Smart Home: an increasingly popular solution
The smart home has grown from a simple trend among technology enthusiasts to an increasingly popular strategy. This phenomenon has been made possible mainly by the increasing market availability of IoT devices which, thanks to their ease of installation and ability to meet a wide range of requirements, are revolutionising our concept of the home.
According to recent studies, one uppermost objective for many families wishing to improve their domestic environment is to find devices which will not only make their home smarter, but can also guarantee reliability, security and comfort. As a result, the entire industry is paying much closer attention to this list of features which are now considered essential, especially by the Italian population.
Differences between automated homes and smart homes
A common error by those unfamiliar with technology is to confuse the terms automated home and smart home. Although apparently similar, they in fact refer to quite different approaches, meaning that they totally incompatible by definition.
To understand where the differences lie, it is best to start with a precise and unambiguous explanation of what a smart home is. It is a kind of intelligent home, featuring the use of objects such as electrical appliances, sensors, thermostats etc., which are connected to the internet.
These objects are IoT (Internet of Things) devices and enable every aspect of the home to be controlled remotely via smartphone or voice assistant. They are always in contact with each other, often via a single application used to manage them; more devices can easily be added without limits on their number.
There is also home automation, which involves the use of smart devices which connect with each other without the need for an internet network. A home of this kind is in fact based on an ad hoc design from the start, enabling all components to connect with each other.
This ensures full interaction during operation thanks to a ‘central brain’ which uses special algorithms to regulate the various functions according to the situation (for example raising or lowering blinds according to external light levels, setting the thermostat to maintain a pre-established temperature etc.).
Why Italians are choosing the smart home
As mentioned above, many Italian families are now choosing to create a smart home and in 40% of cases, the main reason for the introduction of IoT devices regards the security factor.
Whether this involves CCTV cameras, sensors able to detect the opening of doors and windows or other instruments designed to monitor the home, it is clear that the main objective of individuals opting for this technology is to ensure greater peace of mind.
The choice of intelligent objects, which in recent years has dominated the consumer electronics market and encouraged the population to embrace the smart home trend, has expanded so that it not only provides users with increased security, but also enables them to:
- manage air conditioning in the home remotely;
- calibrate lighting to save on bills;
- improve air quality and detect the presence of harmful micro-particles;
- lower energy consumption by controlling when devices are turned on and off:
- etc.
In order for these functions to work successfully, consumers should avoid making hasty decisions without sufficient awareness of the available features and should steer clear of temptingly low cost products which in many cases can cause more harm than good.
Poor quality IoT devices often turn out to have weaknesses in their logic, due to careless programming, which facilitate malicious activity by ill-intentioned individuals, who can collect confidential data regarding occupants’ daily routine more easily.
Translated by Joanne Beckwith
