It is 2016 and the year of the smart home. New items are popping up every month, each attempting to outdo the last. CMS even introduced smart refrigerators that basically contain an iPad built into your fridge. You can manage all of your fridge settings, as well as see what is in your fridge from the internet. From ice shavers to hair blow dryers, its only a matter of time before the IoT has optimized the way we use all electronics.
So where is the future of the smart home? What will the nest 5 years bring? What will this year bring at the current rate the market is accelerating?
Smart Hub
With all the new smart devices showing up on the market it is going to be necessary to have a “hub” that can control all the devices and keep everything in check. A lot of TV manufacturers are banking on that smart hub being the TV. Samsung recently said that it will include plenty of internet options on its next model of TV, making it the controller of the home. Everything will be able to run off of it including lights, sensors, security, camera, etc.
Security
You might think security is a dying industry, having peaked a few years ago. The truth is anything but. While the traditional security model may have peaked, with professionals monitoring your home and alerting police if alarms go off, a new mobile, self-operated security system is just beginning to start trending.
What homeowner doesn’t leave their home on vacation and feel a small sense of nervousness that a pipe won’t break or an electric fire will occur. Imagine an app that senses what is happening in your home, alerts you, shows you video of the incident, then lets you choose how to proceed. This would then lower the current need that home owners have for home insurance. As the ability to better monitor potential home problems goes up the cost of insurance will go down. Likewise the overall number of deaths will go down as well.
Voice
Most people have seen a futuristic movie where the home has a centralized computer that runs everything and has the ability to do just about anything a homeowner wants, whether it is closing closet doors, making coffee, or purchasing stuff online. That future is now.
Multiple tech companies are developing software that can constantly listen to conversations and be spoken to. This software can fulfill a myriad of tasks when told, all done through a centralized hub.
Off the Grid
Solar has been making waves for years as the technology radically improves and pushes into new spaces. With Tesla’s new PowerWall, homes have the ability to store enough electricity to run for an entire day. This technology, combined with solar technology, can give most modern homes the ability to completely get off the grid. Complete, free, sustainability. And while some think that Tesla is pushing too hard and setting goals that are too hard, who is to say that can’t do just what they say they will?
VR
In case you didn’t know, VR stands for virtual reality. Most people probably do not see how the virtual reality scene will have an effect on homes. It will. For those that don’t understand where virtual reality is going, there are companies today that are developing headsets that essentially make the user feel like they are in a different reality. Imagine 3D TV technology times 10. Having this technology in ones home will drastically change the way a home is laid out. A video game room may just be a big empty room with plenty of space to move around, and pillows on the wall. You may no longer have a TV as the central head of your house. There are endless ways that VR technology will change the home, because it will have such an impact on the television industry.
These are just a few trends. If you are looking to purchase a house that is up to date with home automation trends you can check the Georgia MLS for many related keywords and realistically find your dream home.