Gone are the days when the smart home was seen as a novelty born from sci-fi movies like “The Jetsons” and “2001: A Space Odyssey”. It has become a reality with major tech companies competing against each other to become a leader in this industry. What started with the invention of the thermostat has now become the fastest-growing tech market segment.
As per Statista, the home automation devices already generated a market revenue of $206.8 billion last year. Moreover, it is expected to reach $300 billion by 2023. That’s a whopping market revenue!
Undoubtedly, these smart home technologies have simplified the human aspects. It has catered to all our needs, from securing our homes and offices, controlling our appliances, monitoring the energy resources, and using it for personal assistance.
But, how do these automated devices serve their purpose? As technology grows at full speed, it is evident that a person gets confused over how to start. So, in this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about home automation technology.
Let’s first start with a brief about home automation technology. Scroll down.
What is Home Automation Technology?
Technically speaking, home automation technology, also known as smart home technology, is a combined term for automation, digitization, and interconnected devices. More broadly, home automation technology uses IoT to control almost every aspect of your home. These smart home technologies enable users to manage significant household tasks efficiently without any stress build-up.
Today there are almost 26.66 billion smart devices installed worldwide, which is expected to rise to 75 billion by 2025. The home automation market is so lucrative that people accept it universally. Using these smart devices, a person can easily manage all his tasks like controlling household appliances, monitoring homes, operating security gadgets, and so on while just using his tab or smartphone.
Moreover, the tremendous growth in AI has now made it possible to control all those connected devices by using voice commands. The best examples are Google Home, Amazon Echo Plus, Samsung smart things hub, etc. So, overall speaking, smart home technology has made human life much more convenient and stress-free.
Why Do We Need Home Automation Technology?
That question inevitably comes to the mind of every reader why do we need smart homes or home automation technology? Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Here are some benefits of using smart home technology that will surely make your mind to adopt IoT home automation. Let’s break it down.
Improved Productivity
By automating various time-consuming tasks, smart devices also increase the user’s productivity. Whether it is lightening your homes and offices, using a video doorbell to answer the door, or even playing soft jazz music for your relaxation, it saves a lot of time, thus increasing productivity.
Improved Security
Security is the most important reason for people to opt for home automation. These devices use the relevant information from motion sensors and connected devices to turn ON/Off the lights or lock the gates. Besides that, you can also control or operate the appliances by using your mobile phones or tabs. In short, smart devices are a great way to ensure safety and security for your homes.
More Savings
Besides providing convenience to the users, smart devices also help in energy savings. You can quickly reduce your energy utility by controlling your heating and cooling devices and monitoring water usage. And more energy control means more savings.
Better Care Of Family
Smart devices such as video doorbells, motion sensors, and smart cameras provide even better care to your family. For instance, you can easily know when your kids are back home; or if any elder is wandering inside the house at off-hours, etc. With home automation features, you can keep a better eye on your family members and provide them with better support.
More Comfort
Smart technology also provides more comfort and peace of mind to the user. You can seamlessly play your favorite music or adjust the lights according to your mood through connected devices. Moreover, you can also change the room temperature to create a comfortable environment for you.
Also Read: How to Develop Home Automation App like Ecobee?
Recent Innovations in Smart Home Technology
Home automation technology has transformed in past years. All thanks to the advances in the automation industry, smart home technology is now the same throughout the world. In starting, home automation revolved around thermostats and speakers. But now, many new and intellectual devices have entered the market. Let’s have a look at some of them.
Smart TVs
Smart TVs are somewhat like regular TVs; it’s just that they can do a lot more than standard televisions. Smart TVs are technically an umbrella statement of all IoT video streaming devices. These TVs work without any cable, and you can seamlessly connect your mobile devices with them. Moreover, many of these devices can work without connecting to any smart hubs or speakers, which makes them even more convenient.
Smart Lights
Easy to use in any lamp, smart lights look like regular bulbs, except that they can be controlled through your smartphones or via voice commands. A user can schedule these smart lights, meaning what kind of view should be at a given moment. Moreover, some brands also offer lights that mimic natural sunlight or evening light to meet your ambiance needs.
Robot Vacuum
Robot vacuums are a recent innovation in the automation industry. They are pros in cleaning the dirt and efficiently removing your pet’s hair. It uses a particular technology to learn your home’s layout to clean the ground better and relieve your home’s stress. Like other smart devices, Robot Vacuums can also be controlled by your voice or an app.
Smart Plugs
Smart plugs are valuable automation devices used by most people these days. A smart plug can convert any device/appliance smart that is plugged into it. Whatever device is powered by smart plugs can be easily switched on/off using your smartphone. For instance, if you want to ON your Washing Machine while sitting at your office, then you can easily do so by only using your cell phone. The only condition is that the machine should be plugged in with a smart plug.
Doorbell Camera
Doorbell cameras have now become a crucial aspect of many home security setups. These smart cameras give you alerts when someone is at your door and provide you with video footage of that person. Moreover, you can easily watch your outdoor and talk via intercom with your visitors. The doorbell camera even notifies you about visitors when you are sitting far away from your home. So that you can seamlessly interact with them using the intercom system. That’s great!
Smart Thermostats
Although smart thermostats are not that new compared to other devices, they are also used by the masses. Smart thermostats work by learning your temperature preferences to create a comfortable ambiance for you. Besides that, they also help you to save more money on electricity bills by adjusting themselves when you are not at home. In short, they sense your presence and ensure that you never heat or cool an empty house.
Smart Speakers
As per the reports, more than 39 billion Americans have smart speakers in their homes. And it is not surprising as smart speakers certainly do much more than play songs. Besides assisting you, they can also play news, tell you the weather, and even controls all your smart devices. So, with the right set of smart speakers, you can almost control all the aspects of your smart home.
Also Read: IoT-based Home Automation Development: What’s in it for Businesses?
How to Build Home Automation System?
Building a home automation system needs an expert team from an IoT development company by your side. They help you analyze your requirements, the market you want to address, and what challenges your target audience faces. They also will have the right team to develop home automation systems. This team will generally include a business consulting expert, IoT developers, QA and testing experts, etc.
The process of building a home automation system at Matellio covers the following stages:
- Technology Consulting: In this step, we help you pinpoint your targets, map your KPIs, and create the success roadmap.
- Product Designing: This stage comprises creating working prototypes of the products. Clients can verify the product at their end and share feedback with the IoT development team.
- Product development: This stage combines hardware and software development for the home automation system.
- QA and Testing: From here, the testing team takes over and validates the deliverables against your scope. The development team takes care of the bugs and glitches pointed out by them. Once QA and testing teams approve, the product is ready to launch.
Future of Smart Home Technology
Home automation is a growing technology, meaning there is much more to come in the future. Many organizations are still working hard to make this technology more efficient and affordable to the masses. Devices sharing users’ data with the companies is the next big thing to watch in the coming future. Developers are working day in and day out to make IoT devices much more compatible across different platforms to give more control and convenience to the users. Also, using more advanced AI will enable these smart devices to foretell our needs and take better care of our families.
