Smart home systems are spreading rapidly around the world, carrying with them the slogan “Make your life easier,” and it is expected that by 2025 the number of smart homes in the world will reach 478.2 million homes.

 

If you, dear reader, are interested in smart technology and would like to adopt it in your home and daily routine, join us in this article, where we will learn in a simplified manner about smart homes, and about how to establish a smart home and its pros and cons.

 

What is a smart home?

The term smart home (home automation) refers to a home setup through which you can automatically control your home appliances connected to the Internet through a simple push of a button or a voice command. This can be done from anywhere using a mobile phone or any other device, as long as you have an active Internet connection.

 

With the help of this smart technology, everything will be under your control with just one click. For example turning on and off lights, coffee makers, heating, air conditioning...etc.

 

But before deciding whether you want to establish a smart home or not, you must have a clear idea of the pros and cons of these homes.

 

Advantages of smart home

The smart home has many benefits that cannot be limited to one article, so we will discuss below the most important advantages of these homes:

 

Comforts

Smart homes allow you to manage all your home appliances to meet your most precise needs from one place and using one device. Moreover, you can set up rules or criteria to suit your personal desires. For example, your sensors can be set to detect motion, so that lights automatically turn on when you enter a room.

 

You just need to learn and understand the working of this technology, then take advantage of the unlimited possibilities it provides to make your home a more comfortable place for you and your family.

energy saving

Smart homes have proven to be energy efficient. For example, you can control turning on and off the lighting and air conditioning in your home according to your uses and presence in the home.

 

Smart home systems also allow you to monitor your electricity consumption by collecting and analyzing data and making the necessary adjustments to reduce energy use in your devices.

 

The latest studies have found that home automation saves about 10-15% of your bills.

 

Improve your home security

Owning a smart home also helps you improve the security of your home and check on your family while you are away. You can simply take out your mobile device and monitor the installed security cameras remotely. You will always be able to track your home and track the risk of any potential theft thanks to the communication capabilities and continuous notifications.

 

Don't forget also that security cameras can help you ensure that the stove or any other electrical appliances are not left on before leaving the house, thus reducing potential risks to your home.

 

Helping the elderly and people with special needs

The smart home revolution is making things easier for the elderly and people with special needs. Not having to leave your seat to turn on the lights can be a great achievement for those who cannot leave their chair.

 

These homes enable blind people to control all their home appliances thanks to smart speakers. Deaf people can also adjust smart home settings to suit their needs, such as making the lights turn red when the smoke alarm sounds or a notification to appear on the TV when the house bell rings.

 

The benefits of these homes for the elderly and those with special needs are endless.

 

Cons of smart home

As we know that every technology comes with drawbacks, and smart homes are no exception. The same previous features can turn into major defects in a smart home in some cases, and it is necessary to know them before making your decision to establish a smart home, including:

 

the cost

When you install energy-efficient appliances in your home, you can start saving after a period of time, but the initial costs of purchasing and installing electrical and electronic appliances can be expensive. This problem is one of the most important disadvantages of smart homes.

 

Reliance on the Internet

The Internet is the basic requirement for every smart technology, and without it, you will not be able to control your smart home easily. Therefore, if you do not have an Internet connection for any reason, things will take a bad turn and you will not be able to control even simple tasks.

 

The same problems may occur if your Internet connection is not strong enough. That is, in order to work efficiently, smart devices will need at least 5G or 6G technology, and this is not always available.

 

Need professional help

You'll need a team of professionals to set up and configure your smart home. Also, in the event of a problem, you will not be able to contact traditional workers because they are not traditional problems. Rather, you will need a specialized expert who is able to understand smart home problems and address them.

 

Internet security

No internet system is 100% secure, so it is not difficult for hackers to break into your home network, which can lead to serious consequences. Therefore, you periodically need to replace default passwords with strong passwords.

 

Concerns related to energy sources

Smart home devices run on power sources that must be supplied without interruption or else the devices will not work. On the other hand, power surges can cause problems in the automation system.

