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.
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