Sources for Smart Homes That Make Sense

For: Smart Tech for Real People: Smart Homes That Make Sense Last checked: October 21, 2026 Address: https://www.tartanleaf.com/smart-tech/smart-homes/sources/

This dated register supports the book's explanations and household decisions. The book contains the essential method; you don't need this page, an account, a download or a software tool to use it.

Sources describe their publishers' guidance, standards or documented product behaviour at the checked date. They don't prove how every installed device, account, service or household will behave. Inclusion doesn't mean that Greg personally tested every product, service or procedure. Product instructions, services, laws and local requirements can change, so check the responsible authority and exact product before acting.

Planning, privacy and the complete connected product

• Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), Internet of Things Checklist for Consumers. Supports questions about collected data, offline operation, support life, updates, reset and disposal. Canada-wide consumer guidance; it isn't a product guarantee.
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC), Smart devices and your privacy. Supports proportionate privacy questions about accounts, collection, retention, deletion and disposal. Legal scope depends on the organization and jurisdiction.
• OPC, Privacy guidance for manufacturers of Internet of Things devices. Supports the whole-product view, privacy by design, lifecycle support, user control and disassociation. It addresses manufacturers and related organizations; the book doesn't turn it into universal household law.
• NIST, IR 8425: Profile of the IoT Core Baseline for Consumer IoT Products. Supports the device, app, gateway and backend product model and outcomes for configuration, data protection, updates, documentation and lifecycle support. U.S. cybersecurity guidance, not proof of one product's behaviour.
• NIST, Consumer IoT Program FAQ. Supports the plain-language whole-product component model.
• Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, Cyber security at home and in the office. Supports inventory, accounts, updates, backups and device retirement. Some recommendations also address organizations; the book adapts them cautiously for households.
• Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, Obsolete products. Supports explicit support-state and retirement review. Organizational guidance adapted as a household decision boundary.

Review when: Canadian privacy or consumer guidance changes, NIST supersedes IR 8425, or the book adds a specific product, legal rule or support-life claim.

Accessibility and household control

• Government of Canada, Build in accessibility from the start. Supports considering access needs during planning, testing and continued use. It addresses federal digital work, not household legal compliance.
• Accessibility Standards Canada, Guidelines for creating accessible documents. Supports clear language, meaningful structure and accessible companion documents.
• Accessibility Standards Canada, Information and Communication Technology Accessibility Requirements. Supports multiple modes of operation and attention to vision, colour, hearing, speech, reach, manipulation, cognition and privacy. Applicability depends on context.
• Government of Canada Digital Accessibility Toolkit, Designing for users with physical or motor disabilities. Supports usable target size, spacing, timing and precision.
• W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, Forms Tutorial. Supports necessary inputs, labels, instructions and grouping for future downloadable or online worksheets.

Review when: the accessibility sources or candidate page structure change, or a new interaction, download or form is added.

Networks, protocols and certification

• Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, Router cyber security best practices. Supports the distinction between a local network and an internet connection. It doesn't establish a particular router configuration.
• Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), Matter overview and Matter FAQ. Support Matter's application/control scope, commissioning context, bridges, multi-admin, controller and remote-access distinctions. Certification doesn't prove every exposed feature or installed outcome.
• CSA, Zigbee overview. Supports Zigbee's full-stack low-power mesh and certification context.
• CSA, technologies and solutions and Product Security FAQ. Support standards/certification provenance and the boundary between protocol security and whole-product security.
• Thread Group, Resources and Thread 1.4.1 specification page. Support Thread's specification identity and border-router context. A Thread label doesn't establish the application layer or controller support.
• Bluetooth SIG, Bluetooth Low Energy Primer and Bluetooth Mesh Networking Primer. Support the distinction between Bluetooth LE and Bluetooth Mesh.
• Z-Wave Alliance, open specification, technical news and certification process. Support version, command-class, regional and certification distinctions.
• IEEE Standards Association, IEEE 802 overview and IEEE 802.3-2022. Support Ethernet's identity as an IEEE 802.3 wired LAN family. A wired link doesn't establish application locality or privacy.

Review when: a named specification, certification programme or in-force version changes.

Ecosystems, accounts and permissions

• Apple Support Canada, Pair and manage Matter accessories and Thread border router required. Support current Apple Matter, hub and Thread conditions.
• Apple Support Canada, Invite others to control accessories in your home. Supports the current iPhone resident/guest model and hub conditions; the path is version-specific.
• Google Home Developers, Matter supported device types and Matter troubleshooting. Support current device-type, control-exposure, hub and Thread-border-router conditions.
• Google Help, Manage people and permissions in the Google Home app. The admitted exact URL, https://support.google.com/assistant/answer/9155535?hl=en-EN, couldn't be verified on October 21, 2026. Treat the permission model as unavailable here and consult current Google Home Help before acting.
• Google Home and Nest Help, Guests and your Google connected home devices. Supports current guest-interaction and personal-results boundaries.
• Google Home and Nest Help, Manage smart home automations. Supports Google's current convenience-only and dependency cautions; it doesn't define every platform's automation behaviour.
• Amazon Alexa developer documentation, connected-device resources and local connectivity options. Support the existence of different cloud, on-device and local integration paths. Developer documentation isn't a promise for every consumer product.
• SmartThings developer documentation, hub-connected devices and Rules. Support Edge/local device paths and conditional local rule execution.
• openHAB, Introduction and documentation. Supports bindings that translate between devices and openHAB's model; no comparative ranking or support-duration claim is made.

Review when: a named platform changes account roles, hub requirements, supported paths, feature exposure or documentation routes.

