLogic is simple to program and comes with templates that allow little customization in design. Yet integrators and installers alike have plenty of leeway in programming the system to do almost anything they want. For example, with the irrigation module, homeowners can set year-long schedules in which the length of watering cycles gradually increases during the warm months, and cuts back in the cold seasons.

Lighting schedules and indoor climate control can be similarly scheduled. "These are things that homeowners can manipulate themselves," says vice president of sales and marketing Joe Lautner. "They don't need a programmer to come back."

He believes that this consumer-friendly "programming" environment is one way that HomeLogic is "better" than AMX, Crestron and other high-end systems in which schedules typically are hard-coded into the programming.

HomeLogic communicates with far fewer third-party subsystems than higher-end solutions, but Lautner says in many ways the OneHome system offers more features. For example, a robust telephony and communications platform is incorporated into system. A family can have up to eight unique voice mailboxes, each of which can be accessed from any touchscreen or any Web browser in the world. Family members can even leave voice messages for each other.

Dealers Love HomeLogic

It is difficult to find a HomeLogic dealer that does not rave about the manufacturer in terms of both technology and support.

Indeed, this lean manufacturer -- only nine employees strong -- has put virtually all of its energies into product development and technical support.

"The real bottom line is the stuff really works," says A-Plus's Lee. "I pound on this system every day. … It rarely hiccups and I am very picky about problematic equipment."

Lee seems to echo the sentiments of most loyal HomeLogic dealers, but the manufacturer could use some more of those dealers. While it has more than 250 integrators in its database, only a fraction are "good producers," says Lautner.

And for those producers, Lautner is grateful. "Those who took a chance with us, we really appreciate it," he says. "They've done a lot to get us where we are today."

After five years in business, though, the company was ready to get to the next level and the Elan acquisition made sense. Lee says if he has any complaints about HomeLogic, it has to do with operations -- little things like updating installation manuals, which can be challenging when "changes in the firmware happens so fast," he says.

What Elan Brings

Elan, based in Lexington, Ky., definitely provides some much-needed operational resources to the HomeLogic business, which will remain stationed in its Marblehead, Mass., location. "The office will stay the same and they will continue business as they have done," says Starkey. "We'll be augmenting lots of things -- sales, marketing, field support. … We have one of the largest field support teams in the business."

Starkey says Elan will train its field sales and technical reps to become experts in the HomeLogic line. "I'm psyched to have a team of people to work with," says Lautner. "With nine people at HomeLogic, it was getting pretty lonely out there."

Lautner says there is little overlap between HomeLogic's customer base and Elan's, meaning Elan offers a ripe dealer base for the younger company. "Elan has a good channel and great dealers. They have a focused dealer program, which suits us well," Lautner says.

Even so, Starkey stresses that the acquisition is more than recognizing operational synergies. Elan's parent Nortek has been gobbling up custom electronics-related manufacturers, but the greatest synergies there have focused on manufacturing and operations. Nortek didn't buy HomeLogic, however. Elan did.

"This is more of a technology play," says Starkey, who explains that Elan will take advantage of HomeLogic's networking expertise.

Lautner suggests Elan can "cast a wider net" through its new subsidiary since HomeLogic doesn't make its own subsystems like Elan does. Rather, HomeLogic works with a wide range of partners including some who compete with Elan. "We can work with B&K, Russound, NuVo, Arcam. …" says Lautner.

Dealers who have avoided Elan in the past because the manufacturer builds its own audio/video distribution systems, may warm up to HomeLogic.

Lessons from Sunfire

In 2005, Elan acquired Sunfire, a manufacturer of loudspeakers, subwoofers and amps. In many ways, that acquisition mimics that of HomeLogic. Elan reps now sell and support Sunfire products, and those products count towards Elan's dealer loyalty products.

Starkey says Elan brought Sunfire 186 new dealers in the first year, "which has been huge."

Elan also has helped Sunfire crank out new products -- about 16 in the past two years. "Since the acquisition, we've taken an 18-month product development cycle down to eight months," says Eric Harper, director of marketing and product development for Sunfire.

Starkey says, "We've been able to add more R&D engineers to the Sunfire team. [Sunfire founder] Bob Carver has been able to focus on inventing again. We think we have the same opportunity with HomeLogic."


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