The Smart Home – No Directions Needed

With the explosion of Smart Home automation products coming into the market and the blazing speed in which the adoption of virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home are entering your neighbor’s homes – you may be thinking, what’s next?  

Believe it or not, this is just a stepping stone, we will be moving beyond voice assistance …to the need NOT to speak.

Virtual assistant technology will still play a very important role in our lives but will not be the end game.

The companies that win the Smart Home automation race will not necessarily have the best digital assistants, but they WILL champion “sensing” automation capabilities that will anticipate needs in important categories for people (think security, environment and entertainment) and deliver on those needs without effort.  This is the “no directions needed” life and you will be able to toss out those smart home programming manuals.

There are technologies and companies that do this quite well today – Nest for example has their "Works with Nest" platform and works with Haiku Home who has brought the first Smart Home fan to market.  But why is that exciting?  Besides the coolest fans on the planet, it turns out that energy efficiency is not just a one trick pony with your smart thermostat - fans, lights, and automated shades all play a role in comfort and conservation.  Bottom line: When devices work together seamlessly and without programming – homeowners win.

A few weeks ago I can’t tell you the delight I had when I walked into my dark home after daylight savings time change, an armful of groceries, two kids cranky for an after school snack…and voila, when I walked in - the HOME - sensed I was there and automatically turned on all the lights and disarmed the security system.   In that moment of time, my home was one word – delightful. 

I’ve been testing a system by QOLSYS in my own home these last few weeks, it’s a circa 1927 New England cottage with a whopping 60 AMPS of electrical power – and despite this huge power disadvantage, it’s pretty damn smart.  Smart lighting, door security sensors, window sensors and soon to be a smart thermostat for my old school radiator heat once my electrical is upgraded.

Now if I could just get my Smart Home to make dinner, I’d be all set, right? As far fetched as that sounds…it might not be far away. According to a recent study conducted by Statista (October 2017), Smart Appliances will be one of the leading revenue growth categories in the Smart Home automation industry.

If Amazon knows what groceries are missing from your refrigerator, let's say staple items you use every day like a quarter carton of cream for your coffee for instance.  Can’t it learn the pace in which you typically consume these items and have them delivered in anticipation?  Not quite making dinner for you, but very handy none the less.

In our next blog post we bring you our holiday favorite product picks and talk about some up and coming brands that are making a big play in 2018 into the Smart Home space in unexpected ways. 

Welcome to the Sensing Home – that’s what makes it Smart.

Stay Smart,

Jen

CEO/President Level Up Your Home