Homes of the Future

The Internet of Things, a concept that was first documented by Kevin Ashton, a British visionary in 1999 – a term that describes a futuristic sense of everything being connected by a constant flow of data, connecting devices, systems and going ‘beyond machine to machine communications’. This means that it refers to a wider connectivity that you would expect, with everyday objects beings able to collect, send and receive data to a network where everything is collected. Since 1999, there have been vast developments in technology, allowing everyone to become more connected to the internet as a network through more and more devices, such as mobile phones, tablets and computers.

Home automation, this is one of the developments in technology that has allowed us all to become more connected – it allows you to control various applications in your home, from anywhere in the world providing you are connected to the internet. With regards to the internet of things, it has brought us even closer to a concept that could be argued as becoming more and more real as time goes on. Some of things that home automation now allows you to control are the centralised control of your lighting (allowing you to switch lights on or off wherever you are), heating, ventilation, air conditioning and even the locks on gates or doors around your home. As you can do this anywhere that you have connectivity, it means you are likely to cut your energy bill by 15% on average with home automation, statistics suggest.

The development of home automation has been largely down to the fact that we have a greater connectivity to the internet through out mobile devices, this ties in quite closely with the Internet of Things concept – that we are becoming further connected with everyday objects (such as heating, air conditioning and locks of gates/doors) and it is beginning to become more evident through home automation. Whereas home automation was once just an idea of science fiction writing, it is now a practical technology that has been more accessible since the technological boom (dot-com bubble) of the internet.

In the future, home automation is expected to grow massively. As it is an old market, with relatively new exposure – there is potential for the market to increase exponentially. By this, I mean that despite being an idea that has been around for a while, it is only recently that the idea has become publicised and captured the interest of many home owners. We don’t know how the technology of today will develop in to the future of home automation; however here are a couple of ideas:

• Thanks to smartphones, home automation is developing now more than ever before. One of the key phones that played a part in this was the Apple iPhone, in the future expect to see ‘Siri’ become a lot more common. With increasing likelihood that interactive voice control is the next step in home automation.
• By 2020, it is estimated that approximately 12 billion mobile devices will be connected to the internet, doubling the current 6 billion mobile devices connected today. 
• Home automation will be far more common, controlling; TV’s (movies, games etcetera), music around the home, lighting, shades, security, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, appliances and even things such as pools, spas and sprinklers in more affluent homes.

More and more companies are offering home automation and installation of the technology required. Inevitably this means that a lot of us will be faced with the choice of keeping up with technology, or falling behind. If you wish to find out more information on home automation, the LightwaveRF and what it involves, you can look at Alarm Traders Direct website to expand your knowledge.