A smart home is a house or residence that incorporates advanced technology to provide automation and control over various home systems and home appliances, such as lighting, heating, air conditioning, security, and entertainment systems. The goal of a smart home is to make living more convenient, comfortable, and energy-efficient.
A smart home typically uses IoT devices (what is the IoT) to connect hardware and appliances to a central hub, which can be controlled remotely through a smartphone or tablet app. This allows homeowners to monitor and control various aspects of their home from anywhere, at any time.
Some examples of smart home technology include smart thermostats, smart lighting, smart security cameras, smart home appliances such as refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, and washing machines. Smart home technology can also be integrated with voice assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple’s Siri, allowing for voice control over smart home devices. There are several more IoT devices examples that can be used in smart homes.
What are the benefits of smart home technology?
According to Grand View research, “The global smart home market size was estimated at USD 62.69 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.04% from 2022 to 2030.” As you can see, there is a big potential for this market.
And since you already know the definition of smart home, let’s see some of its benefits. Overall, smart homes allow you to have better control of your energy level consumption, and automation of tasks.
- Improve energy efficiency by turning on and off lights in bedrooms where you aren’t present.
- Control of air conditioning to regulate temperature.
- Save time on tasks such as vacuum the floor or doing laundry.
- Checking through your computer, tablet or smartphone who is knocking at your door, and avoid going to the entrance to check.
What is the difference between smart home and home automation?
The terms “home automation” and “smart home” are often used interchangeably, but they do have slightly different meanings.
Home automation refers to all sets of technologies that can be used in houses to improve well-being. It usually counts on IoT devices for home, IoT sensing, and other technologies to control and automate various systems and appliances within a house. On the other hand, smart home is a more broader term that refers to the integration of advanced technology throughout a home to provide automation and control over various home systems and appliances.
