Smart Home Tech Catches Up With Doors and Windows
By Drew Vass
Smart home technology has roots spanning several decades, beginning as early as the 1970s and 80s. Early ideas focused on basic automation for lighting, but in the 2000s, with the proliferation of the internet and advancements in Wi-Fi technologies, smart home features as we know them began to take shape. Companies like Nest (founded in 2010), with its integrated, smart thermostats, and later Amazon Alexa and Google Home (introduced in 2014 and 2016, respectively) popularized connected devices and voice controls, making them accessible to everyday consumers. Fenestration companies were quick to follow, but the idea for connected windows was tied to just a few companies.
That was then.
Now, smart doors and windows are back—with new protocols and better connectivity.
Failure to Launch
The quest for smart windows began in the mid-2010s with connected sensors, but the movement failed to expand beyond a few of the biggest brands—most notably Andersen and Pella. In January 2015, Pella introduced a line of connected technologies known as Insynctive, which included everything from wireless sensors for window locks to solar-powered and connected blinds. Andersen followed suit in January 2016 with VeriLock connected sensors, which allowed savvy homeowners to check the status of their window locks remotely using a smartphone app.
But soon door and window companies, along with other sectors, discovered the difficulties involved in smart home tech. Compatibility and integration with other smart home gadgets and brands was complicated—often too complicated for consumers left with the responsibilities of setting up and troubleshooting their own systems. In the early days of connected windows, there was no “universal remote” for smart home tech; instead, secondary devices, often referred to as “bridges,” were required to make one brand and protocol communicate with another. Meanwhile, each brand had its own bridge, and so the web (and the stack) of smart home devices grew.
At that time, other door and window manufacturers reported they were working on wireless or smart home features. Many backed off of those plans, for the time being.
“Maybe that was not the right time for our market,” says Lindsay Schroeder, senior director of Marvin’s transformation management office.
Flash Forward
These days, Pella’s Insynctive line of technologies and Andersen’s Verilock sensors are still alive and well, but new protocols and connectivity features have opened the window to a host of other companies, brands and features. The “bridges” that keep devices talking are now software driven, making it easier than ever to translate between systems automatically. And while there remain numerous protocols for smart home devices (such as Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, and others), Matter (formerly known as Project Connected Home over IP) is a new industry wide platform that further simplifies connections. As a freely available connectivity standard, Matter ensures interoperability among various products regardless of brand, bringing together major tech players, like Apple, Google and Amazon. As a result, devices such as smart lights, thermostats and security cameras from various manufacturers all can communicate with one another and smart home platforms, such as Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Because Matter uses Internet Protocol technology (IP), set up is much easier than the days when homeowners had to install and connect bridge devices to their Wi-Fi systems. As a result, your smart windows can communicate with just about anything, which opens the possibility for making them part of a cohesive whole-home system.
Unlocking the Possibilities
Until recently, the focus of doors primarily remained on locks, which can be obtained from third-party providers and integrated into existing entryways. To make them more adaptable, hardware manufacturers have made some multi-point lock systems compatible with powered locks.
As a result of the latest advancements, the list of door companies offering smart locks as options continues to grow. ProVia, for instance, paired up with Schlage in 2023 to offer its Encode Plus smart Wi-Fi deadbolt. Andersen did the same with Yale.
As the front door becomes a focal point for technologies, the opportunity also arises for added security, says Cory Sorice, Masonite’s former senior vice president and chief innovation officer. (Sorice is no longer with Masonite since the company was acquired by Owens Corning.) That’s given the industry a new twist on advertising. For instance, initial marketing for video doorbells didn’t center on seeing who’s at the front door, so much as it was about adding safety to neighborhoods, Sorice says. By mounting a doorbell camera at the front door, homeowners can keep an eye not only on their porches, but the surrounding streets and neighborhoods, he points out. As smart locks, video doorbells and other technologies made their way to doors, entryways began to look a bit tacky, Sorice suggests. That opened a door of opportunity for Masonite.
“The big tech players kept saying, ‘We really don’t like there being all this different stuff on the door. Can you just make that all go away?’” Sorice says.
Masonite’s M-Pwr doors were the first powered and fully-integrated residential “smart” doors on the market, including everything from lighting and video doorbells to wireless locks—all hardwired into the entryway.