Home Assistant worked-example sources

These pages support a dated worked route, not a recommendation that Home Assistant is right for every household. The documentation displayed version 2026.10.2 during this check.

• Getting started and remote access — household-hosted core and optional remote access.
• People and user configuration, authentication and onboarding — owner, administrator, user, person, credential and initial-setup distinctions.
• Zigbee Home Automation and Matter — current commissioning prerequisites and integration-specific limits.
• Customizing entities and state objects — naming/identifier consequences and unknown/unavailable states.
• Automations, automation modes, testing and troubleshooting — automation structure, repeat behaviour, traces and testing limits.
• Fully local voice assistant and contributor documentation for Assist pipelines — current local components and voice-pipeline stages.
• Common tasks, Backup integration and Modernizing backup encryption — current backup scope, locations, encryption, restore and evidence that formats can change.

Review when: Home Assistant releases, documentation, account behaviour, integrations, automation semantics, voice components or backup formats change.

Sensors, lighting and evidence

• Texas Instruments, Passive Infrared (PIR) and PIR motion-detector reference design (PDF). Support thermal-contrast, lens, field-of-view, stabilization and false-trigger context. Product-specific numbers aren't generalized.
• Infineon, 60 GHz radar presence-detection application note (PDF). Supports configured range, movement, mounting and test-condition limits for the named kit only.
• Sensirion, Design Guide for Humidity and Temperature Sensors (PDF). Supports thermal coupling, device heat, airflow and enclosure effects in sensor design; it doesn't calibrate a household installation.
• International Commission on Illumination, CIE Position Statement on Integrative Lighting, third edition. Supports careful language, appropriate measurement and the evolving evidence base for non-visual effects of light.

Review when: the technical note, named sensor/model, lighting statement or book wording changes.

Energy, HVAC and comparison labels

• Natural Resources Canada, EnerGuide label and Behind the label. Support the Canadian label's energy-use comparison and testing/verification scope. An energy label isn't a safety certification or a prediction for one household.
• Natural Resources Canada, Heating and cooling with a heat pump. Supports equipment-specific thermostat/setback cautions and qualified-contractor handoff. It isn't a universal sizing or wiring instruction.
• U.S. Federal Trade Commission, How To Use the EnergyGuide Label. Supports the U.S. EnergyGuide comparison and estimate context; it isn't the Canadian EnerGuide programme.
• ENERGY STAR, Smart Thermostats, Home Upgrade: Smart Thermostats and key product criteria. Support U.S. programme criteria, equipment compatibility and basic-control-without-service-provider-connectivity requirements. The book doesn't promise savings for a particular home.

Review when: Canadian or U.S. labelling programmes, specifications or HVAC guidance change.

Electrical, fire, carbon monoxide and consequential systems

• Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, Electrical Safety — Basic Information and PDF version. Supports the qualified-work and jurisdictional boundary. It isn't a household wiring procedure.
• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Home Electrical Safety Checklist. Supports a U.S. electrical-safety boundary; local authority and exact equipment still control.
• Health Canada, Fire safety in your home and Carbon monoxide: Preventing exposure. Support certified alarms, manufacturer instructions, maintenance and emergency-response boundaries.
• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, CO Alarms. Supports U.S. smoke/CO alarm context; it doesn't replace state/local requirements or manufacturer instructions.

General sensors, notifications and automations don't replace certified alarms or ordinary warnings. Use current manufacturer instructions and the applicable authority. The book doesn't provide individualized electrical, HVAC, alarm or legal advice.

Cameras, security and voice

• OPC, Tips for securing web-connected cameras. Supports research, updates, credentials, collection indicators, placement and camera/microphone controls.
• U.S. Federal Trade Commission, How To Secure Your Home Security Cameras. Supports encryption, account protection, updates, private-area and remote-viewing questions in a U.S. consumer context.
• OPC, Guidelines for Overt Video Surveillance in the Private Sector. Supports purpose, limited field of view, notice, access, retention and audio-sensitivity prompts. Business guidance isn't a universal household legal rule; local verification remains necessary.
• Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, MFA guidance (PDF). Supports the basic multi-factor authentication definition and protection rationale.
• NIST, SP 800-63B-4: Authentication and Authenticator Management (PDF). Supports authenticator, recovery and phishing-resistance concepts. It isn't a household legal requirement.

Review when: account controls, camera features, privacy guidance, authentication standards or relevant local requirements change.

Maintenance, recovery, handoff and retirement

• Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, Tips for backing up your information and Back up and encrypt data. Support backup scope, protection, recovery procedures and restore verification. A created backup isn't demonstrated recovery.
• NIST, SP 800-88 Rev. 2: Guidelines for Media Sanitization. Supports outcome-based sanitization chosen for the information and medium. Organizational guidance isn't one universal household reset sequence.
• ISED, E-waste. Supports reuse, data removal and local Canadian recycling routes.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada, Inventory of recycling programs in Canada. Supports province-, territory- and product-specific programme variation.
• Health Canada, Lithium-ion battery safety. Supports safe handling and local disposal of lithium-ion batteries, including damaged batteries.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Electronics Donation and Recycling. Supports U.S. donation, data-deletion and state/community route questions.

Reset, device-data removal, account closure, provider-held deletion, subscription cancellation and recycling are separate actions. Follow current exact-product, provider and local-programme instructions.

How this register is maintained

This page is reviewed when a cited authority, standard, programme, platform or book claim changes and again at a publication factual freeze. Last checked reports a dated review, not continuous monitoring. If an exact source becomes unavailable, the register will say so or record a reviewed replacement; it won't silently treat a different page as equivalent.

The complete printed method remains in the book. Future articles, worksheets or software—if any—will be separate optional resources with their own availability and review evidence.