CONSERVE

One of the characteristics of a smart home is that it must always be active. And that means it must be powered. And that means you can’t turn off all the power mains in the house—except the fridge, of course—when you’re away if you want to maintain one. So in a century of rising power consumption and a significant contributor to climate change, is having a smart home trading convenience over the planet?

You’d be surprised. A report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy identifies that households could save between 5 per cent to 50 per cent of energy usage by turning their home into a smart home. Some of these savings are individual— switching to a smart heating/ ventilation/ air-conditioning system, or smart thermostats can offer 10-20 per cent energy savings, especially if those systems are adaptive and self-adjust to family behaviour or weather conditions.

But some are cumulative—using smart power outlets, and strips that adapt to usage patterns reduces power drain on individual devices and coincides with unique smart device benefits. For example, King’s College London reported that it slashed its lighting power bill by early 90 per cent in 2013 by installing sensor-based indoor lighting that only switched on or glowed as brightly as necessary.

But there are caveats. Other studies, including one from VEIC, an American think-tank that evaluates the impact of clean energy use, report that smart devices can increase energy costs. And that’s because smart devices are adding to the energy load rather than subtracting power draw. But the study found that the scenarios also vary widely, ranging from savings of 20 per cent to gains of 5 per cent. The primary variable lies in the design.

Smart homes using smart devices designed specifically to reduce energy consumption—like the famous Phillips Hue lightbulbs or the Ecobee smart thermostat—promote savings. But cheaper imitations do not, since they are not designed that way. Likewise, just because a smart device can talk to the internet doesn’t mean it is better for the environment.

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There are ways of monitoring this. One is to install—yes, yet another—smart device in the form of a smart home energy monitor. This will monitor electricity usage across all device types and the fluctuations therein, allowing you to identify the potential for optimisation. That’s the DIY approach. The alternative is to engage a professional. International smart home design and automation certification are rapidly gaining traction, providing owners with many options to create a well-developed smart home.

CHECK

It’s a classic thriller movie trope. The doorbell rings, and the character moves to the door. In some movies, they check the peephole. In some, they creak the door open. And then something happens. But that something, whatever it is, would not occur in a smart home. Smart doorbell cameras will tell you who exactly is at the door, whether you’re in bed or a Parisian hotel bed. And you wouldn’t even need to get up to let them in; smart locks can just unlock with a swipe of a finger to let the parents in for lunch or to let the parents water the plants.

The need for security drives much of the impetus for smart devices. It is a basic human instinct. Our home is our sanctuary. Smart devices enhance that security to new levels, preserving that sense of calm even when nobody is at home. If there is a break-in, smart alarms and cameras check and call the authorities if necessary. If there is a water leak, devices like Resideo’s Buoy, Belkin’s Phyn or Moen’s Flo can identify it, so a plumber can prevent that leak from becoming a flood. If there is a fire, smart detectors can trigger the fire department while the sprinklers go off.

The classic comedy caper film Home Alone would not be possible in a smart home. Catherine O’Hara would have been able to track Macaulay Culkin through the phone. Big brother Devin Ratray would lock his room door from prying eyes through his phone. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern would have never broken in since smart security would have flagged them as intruders, and the police would have been on their way.

But this new smart normal is not infallible because a smart home is still only a system. And systems are vulnerable to ill intent. The current and subsequent generations of smart devices are therefore placing a massive emphasis on cybersecurity as it matures from a state of chaotic innovation to mainstream entrenchment. And that’s important because you would not want to be locked out of your own home by a North Korean hacker.

So, the question of security in a smart device and smart home context is evolving, with regulation and technology catching up. Of course, there are risks, but there are always risks with any new zeitgeist.

But for now, the benefits are tangible. Imagine being at ease because your smart cat litter box ensures your feline friends stay clean and delivers regular reports on their frequency and weight—as well as ultraviolet sterilisation to eliminate parasites—while you’re traipsing through a souk in North Africa. That’s the magic of a smart home.  

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