When you’re not home, nagging little doubts can start to crowd your
mind. Did I turn the coffee maker off? Did I set the security alarm? Are the kids doing their homework or watching
television? With a smart home, you could quiet all of these worries with a quick
glance at your smartphone or tablet. You could connect the devices and
appliances in your home so they can communicate with each other and with you.
Any device in your home that uses electricity can be put on your home
network and at your command. Whether you give that command by voice, remote
control, tablet or smartphone, the home reacts. Most applications relate to
lighting, home security, home theatre and entertainment, and thermostat
regulation.
Home automation has a long and fitful history
The idea of a smart home might make you think of George Jetson and his
futuristic abode or maybe Bill Gates, who spent more than $100 million building
his smart home. Once a draw for the tech-savvy or the wealthy, smart homes and
home automation are becoming more common. Watch a glimpse of a smart home.
What used to be a quirky industry that churned out hard-to-use and
frilly products is finally maturing into a full-blown consumer trend. Instead
of start-up companies, more established tech organizations are launching new
smart home products. Sales of automation systems could grow to around $9.5
billion by 2015 [source: Berg Insight]. By 2017, that number could balloon to $44 billion
[source: CNN].
Much of this is due to the jaw-dropping success of smartphones and
tablet computers. These ultra-portable computers are everywhere, and their
constant Internet connections means they can be configured to control myriad
other online devices. It’s all about the Internet of Things.
All of the electronics in your home are fair game for this tech
revolution The Internet of Things is a phrase that refers to the
objects and products that are interconnected and identifiable through digital
networks. This web-like sprawl of products is getting bigger and better every
day. All of the electronics in your home are fair game for this tech
revolution, from your fridge to your furnace.
Smart Home Software and Technology :
Home automation has a long and fitful history. For many years, tech
trends have come and gone, but one of the first companies to find success is
still around.
The genesis of many smart home products was 1975, when a company in
Scotland developed X10. X10 allows compatible products to talk to
each other over the already existing electrical wires of a home. All the
appliances and devices are receivers, and the means of controlling the system,
such as remote controls or keypads, are transmitters. If you want to turn off a
lamp in another room, the transmitter will issue a message in numerical code
that includes the following:
·
An alert to the system that it’s issuing a command,
·
An identifying unit number for the device that
should receive the command and
·
A code that contains the actual command, such as
“turn off.”
All of this is designed to happen in less than a second, but X10 does
have some limitations. Communicating over electrical lines is not always
reliable because the lines get “noisy” from powering other devices. An X10
device could interpret electronic interference as a command and react, or it
might not receive the command at all. While X10 devices are still around, other
technologies have emerged to compete for your home networking dollar. Instead
of going through the power lines, many new systems use radio waves to
communicate. That’s how BlueTooth, WiFi and cell phone signals operate.
Home automation has a long and fitful history.
Two of the most prominent radio networks in home automation are ZigBee and Z-Wave.
Both of these technologies are mesh networks, meaning there’s more
than one way for the message to get to its destination. Z-Wave uses a Source
Routing Algorithmto determine the fastest route for messages. Each Z-Wave
device is embedded with a code, and when the device is plugged into the system,
the network controller recognizes the code, determines its location and adds it
to the network. When a command comes through, the controller uses the algorithm
to determine how the message should be sent. Because this routing can take up a
lot of memory on a network, Z-Wave has developed a hierarchy between devices:
Some controllers initiate messages, and some are “slaves,” which means they can
only carry and respond to messages.
ZigBee’s name illustrates the mesh networking concept because messages
from the transmitter zigzag like bees, looking for the best path to the
receiver. While Z-Wave uses a proprietary technology for operating its system,
ZigBee’s platform is based on the standard set by the Institute for Electrical
and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for wireless personal networks. This means any
company can build a ZigBee-compatible product without paying licensing fees for
the technology behind it, which may eventually give ZigBee an advantage in the
marketplace. Like Z-Wave, ZigBee has fully functional devices (or those that
route the message) and reduced function devices (or those that don’t).
