Smart home

Technologies are developing steadily, but we can’t go home and turn on the light just by a click - the futuristic reality, to which science fiction has taught us, has not materialized yet. Back in 1923, the famous French architect Le Corbusier said that "the house is a car for habitation." Throughout the twentieth century, his expression gradually turned into reality - life became easier with the appearance of electricity in homes, and later on with more perfect home appliances. However, the idea of a smart house was fully realized in the XXI century.

what is “Smart home”?

Very often the idea of a smart house combines two separate concepts - home automation (smart home system) and automation of a residential building (smart house). In the US and European countries they are divided, although the line between them is very relative.

The smart home system consists of various home devices that are connected to a single controller and perform a certain set of tasks without human intervention. The first home automation system based on the X10 standard appeared in 1975. Today, the number of possible devices has increased, and the set of functions has expanded due to the development of the Internet of things.

So, every morning the system can turn on the heating, light or music on the basis of motion sensors, turn off the sockets in the children's room after 9 p.m., warm up the floors and also send a notice in case of an open refrigerator, turned on iron or fire. This all can be managed remotely - using a smart phone, tablet or computer.

In turn, the concept of "smart house" is broader. It involves the construction of modern houses based on the principles of automation, rational use of resources and technological innovations. The work of all engineering networks and devices in the house is controlled by an automated system. Conditionally the whole system can be divided into several subsystems - electricity (lighting), climate control (floor heating, heating, ventilation and air conditioning), security (access control, video surveillance, emergency management) and multimedia (video, audio, multi-room mode).

Technologies

The basic principle of a smart home is to make the most of the available space. The essence of home automation can be addressed to the introduction of special technologies that allow integration and optimization of the operation of all services and equipment in the home.

According to Top Ten Reviews, in 2016, the main players in the smart home market were American companies HomeSeer, Control4 and Crestron. They connect the components of a smart home with the help of such protocols and platforms as Z-Wave, ZigBee and Wi-Fi. For this purpose  German corporation Siemens uses Profibus.

At this moment, there are two approaches for use of such control technologies - based on a time factor or on selected parameters. In the first case, for example, heating will be switched on at a certain time of day or day of the week, and in the second - the sensors will provide the necessary temperature in the room, despite the external conditions.

Technologies used in smart homes greatly simplify human life. Thus, Philips Hue lamps allow you to adjust the color of lighting depending on the mood, August Smart Lock opens locks with a special application or an electronic access key, home robots will help in house cleaning. For example Mint will clean the floor, Mirra will clean the pool, Winbot will wipe the glass, and the cute Zenbo from Asus will immediately become the pet of the whole family.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IDEA

One of the most famous examples of smart home is the house of the founder of Microsoft and the richest man in the world Bill Gates. The house, worth $ 124 million, was called Xanadu 2.0 like the one belonging to media magnate Charles Foster Kane from the movie "Citizen Kane". The use of a natural environment makes it possible to minimize the loss of heat inside the building. Guests can choose the desired level of temperature and lighting thanks to built-in sensors throughout the house. In addition, the dynamics under the wallpapers allow to listen to music moving from one room to another.

Honda also presented its version of  an energy house in 2015. The project Honda Smart Home involves the use of alternative energy sources - geothermal heat pumps and solar panels. As a result the house produces more energy than it consumes. In addition, used technology is aimed at reducing CO2 emissions, reduction of the amount of water consumed and heating the house with the help of the pooled water

A more accessible example of this concept is the project of a small modular house by Kasita. It is initially equipped with such devices as Amazon Echo speaker system, Nest thermostat, Philips Hue LED lamp, etc. Another interesting version of the smart house offers startup “Brain of Things”. In these apartments there are already built-in sensors, which, thanks to the algorithm of machine learning, adapt the housing to the lifestyle of the owner.