The Genius Of Smart Homes
Smart devices have evolved a lot over the past few years and progressed to become a critical part of our lives. Surrounding ourselves with the best smart home devices will not only make our lives easier, but also enhance our security, and make life more fun to live!
What is a smart home?
Simply put, the concept of a smart home is the integration of various devices that work in unison to give the user an enhanced experience of being at their home. Most of these devices are geared towards giving us convenience, ease, and security.
There are a few benefits to having a smart home: 1) Home automation 2) Better energy conversation 3) Increased efficiency 4) A feeling of comfort. Let us delve into each one in detail:
- Home automation – It allows you to control various appliances from your device, from turning on/off appliances, lighting up rooms when guests arrive and closing down lights when leaving. Smart devices allow you to customize the life of your home through the usage of sensors.
- Better energy conservation – We already have discussed the advantages of home automation, but this goes one step further by looking at the energy consumption in a very detailed manner. For example, if you have to be away from home for a long time you can set the lights to turn off after a specific time and create an environment where there is no wastage of electricity.
- Increased efficiency – There are a variety of ways in which a person’s work life can be enhanced by using smart devices. From scheduling focus modes on your devices to automating your device to schedule certain temperatures, lighting, and music to play to help enable better focus when you WFH.
- A feeling of comfort – This is more than just about convenience, it is about making a system in place where your house/environment does not require your constant supervision as well as being aware people/pet are always safe. For example, if you have a pet and you need to leave your house for an emergency, you can use motion sensors to alert your phone when your pet goes outside a secured area.
Now that you have decided to invest in a smart home, what should you consider before purchasing? Here are some of the basic factors that you need to consider before buying a smart device:
- Reputation – The first thing is to decide on the reputation and reliability of the manufacturer regarding their utility and customer service.
- Cost – It is not just the cost of the devices that matters, but also the amount of money you will be spending on installing them and getting them to work (some devices require professional installation).
- Security – Evaluate if it is equipped with quality sensors and if everything works together as intended.
In order to decide on which devices you should invest in, decide their utility and how they will contribute to your lifestyle. For example, if you have children and pets at home, then invest in a baby monitor that can alert you in case something happens. If you are working from home, then utilizing motion sensors for lights will not only help you save energy but also give a better work-life balance.
The smartest device right now may be the Amazon Echo (Alexa).
The Amazon Echo is a smart speaker that has about 300 apps. It uses an operating system called Alexa, Alexa is also an app. Alexa is formed from voice recognition from using 25 years of experience from other companies that Amazon has acquired to make their own. These experiences have been shaped into what could be considered AI (artificial intelligence). Underneath Alexa, there is a bunch of different components that allow it to understand both verbal and non-verbal language which makes it complementary to humans as opposed to replacing them.
Amazon’s take on voice-activated technology is innovative, making managing your household much easier and adds features that weren’t available before. With Amazon Alexa, you can make calls, order a pizza, play music, order a ride to the airport, ask for the weather and news. The rise of AI and the smart home has been exponential over the past few years, but with Amazon making its living through selling products, they are able to make these devices at reasonable prices allowing everyone access to this technology.
This is an ever-growing list of devices that are getting integrated with smart capabilities.
Here is a list of some more devices that are available in the marketplace that utilize smart home technology:
Google Home- This is a smart speaker in the shape of a ball that communicates with Google’s virtual assistant, which responds to the command “OK, Google”. It also allows play music and can sync with other Wi-Fi devices.
Nest Thermostat- This thermostat is a great example of smart home technology allowing you to control the temperature in any room from your phone, tablet or computer.
Philips Hue- This device allows you choose from millions of colors and can be controlled from your phone via an application.
Nest Protect- This is a smart smoke detector that communicates with your phone so you can get an alert if it detects smoke in the home.
Rachio Irrigation Controller- This is a smart irrigation system that talks to your phone to see what days you want the sprinklers on or off.
We are excited to see how smart devices will evolve through time and make our homes smarter. Hopefully increasing our quality of life!