Automating Your Home With Smart Home Technologies

I don’t know if you have heard of smart homes but you probably have an idea of what they are. See how in movies it’s possible to remotely control home appliances and devices using a smartphone? Well, it’s not all for the cameras and happens in real life. That is exactly what a smart home is.

The Standard Definition

A smart home refers to a setup where devices and appliances can be remotely controlled with an internet connection from anywhere on a networked device – it’s a rather convenient setup I may add. 

The basics of how they work are just like a computer network: all the devices are connected through the internet. If you think about it, it kind of is AI for smart city scaled down to a simple home.

As the proud owner of a smart home, you can control functionalities like temperature and lighting as well as security access through the internet on your smartphone. 

Long story short, everything you need to control in your home can be accessed from the palm of your hand. Some advanced functionalities of the smart home chip include controlling your front door to monitor your home and automatically turn on the lights when a sensor(s) is tripped.

How Smart Homes Work

Here’s a metaphor for you:

In a smart home setup, all the devices and appliances are the spokes. Bike 101 states that all spokes be connected to the hub – in this case our hub is your smartphone, tablet or whatever mobile device you are using to control it all.

All the smart home devices are connected to each other and can be accessed through one focal point. You’re probably wondering, “Just how many devices can I control from my smartphone?” 

To ease your wonder, I will mention just some of the appliances you can actually connect and control. You can control door locks, fridges, cameras, lights, thermostats, TVs, home theaters – the list is quite lengthy. 

AI chip companies that manufacture smart home chips throw in some machine learning so the smart home appliances have some self-learning, self-improving skills. They can learn your schedules and make adjustments as need arises.

What Are Your Options for Connectivity?

If you want to go for a smart home, you have two options for connectivity:

Wireless and hardwired – although there is the option of integrating both.

Hardwired systems are more reliable based on the fact that they are much harder to hack. They can also increase the resale value of a home in the event that you want to move. The only drawback to hardwired systems is how monumentally expensive installation is.

On the other hand, wireless systems are a lot easier and cheaper to install. Be that as it may, wireless systems are more susceptible to hacking.

Yay or Nay?

Yay

To begin with, smart home technologies provide you with unparalleled convenience when it comes to controlling appliances and devices. You can control all the devices at home, however plenty, from your smartphone.

Another important point with regard to convenience is the portability aspect. Here is what I mean:

The hub usually is a mobile device ergo it’s portable. You carry your phone everywhere with you, right? With that in mind, you can get notifications of anything fishy going on from wherever you are. 

Nay

Smart home technologies offer a lot of convenience and cost saving no doubt. Be that as it may, security risks are still a major concern especially in wireless systems. 

Skilled hackers can have their way with your appliances as they so desire – it’s not as hard as in much more complex smart technologies like AI for smart city. 

Combating these security risks could involve security features like encryption, using only trusted networks, and of course the ever-reliable strong passwords.

Another downside is the installation cost especially for hardwired systems.