Smart Home Technology

Since buying our new house, I have been putting together a book of ideas for how I want to decorate the house, which pieces of furniture inspire me, what flowers and plants I would like to grow in my garden. I guess it is a mood board on a grand scale. Whilst looking for inspiration, I found a trend that I had been aware of over the past few years but it never interested me until now. I am not tech-savvy at all. Of course I know how to work a smartphone but if you bet money on me connecting cable to a television or a PlayStation to the internet, you would lose your money in a flash. I am clueless!

I have been following @JameelHassan_ on twitter for a very long time. Jameel is an electrician turned entrepreneur in Smart Home Technology. He peaked my interest as he posts photos of his work and posts positivity and the reality of being an entrepreneur.

Whilst house hunting, I visited the show home of a new build estate. The show home has new technology but it was limited. The en-suite shower could turn on at a certain time every morning if you want and has different coloured LED lights, depending on your mood. You could also play music and pretend you are a pop star thanks to bathroom acoustics and the WiFi speakers placed in the ceiling. What more do you need to get you started in the morning? The house also has wireless CCTV at the entrance and back doors with a burglar alarm connection.

You can do a lot more in your house than shower temperature and a security system. The diagram below is a summary of what you could do around your house.

When buying a system, like a television, to connect to your smart home system, it would be a good idea to find out if it can be connected to a smart phone or the voice operated systems like Alexa and Google Home

One of my favourite things that I discovered is the front door lock. You can now get an electronic lock that does not use keys or cards, but uses your fingerprint to unlock the door. I hate carrying keys, especially on a night out. I like to go out with just my phone, bank card and lipstick in a small clutch bag. Now I won’t even have to worry about house keys.

A trend which I noticed is picking up steam is the doorbell. You can now get a doorbell that has a camera and speaker inside. When the delivery person arrives with your Etsy parcel and you are not home, you can see them when they ring the doorbell and also speak back to them to direct them where to leave the parcel. You can even do this from abroad whilst on holiday.

I really do believe that smart technology in our homes is here to stay and the trend will only continue to grow. As it grows, the more affordable it will get. I also believe that when you come to sell your house in 25 years, smart home technology will matter to the price of your property. But the most important thing to remember with a smart home is to have good WiFi that spreads all around your house.