Homes of today are evolving into fully integrated systems of smart fixtures and appliances. The home furnishing market is slowly filling up with smart devices that connect to the cloud and allow homeowners to control them using their smartphones or a touch-screen panel.
Below are a few examples of smart home technology ideas that are making many people excited.
1. Home Management Panel
Picture this – instead of using numerous wall switches and buttons to control your home electronics and lighting, you just have one smart touch-screen panel to interact with. And besides controlling the lights, you are able to access all the other home features in that one smart panel.
You can secure your home from there, set the thermostat, use it as an intercom, let you see what the weather is like for that day, and even show you the shopping list just as you’re about to head out the door.
A home management panel is now a popular option for a home’s central hub of control. You can buy one separately and integrate it into your home system or it comes with the home system itself. A big advantage of a home management panel is the convenience and efficiency it brings to the home.
It’s easier to control everything from one single input display rather than go all around the house switching lights off or securing every door and window.
2. Water Leak Detection
A home’s greatest fear is usually fire and it’s what most of us fear too but a far more common property damage, not many of us realize is flooding. It might not be life-threatening but it can cause as much damage as that of a fire.
There are many causes of flooding; a failed water heater, a broken supply line, a clogged toilet, or a burst pipe. The same way that smoke detectors are essential in preventing fire, water leak detectors should also be considered to prevent flooding.
These detectors are typically installed in areas of the house where water damage might happen – laundry room, bathroom, water heater closet, and underneath the kitchen sink. For renters, leak alerts might not raise any alarms but for landlords, it’s something that can prevent costly repairs.
There are a wide variety of sensors, some merely sounding an alarm if it detects water while others are smart enough to connect to the internet and send a notification to a smartphone when a leak is detected.
3. Smart Locks
I’m sure I don’t just speak for myself when I say I’m tired of fumbling for my keys anytime I enter my house at night. Locks have been in existence for as long as houses have doors but the mechanism with which to keep it secure has largely been unchanged – until today.
We now have smart locks that afford any homeowner’s convenience and added security. These locks give you the option to use a key or one that’s keyless, allowing you to engage the bolt using a code or a key.
Not only can you come and go as you please, but smart locks also monitor the people entering and leaving the premises while you’re away.
Some smart lock models even allow you to gain entry into your home using your phone. You can grant privileges to family and friends so there’s really no reason for you to keep multiple copies of your house key.
It’s also possible for you to give one-time access to maintenance or cleaning staff so you don’t have to keep resetting it each time they visit your home.
4. Smart Thermostat
A thermostat is one key factor in making sure the home is comfortable all hours of the day. Over the last few years, thermostats have become better and a lot more efficient, giving homeowners full control over the temperature of their homes.
Smart thermostats are the next step in this evolution. New models released frees people from having to interact with buttons and knobs. Instead, the system anticipates when it should turn on the system and at what temperature.
A smart thermostat can offer a lot of benefits to homeowners. It can increase heating efficiency while reducing cost by only turning the system on when people are at home.
It goes beyond just simply following a simple schedule. It will give you the ability to create a more complex schedule each day of the week and enables you to fully control your HVAC system even when you’re away from home.
5. Spy Wireless Camera
If you wanted to boost the security of your home back in the day, it means investing thousands of dollars on an expensive CCTV network of cameras that saves footage on tapes.
Advances in technology have made it possible for virtually anyone to walk into an electronic store, pick up a spy wireless camera, switch it on, stick it in a wall or on top of a shelf, and stream the footage on your mobile device.
Not only that, but other models also come with a motion sensor so it only records when it senses movement, saving you storage space and an easier time archiving the footage.
6. Smart Refrigerator
Basically, a smart refrigerator is one that has the ability to connect online. Depending on the built-in features installed in the fridge, a smart fridge has the ability to inform you that the door has been left open to let you know that you’re low on milk.
It can even give you the ability to peek inside the fridge with your smartphone so you don’t have to open it up to see what’s inside. Very practical when you’re out grocery shopping and you’re not sure what you need to stock up on.
Some models have screens on the fridge door where you can send and receive notes as well as view the calendar.
At the moment, there are only a handful of manufacturers that are making smart refrigerators at the moment. Samsung’s product is the most packed with features and comes with a large display for easier time browsing through notes or the calendar.
It even gives you the ability to watch TV, look up recipes, play music, and more. Other smart fridges don’t offer as many features, choosing instead to focus on the important features such as phone notification for when the door was left open or when you’re low on ice.
7. Smart Bathroom
Now that smart homes are becoming all the craze lately, it’s natural that bathrooms also get an update with features such as digital showers, a bathroom system, and a smart toilet.
There’s really no limit to how much a bathroom can be ‘smart’ it all depends on your preference. Some want a simple smart toilet while other homeowners want the full smart bathroom experience.
Smart toilets will save you a ton of money on toilet paper. It has temperature-controlled water, spritzing wands, and an automatic dryer. It has motion sensors that open and close the lid and it can even clean itself.
Digital faucets and showers help reduce tap flow. It makes use of touchless technology and has an infrared feature that detects when a hand is under the faucet.
8. Smart Light Bulbs
Dimmer switches were all the rage a couple of decades back. It lets people control the mood lighting of their homes while also conserving energy. The 21st century, however, is all about smart light bulbs.
These are bulbs that connect to the WiFi which then can be controlled using your smartphones.
No longer will you have to go room to room switching off lights before going to bed. And when you’re away, you can make other people believe someone is at home by turning lights on at night and switching them off during the day.
9. Smart Cooktops
If you love to cook or you have small children at home, it’s simply a must that you have an induction cooktop in your kitchen. This smart cooking equipment won’t get hot like traditional cooktops since they use induction technology to head food.
This also means that it uses less energy and your food cooks faster. The high-end models come equipped with touch-screen capabilities to make cooking even more efficient and easier.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a break from traditional home design, these 8 remarkable smart home technologies may be just what you need. With advancements in the internet of things space and new construction materials on the horizon, we can expect homes to become more integrated with technology than ever before.
The market is slowly filling up with products that allow homeowners to control every aspect of their lives without lifting a finger.
In this article, I have highlighted some of my favorite innovative gadgets which will make your life easier if you are considering purchasing one or two! Please share this post so others can learn about them too!
[…] It is a kind of functional home fixture that controls not only physical access to interiors and other rooms in a house but also maintains the safety and privacy of residents. […]
Thank you!!1
Amazing article! these smart home technology ideas are indeed going to be in need in the near future. Couldn’t be written much better, totally agree with your post. Thank you, keep creating such valuable and informative content.