California-based Brilliant has launched a plug-in version of its smart home control panel that lets homeowners, renters and professional installers make any house or apartment smart with touchscreen-based control and automation.

The system can control popular smart home products.

Brilliant’s original line of smart home control panels, which first shipped in 2018, were designed to install in select light switch locations throughout a home and hardwire into a standard electrical box with a neutral and ground wire. This installation method made it quick, easy and affordable for most people to add a control system to their home but, until now, not everyone has been able to install Brilliant.

These include people who live in older homes with no neutral or ground wires, apartment residents who can’t access their wiring, people uncomfortable with home wiring, and professional installers and security dealers not licensed to perform electrical installations.

Priced at $400, the plug-in home control panel makes it possible for anyone to add the Brilliant smart home experience to any home. The plug-in panel can be mounted on any wall using screws and includes a power cable and adapter that plugs into any power outlet. The cable can be routed on the wall’s surface or hidden from view with an in-wall installation.

“This new addition brings added flexibility and expands the addressable market for complete smart home control systems at an affordable price,” said Aaron Emigh, CEO of Brilliant. “A plug-in version of our home control panel has long been a top request from consumers interested in home technology, especially those that live in rentals or older homes, as well as from the professional installer and security dealer communities.”

Before Brilliant launched its first products, home control and automation systems were prohibitively expensive, professionally installed and maintained, and only accessible to wealthy individuals. Brilliant changed this by launching a smart home control system that feels like it belongs in the most high-end luxury homes but at a price starting at $400.

The smart home system unifies and simplifies how people control their homes and makes it easier to control popular smart home products using touchscreen panels with built-in voice control and an all-in-one mobile app. Anyone can walk up to a Brilliant control panel and instantly access all the smart devices and experiences available in the home without needing to use a phone, download an app, or know or remember what voice command to say.

A smart home needs to offer a convenient way for residents and visitors to perform any task at any moment and show all available options. To achieve this, Brilliant provides numerous ways to control and automate a home such as intuitive smart home-specific touchscreen menus, built-in voice control, customisable home automation scenes, programmable touch sliders and switches, and a single app to control the entire home.

Brilliant controls products from companies such as Ring, Google Nest, Sonos, Philips Hue, Kwikset, Schlage, Yale, August, Honeywell Home, Resideo, Ecobee, TP-Link, Samsung SmartThings, Genie, Hunter Douglas and Somfy.

Additionally, it functions as a whole home lighting system with built-in motion detection, which can be expanded with Brilliant smart dimmer switches and plugs, an audio-video intercom to communicate with people in different rooms, and an alarm controller when paired with a Resideo security system. It also offers built-in Amazon Alexa voice control with visual responses and integrates with Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit and Siri.

The plug-in panel will enable security dealers and technology integrators, many of whom are not certified to perform electrical installs, to begin installing Brilliant systems. The product also provides more choice and options as to where home control panels can be installed in a home, and enables installation in older homes that lack a neutral wire.

The plug-in panel (www.brilliant.tech/products/plug-in-control) is available at Amazon, Best Buy and Home Depot, and for licensed contractors and installers at ADI Global Distribution and other regional distributors.