Thanks to smart phone technology, the internet and innovative manufacturers, new gadgets designed to improve your life at home are hitting the market at breakneck speed. Today’s “smart home” no longer needs permanent wiring to achieve the conveniences and security it did a decade ago. Below is a rundown of some of those areas where smart home automation is taking a foothold.
Smart Security: You can remotely monitor your home with door, window and motion sensors that can be armed and disarmed from your phone and send you notifications when they are triggered.
Smart Lock: Unlocking the front door from your phone as you approach home is a real convenience and as these locks get smarter, they will be able to communicate with other devices to turn on lights and adjust the thermostat.
Smart Refrigerator: I just LOVE this concept – a refrigerator that knows what kinds of products are being stored, their expiration dates and can send you a message or screen shot of what is inside. Now if they would only go to the store in my place, that would be even better!
Smart Smoke/Carbon Monoxide Detector: If triggered, these alarms will send notifications to your phone wherever you may be and also allow you to turn off the alarm if you accidentally burn dinner.
WirelessAudio System: Connecting a hub into your router will allow you to communicate to wireless speakers throughout the house using an app on your phone. It’s a luxury to be able to customize individual speakers with different music stations or group them if you want to blast the same song throughout the house.
Smart thermostat: Smart thermostats are great at learning your schedule and temperature preferences and can be controlled from wherever you and your phone are. No more returning to a hot house after a vacation. One thermostat product even allows you to place sensors in rooms that are typically under-served with heat or cool air and keeps the HVAC going until the desired temperature has been met.
Smart Bulbs, Switches & Plugs: This technology offers the convenience of lights that come on automatically when you arrive home, lights that cycle on and off to simulate occupancy, lights that sense when to dim and much more.
Smart Toilets/Seats: These commodes know just how much water is required for each use and shut off before the tank overflows. In addition to the water bill savings, the lid can be lifted, warmed, closed, and everything cleaned and sanitized.
Smart Baby/Pet Video Monitor: Seeing what’s going on in the house while you are away is priceless for peace of mind! Now you’ll know why the TV is always warm when you return home.
Smart HUB: Like the videotape format war between VHS and Betamax, smart manufacturers have not yet standardized on a wireless protocol that allows communication between home devices. For example, if your smart smoke detector is triggered, ideally it should communicate with your smart thermostat controller to shut down the HVAC. So if you want to take full advantage of smart home technology, you’ll likely need a smart home HUB to improve traffic flow and allow for interoperability.
Posted on 07/26/2016 at 11:30 AM
