Smart Home Technology Trends to Upgrade your Living Space
Smart home technology use has exploded in recent years. With so many smart home products available, there is now something for everyone looking to upgrade their living space. From easy-to-integrate IoT devices to more in-depth set-ups, homeowners and renters can find smart home ideas that simplify how they interact with technology in the house.
What is smart home technology?
Smart home technology refers to appliances and devices that bring automation into domestic settings. Users can control smart home products remotely from their phones, using a centralized smart hub or programming them to automate processes.
Smart home technology is often discussed alongside the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT is the technology behind new products that connect to the internet, allowing you to create a home network of controllable devices.
So what are the latest smart home technology trends? What home IoT products are available now, and what can we expect to see in the future?
Smart home news
There are lots of new smart home technology trends to expect moving forward. With IoT infrastructure and technology improving fast, companies are looking to remove entry barriers for consumers, enhance existing products and bring completely new smart home devices to the market.
Integration
Integration is one of the main selling points of smart home technology, connecting all your devices to offer a seamless experience.
Connect your home's lighting and control them from a single app or group every speaker in your house to provide a continuous listening experience. Smart home products work best when working together.
Fully integrated systems are among the top smart home technology trends, becoming more accessible to the wider public. Plus, more companies are now offering centralized hubs to control all their smart home devices from a single dashboard.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
AI technology performs tasks that were previously only capable by humans. Most consumers have some experience interacting with AI, Amazon Echo, Google Nest, or Siri, for example. These all use natural language processing powered by AI to interpret voice commands.
AI technology is improving at a rapid rate and taking smart home devices with it. With AI machine learning algorithms, smart home technology can learn from previous interactions to improve in the future. Also, by analyzing the data generated by smart home devices, AI can offer suggestions for better use or potentially entirely automate and optimize processes.
Mesh WiFi
An exciting smart home technology trend is the introduction of mesh WiFi, also known as whole-home WiFi.
This new approach to home WiFi networks supplements the main router with additional satellite modules or nodes positioned around the house to improve WiFi performance and coverage. They are all part of the same network, sharing the same SSID and password for seamless access.
Mesh WiFi allows for smooth and high-speed connectivity everywhere in your house, improving smart home device performance and ensuring they stay connected at all times.
Privacy
Privacy concerns are one of the most significant barriers to entry, preventing consumers from using smart home technology. Given this, it is no surprise advanced safety features are a growing smart home technology trend. To convince skeptical consumers and maintain existing customers, companies must ensure they feel safe and secure using their products.
This means increased local storage instead of transferring data to the cloud and implementing advanced encryption to prevent data breaches.
Home zoning
Home zoning allows smart home tech users to create different areas within their houses and control all their devices. For example, for family members who prefer it warmer, you could set up a home zone for their room and adjust the thermostat accordingly.
With home zoning, users get greater and more focused control of the different smart home products around the house. Home zoning could be combined with AI to learn our preferences for different house areas and adjust environmental settings or product controls to match.
Smart home products
Some of the most popular smart home products currently available are:
Smart home hubs
Let's start with smart home hubs. These get all your smart home devices communicating so you can control them from a single app. Even better than that, they now offer simple ways to automate different processes and create routines.
This could be turning off all the lights and heating when you leave the house or a morning routine to control your heating, lighting, and wake-up music.
There is a range of smart home hubs available. Many double up as smart speakers and voice assistants or come with smart displays.
Entertainment
Entertainment products are some of the most popular smart home tech available. Home is where you relax, enjoy yourself, and get lost in your favorite shows, films, and music, after a long day of work.
With smart speakers, soundbars, and smart TVs or projectors, you can combine all your entertainment needs and simplify their control. Smart home products make your time as relaxing or fun as possible.
Security
There is a range of smart security products available for securing your home. These include:
- Smart locks: allowing you to come and go with ease as well as monitor and provide access remotely.
- Video doorbells: showing you who's at the door from your phone when you're away from home or wrapped up in bed. Video doorbells add an extra layer of security to your house and can be combined with other features such as smart locks, two-way communication, motion detection, and sirens.
Heating
Smart thermostats connect your heating to the internet and allow you to control it remotely. With smart thermostats, you can turn the heating on or off or change the temperature from your smartphone. This adds convenience and makes sure you come home to a warm house. It also allows you to heat your house more efficiently, which is better for the environment and your bank account.
With smart meters, you can easily keep track of your gas and electricity usage, ensuring more accurate bills and eliminating the need for meter readings. They are also great for prepaying households, allowing users to see their credit and top up simply.
Lighting
There are now smart lighting systems that allow users to control and customize their home's lighting from an app or virtual assistant (Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, etc.). Smart lighting lets you simplify illuminating your house and reduce waste by never leaving a light on.
With smart light bulbs, you can create vibrant or mood lighting that transitions between themes or even integrates with smart TVs to create surround lighting for a new immersive home-watching experience.
Home office
Since 2020, many of us have spent a lot more time working from home, and there is a range of smart home products to help you maximize productivity. These include noise-canceling windows or new AI filters that hide your messy living room on Zoom calls.
Smart plugs
Many smart home products rely on smart plugs. Smart plugs provide a socket for controllable smart devices that require an external power source. Smart plugs allow you to control smart home products using an external device (phone, tablet, smart hub).
In their simplest form, smart plugs allow for smart home devices to be turned on and off, but they also allow you to set up schedules and timers and measure the power each device uses.
Future smart home ideas
The potential for future smart home technology trends is immense. Some of the most exciting smart home ideas companies are working on include:
- A fully automated home experience that uses IoT devices and AI technology to optimize every process or task in the home. This could allow for adapting processes based on specific actions or programmed to respond to your mood based on provided metrics.
- At home, robotic systems take over the cleaning, cooking, and other chores around the house.
- Smart beds are becoming available that promise to optimize our sleeping habits. They use sensors to gather data on how you sleep. This data can be collated for review or adapted in real-time by adjusting the mattress and environmental conditions like temperature.
- Massive smart TV walls allow you to create a home cinema. Samsung recently unveiled its "The Wall" MicroLED TV, consisting of a modular design that you can assemble into your desired size.
Summary
Smart home technology is improving and expanding into new areas, bringing a simplified, customizable experience that makes home comforts a bit smarter and more enjoyable.
Whether you want the perfect smart home entertainment system, an automated wake-up routine to help you get out of bed in the morning, or an automated home office, smart home technology trends can help you drive efficiency in work and play.
