Safety and security rank as some of the top priorities for many people considering the implementation of smart home technology. This sector is proving particularly attractive to older Australians but is in no way limited to an aging population.
As part of our Smart Home Inspiration series, we look at some of the key ways smart home technology can be employed to facilitate safety, security and even care within the home.
Security
For many, peace of mind is right at the top of the priority list for the home, and smart technology is more than happy to oblige, with automated lighting, remote or automatic locking, and security camera monitoring.
Smart home security can:
- Sense motion and automatically activate security cameras
- Activate security lighting
- Alert you to someone at the front door and enable you to speak with them, even remotely
- Lock windows and doors remotely
- Lock windows and doors automatically at pre-set times of the day
- Play a role in “scenes” which see the home go into ‘away mode’, locking doors and shutting off electrical appliances.
- Create scenes to look like you’re home even when you’re away.
Safety
In addition to security, the sensors in smart home technology facilitate a host of safety features that enable home owners to monitor and secure their environment against potential threats.
From a pot boiling over on the stove, to smoke detectors, fire alarms, and evacuation lighting, all these improvements help provide additional peace of mind.
Smart home safety can:
- Alert you to a fire or water overflow in the smart home when you are at home or away
- Allow you to ascertain the exact nature of the threat (where it is, and what it is)
- Enable you to shut down individual appliances (like the stove top)
- Automatically activate ventilation and fans to quickly clear smoke
- Keep track of what’s occurring through cameras
- Record an incident and response for insurance purposes
- Enable swift evacuation with emergency lighting that directs occupants from the home
Care
Occupant care is an emerging feature of the smart home, with further improvements to come in future years. And already potential benefits of smart home technology have been identified when it comes to assisting the elderly or disabled maintain their independence.
Smart home care can already:
- Allow for occupant monitoring
- Enable immediate medical or panic alerts that directly contact emergency services and family
- Automate features like home locking
- Sense when someone enters a room and activate lights
- Enable people with mobility issues to see who’s at the door via camera, and allow guests entry if the resident desires
- Make daily tasks easier via sensor lighting, automated scenes etc
- Provide reminders via voice assistant
- Enable remote healthcare through video conferencing
- Assist people with sight problems using voice assistants that can play music, read audio books etc
Smart home care in the future will also likely:
- Integrate wearable technology with the smart home
- Monitor and track the movements/activities of people with memory decline
- Automatically sense when someone falls and alert others if they can’t get up
In the next edition of our Smart Home Inspiration series, we’ll look into the ways smart home technology is revolutionising entertainment within the home.
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 here, or contact us directly for further advice.
