From Smart Home to Connected

The term “smart home” may be a mystery to most people. All it means is, some part of your home has an app that controls something in your home, enabling the device to be controlled and operated from a smartphone. Think thermostat, door lock, speakers, tv etc. If you have an app for any operating thing in your home, then it is considered a smart home.

The difference between a connected home and a smart home

A connected home has a “brain” or a central processor, in it. A “connected home” includes all the different devices that can live in the home or items in the home. Whether it’s a security system, door lock, thermostat, tv, radio etc. If it talks inside the home, it can be connected to other devices through the control system or central processor. Think of it like the processor is the brain and the systems are any of the functioning organs.

A Connected home is the pentacle, meaning there is one app and everything is in that one app -through the processor or the “brain”. With a connected ho, e there may be twenty different things going on just from that one device. Also, with Amazon Echo, and Google Home, and other voice-enabled devices, these devices can be integrated into these connected homes. Instead of hitting a button, one just gives a voice command.

A connected home really just means that all the technology in the home is connected together and lives in its own little technological ecosystem. “The fundamental issue we see with the current approach to “smart homes” is a focus on novelty rather than everyday utility.” Green Home Builder Magazine For a senior who wants to stay in a home, and stay independent they have a safety thing going on. There are a few things you need to look at for the connected home, for starters for the person getting older “the senior” and staying in a home, they will feel safer knowing that with a push of a button or a command to a device could light a hallway in the middle of the night or even set the alarm from bed. Then the family members that are worried about the senior family member will have a piece of mind knowing their connection which is making their life a tad bit easier. You can have it set to have motion sensors in the home to track daily patterns, so 9 am when mom and dad wake up and go to the kitchen, you the family member can get an alert and see that. Then on the flip hand maybe you haven’t seen any motion, you’ll know and can call to see what’s going on. One of our biggest fear with the elderly is a fall and with the voice detection devices, they can call for help if needed. “Often solutions are looking for a problem rather than a solution to an actual known problem” Green Home Builder Magazine For seniors who want to live independently safety may be the actual problem.

Connected Home is really becoming a growing conversation inside of the whole green, sustainability, and efficiency side because it is a great way to make up for behaviors that we can’t or won’t do because you can automate them. By automating them, you take the best behaviors you want like all the lights being turned off, ceiling fans being on when needed and off when it’s not needed, making sure that the house is set at a good temperature that’s not going to kill the energy bill. So behaviors are where you either turn on or off something or adjust a setting. “Anything a human being can operate, they can automate” Marla & Tony. Technology steps in and makes up for our misbehavior. “The smart home is what it is, the connected home is what it does.” Marla

Resources

Design with Smart home in mind, wise seniors lead the way” Green Home Builder Magazine

K4connect

Gary Sinise Foundation