Home living is made easier with automation and revolutionary smart devices. A smart home is a house with an integrated automation system and network-connected appliances which can be controlled remotely via smartphones or computers. With new smart developments underway and trials for smart device usage constantly ongoing, we are very quickly becoming a full-fledged smart nation.
Turning Your Existing Home Into A Smart One
One of the major defining characteristics of a smart home is that of automation systems. Home automation involves the control and automation of lighting, heating, air conditioning, and security, as well as appliances like washers, dryers, ovens, and refrigerators. Any home can become a smart home – you simply need a Wi-Fi connection that’s powerful enough to reach all the devices you have in your house.
Home devices, when remotely monitored and controlled via the Internet, are an important constituent of the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT is the inter-networking of devices embedded with electronics, software, and network connectivity which enable them to gather and exchange data. It allows these appliances to be remotely controlled across existing network infrastructure, creating opportunities for direct integration of the physical world into computer-based systems, resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy, and economic benefits.
You don’t need your house to be installed with every smart appliance under the sun from the get-go. You can convert your home into a smart home whenever you’re ready and add smart devices as you go along. Darrell Zhang, Business Development Director of hiLife Interactive Pte Ltd shares, “Homeowners should take into account their current needs when they choose which smart home feature to include in their homes. They can always add smart home features to their homes as their needs change.”
Benefits Of Smart Homes
Heightened convenience is one of the biggest reasons why people build and invest in smart homes and smart appliances. These homes give users centralised control and remote access to multiple smart devices throughout the house. When all the smart devices in a house are connected and synchronised, life is made so much more carefree as the appliances are able to predict and anticipate the homeowners’ habits and routines.
Smart homes can also be equipped with advanced security systems like cameras, motion sensors, and even a link to the local police station. Such houses may use key cards or fingerprint identification instead of conventional locks, making it less likely for a security breach to occur. Although smart devices may be susceptible to cyberattacks, homeowners are advised to take precautionary measures like setting strong and unique passwords for their devices and changing them regularly.
Furthermore, automated tasks, coupled with energy-saving appliances with built-in motion sensors and programmable settings, combine to save on electricity, water, and natural gas, thereby reducing the strain on natural resources.
Although the concept of smart homes and its manifestation on a large scale is still in its infancy in Singapore, with newly dedicated spaces for smart property developments cropping up, we’ll surely be living in the future soon enough.
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