Smart home technologies have launched us into the space age over the last decade, giving us devices that seem like they have come out of a futuristic Hollywood movie, transforming the homes of a new generation of tech users.
The technology leading this paradigm shift is called smart technology and is driven by IoT devices, an abbreviation of the internet of things.
While home automation has been a technology that has continuously evolved since the mid-19th century, smart home automation is relatively new.
So what is a smart home, and what are the smart and IoT appliances and devices transforming our dwellings beyond 2023? Read on to learn more about smart home technology and discover why Smart Home Works is the industry leader for smart home installation Sydney-wide.
How does smart home automation work?
Smart home automation uses networked and cable protocols to create a network of symbiotic devices and appliances that can be operated and commanded by a central control or remote device, like a tablet, laptop or smartphone. So how do all these IoT technologies connect? Read on to find out.
Bluetooth
Since its inception, Bluetooth has been a standard protocol for reliable wireless connectivity in many devices and appliances. It began as a short-link radio technology developed in 1989 and was later named Bluetooth in 1997 when the technology became more accessible.
It allows strong wireless signals to be shared between a wide range of IoT technologies over short distances.
Zigbee
Zigbee has been a popular protocol since smart home technologies became more available in retail-grade IoT devices and offers high-level communication between technologies.
Like Bluetooth, it is applied to devices and appliances that are functioning and communicating a short distance apart, like within a commercial or residential property.
Zigbee also operates high-quality signals while requiring very low power, meaning less drain on the batteries in remote smart devices.
Wi-Fi
In this internet age, you will struggle to find a home without a Wi-Fi router, which traditionally provides wireless internet access for PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.
It would make sense, then, that more smart technologies are being adapted to network through the home via the Wi-FI protocol, allowing a complete, simplified ecosystem of smart and IoT appliances and devices.
LPWA Network
While wireless smart technologies offer the most convenience and freedom of movement, they are yet to beat a hard-wired system for strength of signal, reliability and performance.
A low-powered wide-area ethernet network (LPWA for short) is best used with critical or high-powered smart technologies, like smart security systems, PC networks, and in some cases, audio-visual systems.
While some smart homes use various technologies, keeping a home to an LPWA network and a single wireless protocol offers better connectivity over all devices and more convenient operation of a fully integrated smart home.
Smart home installation: The home of tomorrow today
Smart home automation offers a wide range of benefits, including better home security, advanced smart home functions, and superior home entertainment for all to enjoy. Read on for more information about trending smart home technologies.
HVAC: A new world of temperature control
As we move into an unpredictable climate in the future, we must adapt and contend with more erratic weather conditions and extreme temperature shifts throughout the seasons, especially record heat waves throughout the summer periods.
In a country like Australia, heating, ventilation and air conditioning are essential parts of a home’s network. However, Australian homes also have to contend with some of the most expensive power bills on the planet.
Smart HVAC technologies allow unprecedented control of your home’s heating and cooling, allowing for remote control from any remote smart device throughout the day.
This allows you to control your home’s thermostats and air conditioning controls more accurately and efficiently, rather than leaving them on when no one is home, wasting precious energy resources, and blowing out your energy budget.
Smart irrigation: The smarter way to garden
Every Australian loves a green garden; however, this can be a time-consuming hobby and taxing on our most precious resource—fresh water. Legacy automated irrigation systems were tricky to operate, heavy on water use, and sometimes unreliable.
Smart irrigation systems allow you to remotely view and control your irrigation system from anywhere you have a reliable internet connection and a smart device, whether from your living room, workstation, or at a holiday destination a world away.
Smart security: Unprecedented control over home security and family safety
Traditional CCTV security and alarm systems would provide a visual deterrent, proof of a breach or crime, or allow a third party to monitor your home’s security, providing little control to the home or business owner.
Smart security puts the power back in the hands of the occupants, allowing remote access and control of your whole property’s security network, including:
- Cameras
- Recordings
- Alarms
- Sensors
- Doorbells and intercoms
- Door locks and access controls
- Security lighting
- and more
Smart security allows you to feel safer at home and away and will enable you to maximise and optimise the protection of your family, staff, property and assets.
Smart appliances and IoT devices: Changing the way we live
You may already have some smart devices in your home that were installed by a professional integrator or purchased and assimilated yourself from an electronic retailer.
It seems every week, more daily household items are receiving a smart technology makeover, including:
- Smart home entertainment systems
- Smart speakers
- Smart robot vacuums
- Smart TVs
- Smart refrigerators
- Smart ovens
- Smart washing machines
- Smart dishwashers
- and much more
These smart IoT technologies allow us to enjoy more control, more access to information, and improved lifestyles— we can expect to see our homes becoming smarter and smarter well into the future.
Smart Home Works: The go-to integrator for smart home automation Sydney-wide
Our home automation team has been at the forefront of home automation technologies for over half a century. In the 2020s, we continue to ride the technological wave to provide cutting-edge solutions for smart home installations and integration of world-leading IoT devices.
If you are ready to build your dream smart home, contact our helpful consultants today by leaving a brief message and your contact details via email at design@smarthomeworks.com.au or call us directly on (02) 8197 1133.
