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Final decisions regarding your home build or remodelling used to be much simpler. You would tell your builder or trade professional what kind of paint colour palette you wanted, what types of features to install, the style of light fitting, the appliances you desired, and that was more or less it.
Today, when it comes to home appliances and utilities, it’s not just a matter of what technologies you want in the home, as much as what you want them to do and how much control you want to have over them.
Smart Technologies and The Internet of Things
Smart technology is being worked into more IoT (internet of things) devices every day, including:
- TVs
- Security systems
- Ovens and cooktops
- Dishwashers
- Washing machines
- Audio visual systems and home theatre
- Garden maintenance utilities
- Lighting
- Thermostats and much more
These smart IoT devices create a technological network of things that mesh into what is commonly referred to as a smart home ecosystem giving you unprecedented access, control and monitoring over nearly every appliance and utility in the home.
These items can be accessed and controlled by a main control hub, voice command units, and remote smart devices, like smartphones and laptops. This allows people to view, control and command IoT devices via apps or a master app in a fully networked smart home.
The Benefits of Smart Technology
The reasons for integration and benefits of a smart home can vary from household to household, and many factors may prompt different approaches to creating a smart home ecosystem, including:
- The size of the home
- The common type of appliances and utilities a household uses
- The size of the property
- The number of people in the dwelling
- The safety of the surrounding area
- The amount of time spent at home and much more
While there are many nuances in determining what kind of smart technologies and IoT items someone may integrate, the benefits are generally the same; more control, convenience and safety.
A smart home allows us to remote and voice control many aspects of our homes, including turning things on and off, checking operation statuses, securing, operating, and observing, which can save time, money, concern, and stress.
Read on to discover two ways IoT devices and smart technologies are transforming our homes.
Superior Safety, Security and Sustainability
Have you ever felt uneasy about your home being in danger? Have you experienced that sinking feeling when you can’t remember if you left the oven on? Have you gone on holiday, and are you unsure if you have set up the garden’s automatic irrigation?
With Smart technology and IoT, these common concerns are a thing of the past, allowing you to check and operate your home systems 24/7 from your smartphone or device, providing access and control over your doors, windows, cameras, alarms, IoT systems and major smart appliances.
A smart home is also more eco-friendly. You can remotely view and control power-hungry appliances like thermostats and air conditioners. You can also remotely control internal and external lights and control garden irrigation and pool maintenance technologies, providing more control over water use and energy consumption.
Unprecedented Home Control
We all grew up watching sci-fi movies and TV shows and longed for a space-aged home that we could talk to and command; well, that time is here!
Smart technologies and voice command hubs allow us to touch control or voice command many aspects of our dwellings, including:
- Turning lighting on and off
- Opening and shutting curtains
- Controlling temperature
- Commanding and zoning entertainment and audio
- Accessing the internet via voice command
- Controlling and adjusting the thermostat and air conditioning
- Controlling lights and dimmers and much more
IoT devices and smart technologies are giving us the homes of tomorrow today, and it seems as though we are only just touching the surface of what can be achieved; the reality of smart home technology may be even better than the fantasy.
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