 

Privacy concerns

Critics of smart homes claim privacy issues. For example, if you use an intelligent voice recognition system, your data may be collected by the manufacturers of these systems and used for purposes that you do not know about.

 

How to create a smart home

Smart homes can be complex or simple depending on your choice, as there is no clear rule on how to establish a smart home, due to the diversity of options for the systems supporting these homes, the diversity of user priorities, and the way they interact with the systems of these homes. Whether you want B: Whether you can benefit from one device or twenty devices, this is up to you.

 

Below, we will present the basics of creating a smart home, noting that you will not need to invest in everything at once, but rather your home can be upgraded constantly.

 

Make sure to establish a strong internet connection

Before setting up your smart home, you need to make sure that you have a strong wireless connection, because your smart home connection mainly depends on your Wi-Fi network. Therefore, to keep your smart home running smoothly, you need fast and reliable internet service.

 

You can invest in a Wi-Fi booster or extender that will extend the range of your wireless network. However, we advise you to contact your Internet service provider to see what they can do or suggest to help you improve your Wi-Fi network before spending any money on setting up a smart home.

 

Choose a Smart hub, Smart speakers, or both

Controlling your smart home devices using your smartphone can be a bit cumbersome. Therefore, to facilitate this task in addition to getting the most out of your smart home devices, you will need a central control device that acts as a primary command center for all the smart devices in your home. Here you can choose either a Smart hub or a Smart speaker, or both, according to the following:

 

Smart hub distributor

The smart home outlet hub acts as a conduit to connect all your devices to one source. This hub can control everything in the home through one user interface, such as light bulbs, air conditioning, washing machines, windows, door locks, security cameras, motion sensors, etc.

 

Smart outlet hubs make it easy to integrate and control multiple smart devices from one app, so there is no need to have multiple apps on your phone for every smart device in your home. These hubs can also communicate with devices using different communication protocols.

 

Some of the most popular smart hubs on the market are Samsung SmartThings, VeraPlus, and Ezlo Atom.

 

Smart speakers

A smart speaker allows you to control all your other smart home devices with simple voice commands, from lighting, thermostats, security cameras, playing music, to scheduling your appointments, etc.

 

There is a large group of smart speakers on the market, as each smart speaker has multiple and different features, the most famous of which are Amazon Echo, Apple HomePod, and Google Home.

  

Smart lighting systems Smart light

Smart lighting is not only one of the most affordable smart home devices, it's also easy to set up. Once in place, you will only need to connect it to your smartphone via an app and then control the lights as you see fit.


It is worth noting that most smart bulbs consume less energy than regular bulbs.

  

Doorbells with video surveillance cameras Home security cameras & video doorbells and smart locks

Smart locks reduce the worry of forgetting your key inside your home, and also allow you to lock your home automatically and remotely. On the other hand, surveillance cameras integrated with the doorbell will increase your sense of security, and will allow you to know who is at your door and talk to them in real time, even if you are not at home.

 

Doorbells with video surveillance cameras Home security cameras & video doorbells and smart locks

 

Smart thermostats

Smart thermostats provide advanced, remote control of your home's temperature. Some smart thermostats also support motion sensors or GPS to automatically adjust the temperature when you enter and leave the house. You can also respond to weather forecasts. Therefore avoid spending money on excessive heating.

 

Doorbells with video surveillance cameras Home security cameras & video doorbells and smart locks

 

Be creative

In fact, there is no limit to what you can do in your smart home, as there are many strange devices that can be purchased. For example, you can try a smart refrigerator, a smart aquarium, etc.

 

In conclusion, you may wonder if it is worthwhile to establish a smart home! In fact, no one can stand against the tide of smart technology, and sooner or later we are destined to keep pace with it. As for your concerns about the negatives of the smart home, remember, dear reader, that your traditional home contains much more negatives when compared to a smart home.

 

It seems like it's time for us to get the rest we deserve.