Piper

Author: Kaitlyn Short

Piper is owned and operated by a Canadian company, Icontrol, a company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. Piper was introduced in 2014 and combines video unit and home automation interface. Piper also is poised to make some important upgrades to its app so that IFTTT will be supported; however, there are several limitations to Piper, including few monitoring options and communication languages.

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The Good

• Price
• Installation

Price

Unlike some other smart home providers, Piper does not lock customers into long-term contracts. Customers can select one of four home automation packages: Piper Pro

• One Piper Classic device + 3 accessories: $319.99
• One Piper nv Pro + 3 accessories: $389.99

Piper Ultimate

• 3 Piper Classic devices + 5 accessories: $799.99
• 3 Piper nv Pro devices + 5 accessories: $979.99

Piper Classic: $199.00 Piper nv: $279.00

Installation

Piper is completely DIY. The installation is similar to pairing a printer to a computer wirelessly. Users have reported that this process is straightforward and does not take much time. When the IFTTT integration is introduced, there will likely be a more involved process. This may increase the difficulty of installation, but most customers already using IFTTT report that their satisfaction increases after its integration.

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The Bad

• Few communication protocols supported
• Poor online transparency
• No third-party monitoring options
• Limited experience

Few Communication Protocols Supported

At present, Piper only communicates with Z-Wave devices. The company is working to include IFTTT integration which will allow pairing for products speaking other languages, but not currently available or guaranteed. The company is currently developing more reliable methods for expanding their offerings. Not being able to communicate with other popular home automation communication protocols limits the customer's ability to expand their system with products which are not Z-Wave.

Poor Online Transparency

Customer service representatives are unable to answer questions about the type of software what their device uses. Attempts by the Review Team to obtain this information were unsuccessful.

No Third-Party Monitoring Options

Piper does not offer third-party monitoring of their home automation systems. This service is relatively rare in the industry, especially with DIY installations.

Limited Experience

Icontrol introduced Piper in 2014. The company has been offering home automation services for a relatively shorter time than their competitors.

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The Bottom Line

Piper has several promising features, but there are several features which are missing or are below the industry standards for the Review Team to fully recommend Piper at this time. Among these are few years of experience, prices which are higher than most, fewer home automation communications protocols supported.