A lot can happen in a short amount of time in the smart home marketplace. What was once new quickly becomes outdated. New companies with new ideas enter and fold seemingly overnight. But these 10 technologies have had a major impact on how we live at home. They’ve shaken up the home enviromement and are here for good.
LED lighting: Thomas Edison invented the incandescent light bulb in 1879. Since then, light bulbs didn’t change much … until light emitting diodes became a thing. LED light bulbs shook up the market, making consumers think twice about which type of bulbs to buy. LED started out a little shaky—questionable performance, high price, and unable to dim or be integrated with other home systems—but they’ve improved vastly supplanting incandescent bulbs as the must-have light source for smart homes.
Voice control: For years we’ve been dreaming about shouting at our home appliances and having them obey our every command. Well, that day is here, thanks to voice assistant platforms and smart speakers like Amazon Alexa and its Echo devices, Google Assistant and its line of Home products, Apple Siri, and others. There are dozens of products from thermostats and light switches to door locks and complete home automation systems that integrate easily with these voice technologies, making hands-free home control a reality that profoundly changes the way we manage and enjoy our homes.
Smart Shopping Sources: You don’t have to scour the planet to unearth some great smart home devices. Heck, you can even find them now while you’re picking up groceries or a pair of shoes. Places like Wal-Mart, Target, Kohl’s and Ikea now carry a selection of smart home devices, along with the usual suspects like Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Amazon.
Wi-Fi: How did we ever live without it? As our defacto communications medium, it’s altered how we engage with not only each other, but with systems in our home. Signals travel wirelessly from our smartphones to light bulbs, motorized shades, ceiling fans … you name it you can probably communicate with it via Wi-Fi. Mesh networking systems make Wi-Fi an even more robust and reliable mode of home control.
Smartphones and apps: And speaking of smartphones … how about those home control apps? Without them, Wi-Fi-enabled home control would be cumbersome and frankly impossible. There are apps for monitoring, managing, and automating a smart home from numerous manufacturers, turning your smartphone into your own personal home control dashboard.
Electronic door locks: Keys? Who needs them? Electronic door locks have single-handedly have done with a tool that’s been in our pockets and purses for well over 100 years. Thanks to this invention, we can lock and unlock our doors via keypad, smartphone, or even our own voices.
Streaming content: The ability to stream music, video and other content to our homes via the Internet has changed the way we consume media forever. We can pick and choose from thousands of songs and movies, have it delivered to whichever TV or speakers we want, and enjoy it all on a whim.
IP and The Internet of Things (IoT): The Internet has altered more than just how we access entertainment. Though IP (Internet protocol), we can monitor surveillance cameras in real time, control devices in our home, and even conduct two-way conversations with people at the front door all while we’re miles away from home.
Wireless. Think about all the things that used to be wired into your home: security systems, speakers, light switches, just about everything. Thanks to wireless communications technologies like ZigBee, ZWave, Bluetooth, and others, these same devices can operate without being physically connected to anything. It’s made technology that was once tethered permanently in place highly portable and easier to install.
DIY-Friendly Systems. Smart home devices that can be installed and configured by homeowners themselves have completely changed the smart home industry. Rather than hire someone to handle your smart home project you can do it yourself…or at least some of it yourself. It’s opened up the marketplace significantly, making the addition of smart home technology a home improvement that’s possible for most people to tackle themselves. Of course, as with any home improvement (painting, tiling, laying new floors, etc.), hiring a home systems professional is never a bad idea.
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