Home is where your sanctuary is. Home should be safe and comfortable. However, some homes are this and more. They offer added convenience and comfort, and they are safer too. They are smart homes.
How is a smart home different than any other home, and how exactly does it work? This is the first question in the minds of most people who are not familiar with the concept of a smart home. This article will answer these questions and more. You will get to learn what makes a smart home, and how a typical smart home works.
Defining a Smart Home
A smart home is one in which electric and electronic appliances are connected to a central computer and can be controlled remotely. Case scenario: you can turn the lights on and off, or adjust the thermostat, through an app on your Smartphone. Each smart home is different, and some are smarter than others. For instance, Bill Gates’ smart home cost him more than $100 million to construct.
The Working Mechanisms of a Smart Home
There are two vital and necessary components of running a smart home: radio waves and computer intelligence.
To operate the electric and electrical appliances of a smart home, there has to be some form of communication with the central computer system. This is facilitated by radio waves, as all forms of wireless communication rely on radio waves. Communication between the central computer and smart home components is done via a variety of channels, including WiFi and Bluetooth, among others – WiFi is more preferable because it is more reliable for long-distance usage compared to Bluetooth. This is why it is possible to control different aspects of your smart home from all the way across the world.
The thing that makes it possible to run a smart home is a central computer system, which functions much like the home’s brain. It would be impossible to issue any commands without a smart computer system. For instance, when you issue commands to Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant, that command would be nothing more than just gibberish without a central computer system to interpret it.
The mention of a central computer doesn’t mean that you need a computer system dedicated to running your smart home – albeit every smart home has a computer or two. In most cases, it is the appliances’ servers that function as the central computer system. For instance, Alexa relies on Amazon’s servers to interpret and effect commands. Your computer or Smartphone may function as the central computer. In fact, there may be several central computers running a smart home.
Smart Home Example
How do smart homes typically function? Here is a case scenario involving a smart home owner’s entire day.
The smart plug connecting to the coffee maker is timed to switch the kettle on automatically at about the time when the home’s owner wakes up, so he/she will find the coffee ready and hot. Once the home owner is all prepared to head off to work, he/she will get in the car and start the car as the smart garage door opener automatically opens the garage door and closes it after the owner is gone.
When at work, the home owner can keep an eye on his/her home by reviewing the security camera footage and receiving alerts in case something happens. The home owner can also control appliances such as lighting and the pet feeder remotely using his/her phone or computer. He/she can even get dinner done remotely by switching the slow cooker on. And, when driving home, he/she can remotely unlock the doors and adjust the thermostat to get the home ready.
The rule of thumb is that, as long as the electronic appliance has a sensor (which makes up pretty much makes up all appliances today), and as long as it has an on/off switch, it can be connected to the smart home grid.
The Convenience of Living in a Smart Home
Undoubtedly, going by the case scenario described above, living in a smart home is more comfortable, convenient, and comfortable than living in an ordinary, traditional home. For starters, most operations are automated, so you don’t have to trouble yourself doing things manually. Additionally, you can monitor and control your home any time and from anywhere using a Smartphone or computer. A smart home is also more secure than an ordinary home.
Setting up a smart home doesn’t have to cost you millions of dollars. You can start with something as small as a smart plug and upgrade to other smart components with time. In fact, living in a smart home saves you more money in the long run than the cost of setting up.
Final Word
A smart home is indeed smart as most aspects are automated. It is safer, entertaining, and more comfortable to live in, and it doesn’t cost a fortune, in spite of the common misconception to the opposite.