Most prominent radio networks in home automation are ZigBee and Z-Wave
Using a wireless network provides more flexibility for placing devices,
but like electrical lines, they might have interference. Insteon offers
a way for your home network to communicate over both electrical wires and radio
waves, making it a dual-mesh network. If the message isn’t getting
through on one platform, it will try the other. Instead of routing the message,
an Insteon device will broadcast the message, and all devices pick up the
message and broadcast it until the command is performed. The devices act like
peers, as opposed to one serving as an instigator and another as a receptor.
This means that the more Insteon devices that are installed on a network, the
stronger the message will be.
Setting Up a Smart Home : X10,
Insteon, ZigBee and Z-Wave provide only the fundamental technology,
called protocols, for smart home communication. They’ve created
alliances with electronics manufacturers who actually build the end-user devices.
Here are some examples of smart home products and their functions.
·
Cameraswill track your home’s exterior even if it’s
pitch-black outside.
·
You can control a thermostat from your bed, the
airport, anywhere your smartphone has a signal.
·
LED lights let you program colour and brightness
right from your smartphone.
·
Motion sensors will send an alert when there’s
motion around your house, and they can even tell the difference between pets
and burglars.
·
Smartphone integration lets you turn lights and
appliances on or off from your mobile device.
·
Door locks and garage doorscan open automatically
as your smartphone approaches.
·
Auto alerts from your security system will
immediately go to your smartphone, so you instantly know if there’s a problem
at home.
·
Many devices also come with built-in web servers
that allow you to access their information online.
These products are available at home improvement stores, electronics
stores, from installation technicians or online. Before buying, check to see
what technology is associated with the product. Products using the same
technology should work together despite different manufacturers, but connecting
an X10 and a Z-Wave product requires a bridging device, and often, extreme
patience and some technical skills on your part.
In designing a smart home, you can do as much or as little home
automation as you want
In designing a smart home, you can do as much or as little home
automation as you want. For starters, it may be best to think of tasks you
already routinely do and then find a way to automate them. You could begin with
a lighting starter kit and add on security devices later. If you want to start
with a more expansive system with many features, it’s a good idea to carefully
design how the home will work, particularly if rewiring or renovation will be
required. In addition, you’ll want to strategically place the nodes of the
wireless networks so that they have a good routing range.
About 60 percent of homebuilders who have installed home automation
devices hired professional help. If you’re looking for a technician, check if
they have CEA-CompTIA certification. This certification is the result of a
partnership between the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the
Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), and it represents
proficiency in installing, maintaining and troubleshooting any vendor’s home
networking equipment.
The cost of a smart home varies depending on how smart the home is. One
builder estimates that his clients spend between $10,000 and $250,000 for
sophisticated systems. If you build the smart home gradually, starting with a
basic lighting system, it might only be a few hundred dollars. A more
sophisticated system will be tens of thousands of dollars, and elements of home
theatre systems raise the cost of a system about 50 percent.
Smart Home Benefits : Smart homes
may make life easier and more convenient. Who wouldn’t love being able to
control lighting, entertainment and temperature from their couch? Whether you’re
at work or on vacation, the smart home will alert you to what’s going on,
and security
systems can be built to provide an immense amount of
help in an emergency. For example, not only would a resident be woken with
notification of a fire alarm, the smart home would also unlock doors, dial the
fire department and light the path to safety.
With smart home security, you can check on your little one from anywhere
Here are a few more examples of cool smart home tricks:
·
Light a path for night time bathroom trips.
·
Unlock your door automatically as you approach.
·
Feed your pets on a schedule with a pre-set amount
of food.
·
Instantly create mood lighting for any occasion.
·
Program your television so that your children can
watch only at certain times.
·
Warm the bedroom before you get out of bed so that
it’s nice and toasty when you get up.
·
Turn on the coffee maker from bed.
Smart homes also provide some energy efficiency savings. Because systems
like Z-Wave and ZigBee put some devices at a reduced level of functionality,
they can go to sleep and wake up when commands are given. Electric bills go
down when lights are automatically turned off in empty rooms, and rooms can be
heated or cooled based on who’s there at any given moment. One homeowner
boasted that her heating bill was about one-third less than a same-sized normal
home. Some devices can track how much energy each appliance is using and
command power hogs to use less.