A smart door sounds like it’s worth a look, and it is. Last year, Home Depot made headlines when it featured the Masonite M-PWR, a $5,000 smart door that had lights, sensors, a smart lock, and a smart doorbell built in. The M-PWR was discontinued less than a year later, but Home Depot announced that a replacement will be in stores next week, and it’s cheaper than expected.
The new Feather Rivers Smart Glass Doors are powered by Home Depot’s Hubspace smart home automation system, which works with over 150 affordable smart home devices in stores. The doors are available for $999 full-light, $899 half-light and $799 Craftsman style. That’s a long way from the $5,000 price tag.
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Glass inserts are the smartest feature of fiberglass doors. With the tap of a button on the door or the Hubspace app on your smartphone, you can change from an opaque finish to clear glass. This method is perfect for doors that let in light during the day but want to shade for privacy at night.
You can set your smart River Feathers door to be transparent for a certain amount of time each day and then revert back to opaque after the time has passed, or you can set the glass to be transparent so you can see what or who is outside and then automatically turn opaque after one minute.
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The door can connect to your phone via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and works seamlessly with other Hubspace smart home devices. Defiant Hubspace Fingerprint Smart Deadbolt.
The Feather Rivers fiberglass smart door comes with two batteries and a charger so your door is always ready to go, even if the power goes out, and it also has a USB-C plug on the hinge side of the door that you can leave plugged in for convenience.
The doors’ default state is a frosted glass finish, and they only use battery power when clear, and each battery can last up to five days in clear mode and up to two months with regular use, according to Nick Millett, Home Depot’s director of product development.
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Developed by Hubspace, the River Feathers smart glass doors will be available on September 30. Each door is made from fiberglass and comes primed and ready to paint, and Home Depot offers installation services for an additional fee.
Hubspace permanent outdoor lighting
Home Depot also announced that new permanent outdoor lights will be available in stores in mid-October, just in time for the holidays. These string lights can be screwed to the eaves of your home and left on all year long, without the need to take them down and reinstall them every year.
Millett explained that Home Depot partnered with Nanoleaf to create these lights, developing bright string lights that maintain their brightness over time. The lights not only change color, but also feature cool and warm white LEDs, allowing for year-round use.
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You can customize and choose to turn the lights on or off, and only light up the LEDs on the gables for a more sophisticated look outside of the holiday season.
These lights will sell for $99 for 50 feet or $29 with an extension kit.
Vissani Smart Chest Freezer
Announced earlier this year, this new Vissani 8.8 cubic foot smart chest freezer will be available for $299 on September 26. It has all the features you’d expect from a quality freezer, like a counterbalanced lid and garage-friendly construction, but it also adds some smart components that make it a standout product.
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The $299 chest freezer connects to the Hubspace app to notify your phone if the freezer goes offline, behaves abnormally, or detects a high temperature. You can also use the app to set the mode, choosing between refrigerator or freezer mode.
Defiant 5-Piece Smart Alarm Kit
This smart home alarm kit is provided by Hubspace and includes a keypad, motion sensor, entry sensor, and 24-hour backup battery. You can add additional sensors to expand your security system without needing a professional installer.
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The entry sensor alerts you when your door is opened and features a small, slim design that fits snugly into your door frame. It also has a button to temporarily turn off the chime if you open your door at night and don’t want to wake anyone at home.
5 Pieces Defiant Smart Home Alarm Kit Available for $99.