Smart homes and the associated technology are growing more and more popular – nearly half of all renovations now include some form of upgrade to new technology which will either improve or change the way in which their house works.
Home automation is so popular because it allows for homes to be made more comfortable, and easier to operate on a day-to-day basis, given that it now includes everything from motion sensor lights to TV lifts.
People who are making the jump to a smarter home are now including smart door bells in their plans, as well as new security systems and climate control systems.
Smart Home Trends To Watch In 2021
Body
The newest technology out on the home renovation market is what is known as an ori-system, as a nod to the Japanese origami, the practice of folding paper to create new and unique shapes.
Ori-systems are the same concept, but used in architecture instead of paper. The idea for these systems originally came from MIT, with a professor and graduate student both collaborating on the project. Ori-systems are designed to help to alleviate the stress that comes with living in urban spaces, and the increasingly limited amount of space people have there.
Ori-systems work by using motion systems to combine beds, workspace, and storage space in as efficient a manner as possible, so that people can make the most of the space they have available.
The use of space is something which allows for the newest technologies in linear actuators among other things to be used to create double the amount of space which would otherwise be available.
Home Clouds
By now, everyone knows what the cloud is – it’s a type of storage which can be used for anything which is electronic in nature – emails, word documents, files of all kinds, coding – they can all be stored in the cloud.
The home cloud is almost the same, except that it is smaller in scope and can come in three separate modes. There is content (the music and videos which are saved and loved by the homeowners); productivity (emails, contacts, schedules, and so on); and sensory data (the kind of data which is collected through fit bits and other health apps currently).
This data can be collected by the newer types of home automation which are out there, and the increasing ability to do this is what has resulted in new methods of storage being required.
Remote Control
While there are actual remote controls which can be slaved to certain home automation systems, and indeed many home automation kits which come with remote controls, what is currently trending for smart homes in 2020 is the ability to control them remotely. Having a security system which can be activated remotely is something which very useful.
Remote access to a security system allows people to see inside their homes at a moment’s notice, no matter where they are. Having this kind of access to your home is helpful to keep track of who is in it and when, and it also enable you to control the security system from a remote location.
This can mean either that a homeowner sets the alarm manually, or that they use a particular pre-set program to have the alarm set itself when the house notices that there aren’t any people in it.
Pocket Drones
This is an odd development, but new smart homes and phones have led to an integration with drone technology which then allows people the added safety of having a drone which can remain out of reach of any attacker or mugger, and also record all the details of the encounter.
This type of drone is useful for personal protection, but it can also be useful in the home as well, and essentially serve the same purpose. Homeowners could even slave it to the security system, to react when certain conditions are met.
Laundry Technology
Smart laundry technology seems to be one of the defining moments for 2020, with everything from automated folding to automatic separating being catered for.
Automatic laundry is something which is designed to take more of the workload off people, as all home automation is; the separating of the laundry in particular is something which takes up most time in laundry.
The new automation takes it upon itself to sort the washing according to parameters set by the homeowner – whether that is delicate, a dark wash, a white wash, or something else.
Voice Control
Voice controlled apps are one of the more important trends in recent years, with voice control moving from simple things like Siri and Alexa to the automated home in general – homeowners can now have voice controlled lights and security systems, which they can use to create a home which suits them exactly.
A certain voice command can be used to create one lighting pattern, while another can be used for a different set of patterns, and so on.