Automate it all with the Iris Home Management System (pictures)

Compatible with a greater number of devices than almost any other competitor, this home automation system has us intrigued.

Ry Crist

Dec. 19, 2013 2:48 p.m. PT

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Your choice of kits

Iris Home Management offers three different starter kits. The first is the $179 Safe and Secure Kit. Like the name suggests, it's designed with security in mind, and includes entry sensors, a motion detector, an alarm control keypad, and the Iris Hub that controls all of it. Like all Iris setups, you'll need to pay $10 a month in order to unlock all of the system's automation capabilities.

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Keypad controls

You'll be able to arm and disarm your system with the keypad. Unlike other keypads we've tested, like the one you'll get with SimpliSafe, the Iris keypad doesn't have a screen. It also isn't much louder than an alarm clock, which isn't ideal.

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Security sensors

You'll be able to monitor doors and windows with the Iris entry sensors, which also keep track of the temperature. The motion detector works well, too.

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Care and Comfort Kit

Your second starter kit option is the Care and Comfort Kit, which also costs $179. In lieu of the security-minded accessories, you'll get a smart thermostat and a plug-in module -- plug anything you want into it, then monitor its energy usage or turn it on and off remotely.

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Hubba, hubba

The only common denominator between the two kits is the Iris Hub. It's easy to set up, and features an unobtrusive, minimalist design, but we wish it were a bit smaller.

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Option number three

The third Iris offering is the $299 Smart Kit, which simply combines the first two kits and throws in this handy range extender. With all three kits, you're free to add devices to your system piece by piece.

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Screenshots by Ry Crist/CNET

Cluttered controls

You can control your system through the Iris website or on Android and iOS devices with the free Iris app. Either way, you might have a hard time finding the settings you're looking for amid a cluttered design littered with grayed-out devices you aren't even using.