Do you also have doubts when you leave the house? Have I turned off the washing machine? Have I locked the door? Have I turned off the computer? Are the children doing their homework or watching TV? Have I unplugged the iron? These questions occupy the minds of many people during work, shopping, partying and traveling, so researchers have tried to eliminate these mental concerns by using technology.
The result of all these efforts has become an innovative idea that the user can easily control the home and the devices inside it in any situation through their mobile phone or tablet. This technology, which can be seen in many new buildings and houses today, is known as “smart house”. If you want to know what is a smart building, what are its components and how you can have such a house, be sure to read this article.
What is a smart home?
The term smart home in English is known by titles such as “Smart Home”, “Intelligent Building”, “Home Automation” and “Domotics”. Domotics is derived from the Latin word which means house. Smart building technology brings security, comfort, reducing repair costs and energy efficiency. Internet of Things (IoT), smart home systems and smart electronic devices work together to execute user commands.
Family members can control smart home devices by installing an app on their mobile phones or using auxiliary systems. Smart devices connect to mobile phones or virtual assistant control devices via devices such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, X10 and Insteon. Electronic devices also need hardware known as smart home hubs to connect to each other, such as Amazon Echo, Google Home, Insteon Hub Pro, Samsung SmartThings, and Wink Hub.
In simple applications of smart building technology, events can be scheduled or triggered based on a specific trigger. Timed events operate on an hourly basis, such as rolling down the shutters at 6 p.m. Also, trigger-driven events are a reaction to another event, for example when the homeowner’s cell phone approaches the front door, the lock unlocks, and smart lights turn on.
Examples of technologies in the smart building
Every part of the building and the electronic devices in it can be controlled through the central network of the smart home. Some of these are:
Lighting system
Smart lighting systems have the ability to detect the presence of a person in the desired space and can adjust the brightness according to the daylight. Also, when the family members are not at home for a long time, this system is able to turn on and off the lights of the house according to their usual habit and pretend as if they are present in the smart home.
Temperature control system
Internet-connected smart thermostats have the ability to control temperature and air conditioning and allow the user to define a schedule for turning the system on and off. These systems can understand the behavior of household members and automatically apply certain settings for greater comfort, energy savings and efficiency. These types of thermostats can report the amount of energy consumption and remind the user to change the filter
Smart speakers
The user can give the desired commands through these speakers. This system has the ability to connect to other smart building equipment. As a result, using this smart voice assistant, the user can find answers to his questions, play music, turn off and on the lights of the smart home, or start watching a TV show.
security system
Smart locks at the entrance and parking lot can detect the presence of the home owner from a distance and open the door before he arrives. Smart security cameras make it possible to monitor the interior and exterior of the home when the home owners are away. Motion sensors can distinguish between passing family members, pets, guests and burglars, and can alert the police about suspicious movements.
Smart kitchen
There are all kinds of smart electrical devices in the market, from smart coffee makers to smart freezers. By activating the coffee maker after leaving the office, you can have coffee ready to drink as soon as you get home. The smart freezer can report the expiration time of all available items, make a shopping list, and prepare a recipe based on the available items.
Smart home maintenance system
These types of systems can detect extreme changes in voltage and quickly turn off all electrical appliances. Also, if part of the water pipes are frozen or burst in the winter, the system will be able to cut off the water.
How to have a smart building?
Usually, newly built houses have this system. In general, most of the buildings seen in the city are semi-smart, meaning they have some of the aforementioned features, such as lighting systems that turn on automatically, doors that have electronic locks, and smart fire suppression systems. Almost all buildings, both smart and non-smart, have smart devices such as TVs, washing machines, and smart dishwashers that provide relative comfort.
In order to be able to build a smart building in every sense, it is necessary to buy sensors, security cameras, speakers and smart lamps. Then all of them should be connected to a main command center (smart building hub) so that they can communicate with each other, with the user’s phone and the user himself. The fact is that building such a system to have a smart home requires a lot of equipment, spending a lot of money and time. As a result, you can have the same relative comfort and energy saving in all smart buildings by using the mentioned systems.
