As the smart home features more and more in news headlines and common parlance, we’re hearing a wealth of talk about what they are, what they aren’t and what they offer the everyday household resident.
Some of these headlines make for great learning, but some are, well, a little off base. So, at Lera we’re using our years of insight to dispel some serious smart home myths that pop up everyday in every way online.
Here are 10 common smart home myths.
A smart device equals a smart home
A device in your home that you can operate via your smart phone does not a smart home make. There are a whole host of products out there that you can plug in and then play with your phone, but the true measure of smart home is the convenience and seamless intuition it offers.
To cut to the chase, a smart home offers the resident effortless control over their entire living environment via connected technology.
It combines connected devices together under one simple system to make your life easier, healthier and more efficient.
Claiming that individual smart devices equal a smart home is a bit like saying cheese, beef and beans is a restaurant meal. It’s not until these elements are put together, in the right way, at the right time to interact that you get a final product fit for consumption.
The upshot? A genuine smart home allows an entire environment to transform in response to a time of day, at the push of a button or by voice command.
Cyberscurity is an issue
One of the major talking points in recent times has been cybersecurity. Some people fear that just because the smart home is connected to the internet, it leaves it vulnerable to hacking.
The truth is the security of your internet connection and therefore home comes down to a good installation and the right technology.
The best smart home installers and platforms use highly-encrypted technology to thwart would-be hackers, and they stake their reputation on a result that will be impervious to interference.
Smart homes make us lazy
Occasionally we hear that smart homes are a gimmick that makes us lazy. That was probably a common sentiment when the car first came on the scene too. Just like the automobile, the smart home isn’t about laziness, it’s about creating efficiency within our busy lives, giving us more opportunity to pursue the interests of our choosing, more time to relax and more time to spend with our loved ones.
Smart homes are a fad
The current and predicted uptake of smart home tech indicates this is a movement which is anything but a fad.
According to a recent survey by Service Seeking smart homes are more common than many people realise, with as many as one in four Australian homes already employing smart technology.
Much of the uptake is the result of increased internet bandwidth, affordable installation and an increase in the products available to connect to the Internet of Things. But the upshot means that with the tap of a smartphone, home owners can now control their home’s temperature, schedule garden irrigation, enable a lighting sequence and more.
Research firm Telsyte notes more than 50 per cent of Australian households now have at least one IoT@Homedevice, up of more than 30 per cent since 2017.
Meanwhile the average household has 13.7 internet connected devices and the number is set to balloon to 30.7 by 2021, with 14 of these being an IoT@Home device.
“By 2021, in total, Australian households are expected to have 311 million connected devices, of which nearly half of these are expected to be new IoT@Home devices,” Teslyte explains, while the IoT@Home market will skyrocket from $377 million in 2016 to $4.7 billion in 2021.
Smart tech becomes outdated
Technology changes and evolves, but choose the right smart home system and you will be able to add to and improve it over many years to come as your lifestyle changes.
That means you can readily add new appliances and features as required.
The systems we prefer at Lera all incorporate technology that has been around for years, and continues to steadily grow. We also pride ourselves on offering systems that are flexible enough to communicate with and be compatible with different types of manufacturers and devices as they come onto the market.
Smart homes are expensive
Smart homes are no longer the domain of the affluent. Today you can create a smart home at fraction of what it cost previously.
In fact, smart home systems are surprisingly cheap to purchase and install, but can add real value in terms of energy savings and property worth.
Property owners and landlords are seeing that smart homes add value to their property, with more and more buyers and tenants seeking out the benefits of energy efficiency, convenience and intuitive living.
You can also add to your smart home system over time, creating new features and capabilities.
Smart homes are for technical people
True smart homes are all about simplicity with a system that allows for automation and easy operation of all smart features within your home using a simple app on your smart phone.
If you’re looking to create a truly smart and intuitive home, go with the pro’s by choosing the right installer, with the right credentials. A professional, experienced smart home installer will offer advice and help you understand the process, explaining the system and the different technologies involved.
Smart homes are hard to operate
Properly installed smart homes are easy to operate, but it comes down to seeking out the right system and installer at the beginning.
A true smart home combines connected devices together under one simple system to make your life easier, healthier and more efficient.
Rather than having multiple apps to control individual items, a genuine smart home allows an entire environment to transform in response to a time of day, at the push of a button or by voice command.
The last thing you want is a mish mash of items all requiring separate apps and controls, and choosing the wrong platform at the beginning can become a costly, frustrating exercise in the future as you add more devices to your home.
Smart homes are a luxury
With one in four Australian homes now featuring smart home technology, the smart home is anything but a luxury.
Smart home features, benefits and installation are far more affordable than they once were and, with increased internet access and bandwidth, the technology is much more readily available.
As the technology has become more affordable, more and more home buyers, residents and renters have come to expect smart features within their homes. From smart televisions to climate control and security, this technology is becoming common place in everyday Australian homes.
Importantly Australians aren’t just looking for smart devices, but simple, single systems that unite them under one intuitive ecosystem.
Smart homes are new properties
Although many new homes are being built with smart home features front of mind, creating a smart home is not restricted to new or newer properties.
In fact, smart home technology can be readily retrofitted to pretty much any home where there is an internet connection using your existing wiring. That’s because the sensors and devices that operate within a smart home are generally wireless.
In our case we use Z-Wave technology, which is exceptionally secure, stable technology where devices interact over a mesh network. The mesh network allows information to hop from one device to the next using very little power.
Effectively this means if one device drops out, the system can remain online by finding an alternative route. In the smart home this is particularly beneficial, eliminating lag and congestion, and the system becomes stronger as more devices are added, with more information paths available.
Critically, it means many devices and sensors are plug and play. You plug them in or position them and they will interact within the mesh network.
About Lera
Lera Smart Home Solutions is a leading installer of smart home technology in the greater Sydney region. Our team boasts over 20 years’ experience in IT networking, programming and the electrical industry.
We have sourced the most reliable and cost efficient solutions from around the world to provide the very best in smart home solutions, and work with our clients to understand their needs.
You can learn more about transforming your house into a smart home, or contact us directly for further advice.
