A term you have doubtless heard mentioned in various articles and in reference to how devices in your home (or office) are connected through the internet.
You may have also heard this referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT) or the Connected Home
Essentially, there are a large variety of devices in your home that can be connected through your home wi-fi and controlled through an app on your phone or another remote device such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home App.
The most popular of these devices are thermostats (for climate control), lights (to turn on or off, or to change the colour) and security cameras that can be monitored remotely.
The smart home is becoming more and more ubiquitous, and within a few years, it will be increasingly popular to buy certain devices where this type of connection is the norm.
What are the Benefits?
The most obvious benefit is convenience and ease of use. An app on your phone can have many more features, and be laid out in a simpler fashion than a host of remotes or poorly design panels. And just as you don’t (often) misplace your phone, you won’t ever be lost without the right remote
In terms of security, the Smart Home provides an exceptional level of control. Wi-fi connected cameras can be triggered by motion, and alert you on your mobile phone, allowing you to remotely check the trigger by looking at the feed from the camera. From the comfort of wherever you are you can trigger an alarm, alert police, or clear it as a false alarm.
Similar triggers can be set on doors and windows.
Lighting, the most popular of the items in the smart home, can be set to a timetable, varying daily, or even turned on and off from a remote location. This is perfect for people on holidays or away on a work trip. You can often set the temperature or overall colour of lights – a warm glow for cozy nights, and bright white for dinner time, a variable colour for parties.
You can also buy power points converts that are able to switch any appliance in your home that is plugged into the wall into a smart device that can be turned on and off remotely via your phone.
Money can be saved by not having expensive lighting on day and night while you are away.
What are the Drawbacks?
As with any technology, especially one that is to all intents in its infancy, there can be drawbacks.
One possible one is the potential security risk involved. Since each device needs to have access to your wi-fi network, it potentially has access to all other devices on that same network – including phones, computers and so on. Since the security features of something like a light globe may not have been fully thought through there is an inherent risk. Such vulnerabilities have already been exploited on large scale, bringing down entire networks.
To mitigate this risk you should;
- buy only known and trusted brands
- buy the latest versions of a product. Stay away from run-out, sale or ‘old’ stock.
- follow the instructions on the packaging carefully
- if possible, change any access passwords on the device itself
- update firmware where possible of the connected device
- create a ‘safe list’ within your wi-fi access point (or modem) to allow only known devices on the network
A final drawback (in my own view) is the consideration that you may want to connect devices to the Smart Home that might be better off not connected. Do you really need to connect a $75 light globe when a $5 one will work just as well? Will a product be better off connected, or will that just add a complication that is not needed?
In conclusion…
The Smart Home is a great idea to bring us closer to the utopian society that we would daydream about as kids, but as a practical idea, can make your home safer and more economically run. It does need an operator to be smart as well, to think of the security vulnerabilities, and how the devices have to be used.
Just because a device is ‘smart’ does not mean that it is best used that way.
if you like this article then you might also like this one – Can I Self Monitor a Home Alarm System?
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