Most manufacturers of smart home products just aren't trying right now. They're going for the lowest hanging fruits with lights and switches, most of which take more effort to toggle on your phone than to just tap the wall.

Home automation will take off when people stop focusing on "sexy" automation and start making serious and boring products.

Nest has a good start with their thermostat and being able to set your status as home or away to save on heating and cooling costs. From there a valve for my water heater would be the next big step forward, making sure I'm not heating 30 gallons when no one is around to use it. Also, in the winter, the automated unit can pump hot water at night or drain the pipes to make sure there's no bursts. Outlets are next, cutting off power to constant power draw electronics when I'm off on vacation. After that, irrigation systems that can check the recent weather and soil saturation to make sure my garden isn't over or under watered.

There are dozens of great ways to use home automation, but the big producers are too busy making lights that can be any color to create them.