Editor’s note: The following is a partial reprint of an article from our partners at EETimes. To read the full article, please visit them here.

The increasing integration of security and home automation functions was in full display at CES; this article goes into some detail into how an integrated security and home automation system has the potential to disrupt the existing security systems integration leader, ADT. It also emphasizes the importance of an integrated solution, at least at the higher end of the market.

While many companies displaying their "smart home" innovations at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) seem to be catering to an audience for whom cost is no object, Echostar has brought to the show a home security system called Sage, under the Hughes brand, that marches boldly in the opposite direction.

Sage is a "home automation" kit, heavy on security devices that can be installed by hand, according to the company, by a novice do-it-yourselfer. In the area of cost, said spokesperson Linda Haugsted, it liberates homeowners from monthly service fees.

Although reluctant to reveal the price of the Sage "starter kit" until it hits the market officially, she named Sage's target competitor, saying, "We will be disruptive to ADT's business model."

ADT, a leader in home security, charges both for installation and requires monthly fees. Sage, after installation by the purchaser or with professional help, falls entirely under the homeowner's control. Its current features include home-network links to security cameras, lights, locks, doors and windows, thermostats and various sensors.

David Lett, vice president of engineering in charge of Sage, used Sage's external security camera as example of the product's ease of use.

"Using just a screwdriver," he said, the homeowner can attach the camera to an outdoor wall. Then, stringing a flat wire indoors through the edge of a window, the user brings all the controls, including power plug, inside the house. This protects all but the weather-proof camera from the elements and, said Lett, "You don't have to worry about thick walls blocking WiFi reception."

Let also emphasized that Sage is currently unique in offering system controls both remotely through a connected mobile device and the television set at home.

A camera in the nursery, for example, or the thermostat can be accessed—with screen-in-screen display—on the TV screen. The same option applies to checking locks, seeing who's at the door and other couch-potato dreams come true.