For many years, home automation, the idea and execution of the connected house, has been a reality mainly enjoyed by the wealthy with the exception of a few standalone devices (Nest, I’m looking at you) and of course, their use in sci-fi flicks.

Replicators and holograms notwithstanding, I put Icontrol’s Piper Home Gateway to the test to see just how close we are to that reality, today. You can check out Piper at www.getpiper.com

Full disclosure: Piper provided me with a demo unit of their Piper Home Gateway bundle for this review.