54 SMART HOME TECHNOLOGY
commissioned on a tablet app or laptop, where the contractor uses simple drag and drop controls to create a house layout and position smart home devices inside it. Not only is it intuitive for electrical contractors to install, but it is also easy for customers to pick up using a similar controller app via their own smartphone, tablet or over the web. Some products allow you to control lights, blinds or curtains and heating from an app with just a swipe of a finger or through voice control. Reporting on his experience of installing the smart home system for Clarendon Homes, Faulkner found that the handover to home buyers went smoothly, with new homeowners able to understand the system quickly and able to access support through a help button.
Following the success of the trial project, Clarendon Homes gave the go-ahead to roll out smart products across all of the properties in their portfolio.
ENERGY SAVING AND WOW FACTOR Other housebuilders are also seeing the benefit of smart home systems. For example, in Poland, smart products were a key selling point for the developer of a new housing project called Ossowska 85 near Warsaw, featuring 24 homes. The energy savings and lower bills were a differentiator
when selling the homes and the products also gave a ‘wow factor’ during viewings. Developer Maciej Piorkowski was impressed with the systems’ fast installation, which saved valuable time during commissioning, an important factor for projects where cost control is a priority. He said the products offered him “a modern and cost-efficient home automation solution that [he] can promote as a key benefit of the homes.”
A WIRELESS FUTURE
Smart home technology is evolving fast, so it’s worth knowing about recent additions and future trends. One manufacturer’s update is a wireless product that can be used to extend existing schemes or deliver new projects without the need for re-wiring. Security is a top
priority for the wireless version and to support this, each installation has its own randomly generated encryption key. Another recent innovation in smart systems is the addition of a weather station, so that homes can adapt to the weather automatically. Voice control has already been added to many systems, and in the future gesture control will allow occupants to change light settings with a sweep of their hand. As our world and homes become more integrated with technology, it is important that smart home technology matches home buyers’ expectations of functionality and ease-of-use, and that systems should be able to grow with the needs of buyers.
Dean Reddy is ABB’s product marketing manager for building automation
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