Ensuring better security in your home, saving you energy and improving your comfort, while saving you time, these are some of the advantages of the connected home. The smart home is becoming more and more attractive and is no longer just an unattainable dream or an idea that will come true tomorrow. Today, the 2.0 house opens its doors to you.
The main functions that can be programmed are centered around 3 sectors:
- Security: to ensure a better protection of your home – in your presence or in your absence – it will be possible to automate certain tasks (for example: triggering the alarm at a fixed time, closing the shutters remotely, activating the presence detectors, controlling the video surveillance…);
- Communication: everything related to leisure can also be automated. We can turn on the television remotely, play music or receive at fixed times certain data necessary for medical monitoring via a computer.
- Energy management: home automation can also be used to adjust the thermostat in the various rooms, to close the shutters at certain times, which saves a few degrees in the winter when the cold falls at the same time as night, etc.
In addition to the home automation system that generally works with a central computer that sends commands to the various devices connected, there are now connected objects that further simplify daily life. This is the case:
- Connected watches: we wear them on our person and they can provide various services (find our way thanks to the GPS system, find a restaurant where we are, search for schedules, tell us the calories taken or lost after sports, calculate our heart rate, etc.)
- Smartphones, tablets;
- Connected speakers: the arrival of speakers is already working very well in many countries. The major brands have launched their speakers. All you have to do is give a spoken command for the speaker to trigger the corresponding action. Depending on the model, you will be able to search on YouTube, find a restaurant address, manage your calendar, or even control home automation equipment by voice.
Advantages of the smart home?
The smart home has many advantages, including:
- A better management of your time: by programming repetitive tasks such as opening or closing the shutters, triggering the alarm at fixed times, opening your gate, from your smartphone, it is as much time saved! Moreover, if you have an elderly parent and you have installed this system, he or she will no longer need to ask his or her neighbor to come over every time he or she wants to close the shutters and will be able to program the functions on the central computer himself or herself or order the tasks via his or her smartphone.
- Greater security: a home with home automation is often better protected against burglaries. You can have real-time information if the system detects an intrusion. Moreover, if you can close the shutters remotely you limit the risks of burglary that can occur at night.
- A way to limit energy expenses: home automation offers the possibility to adjust the thermostat according to the hours of the day and according to the rooms and to benefit from a constant temperature. This avoids overheating in winter or using the air conditioning at full blast in summer. What a great way to save money all year long! A good home automation system can save up to 30% per year on your energy bill!
Related post: What is the Internet of Things? (IoT)