Technology has also changed the way people use their front doors, Sorice suggests. Even when they aren’t using their doors as entryways, these days homeowners are using cameras to monitor for food and package deliveries, as well as locking, unlocking and activating lights—all remotely.
“Now we’re getting all this cool data about our front door systems and what we’re learning is interesting,” he says. “People do use their front doors quite a bit more than I would have even guessed … but there’s a lot of stuff happening on your front porch … Halloween was the only time you had people at your front door. Now you get Door Dash once or twice a week.”
Opening Up to Other Possibilities
Door manufacturers have also begun offering automated hardware.
For instance, CRL’s Palisades S100 sliding glass doors now offer automation for hands-free operation. The system features a smart motion sensor, a concealed motor mechanism, and offers control via a mobile app, voice command and a keypad. Automation is available for single or multiple panels.
And others are following suit.
At this year’s International Builders’ Show, Kolbe displayed its VistaLuxe WD line of sliding doors with automated hardware from Summit Automation, including touch-screen operation. An 18-foot wide by 9-foot tall VistaLuxe AL pocketing multi-slide door was also fully automated, including a bank of overhead awnings powered by Assa Abloy’s electronic operators.
Mario Hernandez, principal of Glazcon, says his company is working on similar technologies.
Others have found niche marketing angles for automation. Autoslide, a manufacturer of automated door hardware for residential homes, markets its automatic sliding and swing door operators as “independent living solutions.” The target includes consumers of smart home tech, with integrations for Google Home and Alexa, but also the aging-in-place market and those with mobility issues. There are controls designed for pets, too.
Windows are also getting in on the automated action. For instance, Summit Automation’s new Automated Tilt Up Pass Through Window features concealed actuators. Instead of having to lean over a counter to operate hardware, automation allows for remote actuation.
Going Next Level
The combination of automation and smart home technologies has product innovators in overdrive—thinking up ways and means for integration. Marvin has begun to build automated hardware and other technologies directly into its doors and windows as a cohesive unit. All of the technology is fully concealed into door and window frames. But the company also went all in on the smart home concept in 2024 by unveiling Marvin Connected Home. The marketing angle centers on aesthetics and “control over air, light and views.” It claims to be the first door and window manufacturer to bring fully integrated, automated windows to the U.S. market. Meanwhile, CEO Paul Marvin describes Marvin Connected Home as a “groundbreaking smart home solution that sets a new standard for the industry.”
The Connected Home system offers automated skylights, doors and windows, and integrates with smart home platforms like Amazon Alexa, as well as more high-end home automation systems, like Crestron Home or Control4. Marvin’s system also allows for customized schedules and scenes, reactive programming for outdoor conditions, rain sensors and magnetic lock controls. In the process, the company is also targeting indoor air quality.
“The Marvin Awaken Skylight has built-in sensors that detect changes in indoor air quality and automatically alerts homeowners via the app so homeowners can take action to open the skylight, which can help reduce airborne pollutants,” says Christine Marvin, chief marketing officer. The system also allows for customized schedules and responsive reactions to outdoor conditions.
But you don’t have to go the integrated route to provide automated doors and windows. Hardware manufacturers have shown up with third-party options.
Roto introduced numerous automated technologies for its door and window hardware—some aimed at security, others at convenience. The company’s E-Tec Control is a magnetic locking and opening monitoring system for security. The system monitors the status of a window or sliding door. The company also offers electromechanical multi-point locks.
Roto is also among the first to suggest that automated windows can play a role in energy efficiency, while tagging on the terminology “room climate.” When a home’s heating or cooling system is active, magnetic sensors concealed within a window inform connected HVAC systems when windows are open, so heating or air conditioning output can be reduced automatically.
The company’s hardware can also open and close windows. An E-Tec Drive system enables fully automatic tilting and locking of windows up to 220 pounds in weight. Drives include switch controls, remote control, time switches, wind sensors, rain sensors and a bus system that can be integrated into central building controls and smart home systems.
Of course, with all that automation comes the need for more intelligent systems, Schroeder says. Before an automated window opens automatically, it must first check the status of weather conditions and automated blinds or curtains, she suggests. Without those “smarts,” window treatments could be left flapping in the wind. With the latest technological leaps, door and window companies aren’t looking for any missteps with their newest smart home systems.
Drew Vass is the executive editor for [DWM] magazine.
dvass@glass.com
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