It’s an exciting time to be a homeowner. From smart bulbs to smart locks, technology feels more and more at home in the housing sector.
Innovations are emerging constantly, and the industry promises to offer even more tangible benefits.
With 2017 coming soon, the smart home industry seems ready to open its doors to new devices that will ultimately make life easier.
Here are four devices that will make the new year a lot more interesting – and increase your property’s IQ.
1. Smart Plugs
If you’re looking to make your home smarter in 2017, smart plugs are an excellent way to start.
These plugs have already emerged on the market, and we can expect to see further development and increased capabilities in 2017.
Let’s take a look at the main features and corresponding benefits you’ll get if you decide to invest in this sort of device:
- Control using your smartphone. Gain convenience and peace of mind. If you’re the kind who constantly forgets to turn plugs off in the morning, you can surely stand to benefit from this. You can switch electronics on or off remotely, so you won’t have to constantly worry about it.
- Monitor energy consumption. Gain more control over your home energy usage. Home appliances count for a large portion of annual energy usage. Turning off appliances and devices ultimately translates into significant cost savings.
2. Smart Gadgets to Help You Sleep Better
Devices meant to improve the quality of your sleep have become more and more popular in the smart home market. And this trend is expected to be carried on into 2017.
What kind of capabilities do they offer?
- Monitor your vital signs while you sleep: heart rate, respiration.
- Keep track of your sleeping pattern, including how many hours of sleep you get per night.
- Monitors noise, light, temperature, and humidity in your bedroom.
- Sleep assessment. Based on an evaluation of your sleep parameters, the devices can make certain recommendations, like advise you to see a doctor if there’s sign of a potential medical condition.
This information is typically gathered using a type of wearable device, a clip or a band that you strap to your bed. All that information is then sent to your smartphone through an app.
3. Intelligent Cooking Appliances that Have Computer-Like Capabilities
Technology impacts every aspect of our lives, including the way we cook. The concept of “automated cooking” is still pretty new, but we can expect to hear more of it in 2017.
Products like the June Intelligent Oven offer a glimpse into what’s to come:
- Software that can recognise a wide array of food and automatically cook them at the right temperature.
- Built-in cameras. Keep an eye on your meal by live streaming your food.
- Switching appliances on and off from a distance using an app.
Introducing this kind of technology into the kitchen is likely to make cooking a lot faster and easier. It will be interesting to see in which direction this automated cooking concept is headed in the near future.
4. Devices that Offer an Integrated Approach to Smart Home Security
Homeowners’ need for increased security is obvious. So it’s safe to assume security will be a main focus in 2017 as well.
Smart locks provide a resource offering that extra mile in protection. This type of technology will only become more sophisticated in the future.
Imagine a wireless world in which smart locks, CCTV cameras, smart doorbells, smoke detectors, and even your lights, can all communicate with one another.
If these devices can connect to networks, communicating with mobile devices and each other, they can gather and share relevant security data to create next level security.
For instance, a home security system’s motion detectors can track movement patterns over time and share data with the lock to detect any suspicious activity.
All homeowners can look forward to an all-around solution to give them peace of mind knowing their family and assets are protected.
Over to You
All in all, the future is looking bright. There are plenty of smart home innovations to get excited about in 2017.
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