What does it mean to have a smart home?

A smart home is a connected home, which leverages the Internet of Things to be ever more efficient, practical and comfortable. Connected electronic devices are certainly not new in 2023. They have been present in our homes for years now, but now they also have an improved design, with a significant aesthetic impact on our environments. Italy is in first place in Europe for growth rate in the smart home market. Half of Italians have at least one connected device. In short, Italians like it smart!

Technology is our new tenant

Technology is now a tenant with a voice, which speaks, communicates (in its own way) with us and enables communication between the devices themselves. It has a modus operandi which, thanks to the internet, allows us not only to improve the quality of our lives, but to anticipate our needs and take care of them on its own.

Italians with a smart home invest above all in heating and air conditioning equipment, boilers and thermostats, security solutions, smart appliances and smart speakers. The revolution does not only affect new devices, it is also a conceptual fact, because it concerns the sphere of our needs.

How is a smart home?

Having a smart home means having a home designed to be smart or made smart after the inclusion of some connected solutions that increase comfort, efficiency, safety and energy saving. The basic ingredient of a smart home is a stable wifi connection, capable of reaching the entire home. Access to the smart functions of a home does not require particular interventions, especially structural ones, on the property. Often it’s only necessary to add connected devices, preserving the architecture and aesthetics so dear to homeowners.

How to have a smart home

Let’s explore together some ideas for creating a smart home and the possible benefits that can derive from it. It’s important to carefully consider the available options, to choose the devices that best suit our needs. Especially when you want to make an existing home smart, you need to choose devices that are able to communicate with each other. Compatibility is also essential when you decide to carry out interventions in small steps, distributed over time.

Lights control

Controlling the lights is one of the first steps in creating a smart home. There are many systems available on the market that allow you to control lights remotely, both when we are at home and when we are away. Typically, smart bulbs are used that allow you to control the lights using your smartphone or a voice assistant. After configuring the settings, a single voice device is able to “pilot” all the smart bulbs in the house. But smart also means setting a schedule of habits so that the lights always turn on/off at the same time.

Voice assistants

Voice assistants are an emblem of the smart home, because they were the first to enter our homes, taking us towards the era of the home of the future and the smart city. They allow you to control automations, appliances and lights using only your voice, but also to set reminders, timers, know the day’s news, traffic info or weather forecasts and much more.

Temperature and windows control

Having temperature control is another feature of the smart home. A smart thermostat can learn our habits and distribute the temperature to the areas of the house where we spend the most time. It can even set a certain temperature according to the atmospheric trend of our city. Furthermore, the temperature control is functional to manage the degrees of each room independently. An intelligent window (which automatically raises or lowers the shutters) helps manage the entry of external light and, at the same time, is able to regulate the temperatures of a room in response to external temperatures (high or low). All operated by a voice command, not only via app.

Security system

Intelligent security systems can be hardware-type solutions (sensors, video cameras, smart locks, alarm or burglar alarm systems) or digital services such as cloud storage of multimedia material or the activation of emergency calls following a detection on a person. Connected technologies are used to improve life and ensure assistance for the elderly and people with disabilities, especially motor disabilities.

Smart appliances

By now there are many smart home appliances available in the market, with the most disparate functions. From the washing machine that allows you to control washing remotely to the dishwasher that activates automatically and optimizes washing times to the oven that knows when to turn on so that the chicken is ready at the pre-established time. Thanks to some automations, it’s possible to create customized routines by activating several devices at the same time. For example, when you are preparing to watch a movie in the living room, perhaps on a cold winter evening, the lights can automatically dim, the Dolby surround speakers turn on and the temperature rises by a few degrees.

A smart home is more attentive to consumption

There are many consumers who approach home automation because they are sensitive to the issue of sustainability and the energy impact of a device in total consumption. The use of smart devices would help reduce annual consumption by 23% for heating and 20% for the electricity component. Those who already live in a smart home at least consume energy resources consciously. In the future, a smart home could help improve the energy ratings of a property. What is certain is that a smart home increases the value of the property, because it’s one of the most requested benefits by buyers.