2014 really was the year you went bonkers for heating controls. There are no less than 7 posts in our top 20 based on these technologies and our Heating Forums have been buzzing.

A special mention at number 17, for Chris Hunter’s series on his incredible Idratek powered Smart Home (look out for the third and final instalment coming early in the new year).

Large multinational corporations like Belkin continued to expand their smart home ranges this year, even with hacker friendly modules like the WeMo Maker at number 11.

We all love a good ‘through the keyhole’ look around someone else’s smart home installation and at number 3 Vesternet’s Z-Wave Case Study proved very popular.

At number 2 is our review of the Synology 1813+, the NAS that took over storage duties after years of PC based servers in the Automated Home. Whilst we’ve been unaffected, other Synology users have suffered severe software and security issues since our review (including the Synolocker ransomware attack). The public’s awareness of security has never been higher and companies are going to have to work hard to maintain their trust.

But at number one, the most read post on Automated Home for 2014 was our look at Apple’s new HomeKit home automation framework. Where will it take the smart home in the year ahead and will it help with the age-old integration problem and the newer multiple-app switching palava?

Many thanks to all our loyal Automated Home readers and contributors for another fantastic year. Wishing you and your families all a Happy and Automated New Year!

Mark

20. Video: LED Stair Lighting Hack with Raspberry Pi

19. A Weekend with the iPhone 6 Plus – Here’s the Skinny

18. Review: The eedomus Z-Wave Home Automation Controller

17. The UK’s Smartest Home? Part 1

16. Video: Honeywell evohome Now Available to Order – Arrives at Automated Home

15. Video: WiFi Plug Controls Your Appliances from your Phone

14. Fibaro Launch Innovative Z-Wave Motion Sensor

13. Honeywell Reveal New ‘Lyric’ Smart Home Thermostat, Coming to the UK

12. Amazon UK Launch Dedicated Home Automation Store

11. WeMo ‘Maker’ Delivers iOS & Android Control to Smart Home Hackers

10. Review: Home Automation Insider on the Fibaro Z-Wave Wall Plug

09. New Danfoss LC13 Z-Wave Thermostatic Radiator Valve

08. LightwaveRF Teases Smart Home Zoned Heating Control System

07. Review: Heatmiser Neo Smart Home Heating Control System

06. My Automated Home: Heat Genius Smart Home Heating Controls

05. Heat Genius: Intelligent Heating Controller with Z-Wave

04. Fibaro Launch New Home Center Lite Home Automation Controller

03. Case Study: UK Z-Wave Home Automation Setup

02. Our New Home Server Isn’t a Server – The Synology 1813+ NAS Review

01. The Home Kit Framework – Details on Apple’s Home Automation Protocol

Want More? – Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, or subscribe to our RSS feed. You can even get these news stories delivered via email, straight to your inbox every day.